What's in a Name? The Five Key Attributes of Brand Identity
Nomeni no more...
After a decade in the business, Haystack Needle’s branding wing has grounded its old identity — Nomeni — and is taking flight under a new name: Tailfeather.
But why would a branding agency rebrand itself? And why now?
As Nomeni, we built a respected branding business that produced beautiful work. We partnered with all kinds of clients and came to specialize in the creation of iconic, evocative corporate identities through our unique, gamified process. We determined our own sense of the key attributes of effective brand identity. And we hold ourselves to these lofty ideals when developing work for our clients.
But for all our experience and success, we realized our own name no longer soared as high as the work we were producing.
The Nomeni brand served us well as we launched this agency and produced countless successful corporate identities. But, while it was descriptive and intelligent, it no longer seemed sticky or distinctive. It didn’t delight. And we're a flock of creatives who strive to delight.
Our team culture is nested in positivity and growth. We believe in professional evolution. Like our clients, we’re a work in progress. And yet, we struggled with the idea of rebranding ourselves. The task felt prohibitive and emotional. Our defenses went up; in many ways, it felt like we were renaming a child.
We brooded on the idea of legacy — that we’d built a successful business and that our brand was tied to a specific name. We’d done well enough so far, and our business was growing steadily. Honestly, our biggest challenge was a matter of pride, of not wanting to admit that, as a branding agency, we needed a rebrand.
The truth is, it’s challenging to fly against the wind. But, for those brave enough to try, that initial friction allows for greater lift. Birds get this. They ride the breeze and steer a course. They use their tail feathers to create stylish stability.
Besides, by the time you’re thinking about a rebrand, you’re already in need of one.
Growth requires change, and we believe that once you know better, you’ve got a responsibility to do better. Branding is no exception.
So, we decided to shake things up, molt our monogram, and turn the iterative process we’ve implemented with many of our clients upon ourselves.
We hunted, pecked, and incubated dozens of possibilities, measuring our top choices against the following five key attributes of brand identity before alighting on a final decision.
A brand name must:
Be distinctive and stand out from its competition
Be easy to say (is it route or route?)
Be expressive and denote a resonant feeling
Be discernable and easily spelled when heard or spoken
Be memorable; sticky like you’ve heard the name before
As a bonus sixth attribute, evocative names with more than one favorable meaning (and that lend themselves to playful puns) have a special power.
In our case, the name Tailfeather embodies positive attributes of the most iconic birds: a signal of attraction or pride (peacock), a warning or challenge (rooster), or the optimal rudder to navigate (hawk). Tailfeather also goes beyond the avian analogies to reference the parental “let’s get going, kids” beckon. But the reference that hit the creative tilt button for us is the contagious groove and winking glee of a beloved Ray Charles tune urging us all to get out onto the dance floor of life and have fun.
Tailfeather makes a memorable first impression and reflects highflying creativity with a wink and smile at a time when the world could use more of both.
But while our moniker has migrated, rest assured that our service quality remains unflappable.
Tailfeather still specializes in creating meaningful names that stick — and gorgeous visuals that stand out — in any sector. And now, our branding exemplifies that expertise.
Our wings span everything from startups to spinoffs and M&As to company rebrands or evolutions. And we swoop into each project with a balance of prowess and play — to inspire clients toward brands that feel authentic and ignite excitement.
Rebranding has put a fresh wind beneath our wings and renewed excitement and energy for our work. We’ve grown as a team and an agency, and we’d love to help you do the same.
Feeling inspired? Reach out and say [email protected].