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Name for a new line of t-shirts

755 views 27 replies 11 participants last post by  zyin 
#1 ·
Hello hello,

I've been thinking of a name for a new line (Farennikov doesn't work for me any more) for some time and yesterday came up with something. What do you think about this one? Please be absolutely honest.

HUMPteeDUMPtee

So on my first t-shirt I will just have 2 big words:
HUMP
DUMP

Thoughts?
 
#3 ·
HUMPteeDUMPtee?
Hi Alex, I really don't know about that, you see, you already have a catchy name, I saw your work and as a footer you add: by Farennikov... That's why people buy brands.

The idea is good "HUMPteeDUMPtee" if you are launching a new clothing line for kids but your line is more "Vintage, All over print" so you need a strong name, great designers use their last name since they are foreigners, Givency, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Issey Miyake, yours works the same.

MHO, I like your name...think about it.
 
#4 ·
Hey thanks for the opinion. I know what you're saying. At the other hand everyone knows that great designers come from Italy and France. My name is Russian and everyone knows - great fashion designers don't come from Russia (or Ukraine in my case). Basically there is no association in a regular person's mind between Eastern Europe / Slavic countries and fashion. And I don't want to be spending my time trying to establish it.

Moreover, problem is that my name is hard to remember, not even mentioning its spelling. Even back in my country people would always misspell it. Either lose second 'n' inside or just misspell it beyond recognition. Here in U.S. it's even worse. And how do you think people will be able to find me if they don't know how to spell my t-shirt line name? I'm still on the 1st page in Google for "designer t-shirts" (used to be #2 for some time) but that doesn't matter, I want something easier to remember and find.

As far as H.DumpTee - that was an idea for something in between Farennikov and my next line under a real cool name which I don't have yet.
 
#5 ·
Precisely, it doesn't matter where you origins are if the design of your Tees are exceptional, where do you think Carolina Herrera is from? She is not Italian or French but she is an awesome designer.

The problem here is not your hard to pronounce name (which is why it makes it more exotic), the problem is that you need to market the name more. I've been a graphic designer for a good 12 years and I've seen poor quality products be great sellers because a good marketing people put on them. Don't think about how US will pronounce your product, think about how the world will love it. Good luck!
 
#7 ·
Please be absolutely honest.
I think it's a terrible name.

I thought your current name was so-so: there are the problems you mention, and the benefits other people have mentioned. Maybe it could work, maybe it wouldn't. But using a personal name is a common recommendation for coming up with a business name - you could do a lot worse.

Like HUMPteeDUMPtee for example.

The Hump/Dump joke is a one shot joke for a lowbrow t-shirt, not something to build an entire brand around.

Your previous line was sophisticated, so I assume you're looking at going in a completely different design direction. If that's something you want for your own sake, fair enough. But if it's a market response based on your current sales, I'd be careful of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
 
#8 ·
Hi Solmu.
Well in fact it wouldn't be a brand in itself. It would be like a "low end" line. Of course by no means I would sell what I was selling under Farennikov name as "humpteedumptee". Now that I think about it I don't really like the name anyway. It might be just "dumptee". I wouldn't roll out anything that I want to be respectable under such a stupid name. But well stupid can sell, too.

As far as Farennikov, I never wanted to use it as a name for a t-shirt line. I was considering a few different names but my friends here who were actually Americans told me "that's such a rad name, you should use it". I didn't think it was that great, but I bought that they thought it was (now I question their honesty).

Now I wouldn't use my name for anything unless it's something great and close to perfect in my own opinion.

Back to Humpteedumptee, is it in fact that bad though? Can you imagine any t-shirts that would carry that name?
 
#11 · (Edited)
As far as your old name...I can't even pronounce it so spelling it is next to impossible...

Have you considered cutting it in half

Maybe add another R and lose a N

FARREN APPAREL

Or you could take the last 4 letters of your name IKOV and leave it like that(IKOV APPAREL)or reverse it and call your brand VOKI APPAREL
 
#12 ·
LOL how's that any better then the actual name?? :D

I thought... maybe just leave first "F" and write the ending in the 19th century style as "off" (e.g. Romanov - Romanoff), so we have "F. Off."

Just kidding.


As far as your old name...I can't even pronounce it so spelling it is next to impossible...

Have you considered cutting it in half

Maybe add another R and lose a N

FARREN APPAREL
 
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#17 ·
I actually like your name you have as much as you dont want to use it :) It has a sound of distinction.

The humpteedumptee is really bad :) Sorry, I would stay with what you have, even though you dont want to hehe. Its very unique and if people bought your product they would remember it, unlike "oh I cant remember where I got this shirt, one of those funny tshirt sites", your name would stand out on its own and would not be forgotten. :)
 
#18 ·
Humpteedumptee is possibly one of the worst names for a brand I've ever heard. And I've been in this forum quite a while, as you may know. I've seen my fair share.

Back to the drawing board.. please!

If you need help with a new name, I'm sure we can help you come up with something. When choosing a name, it's helpful to think of the qualities you want the brand to have. Make a list of words or ideas that you would want to associate with the brand. That will give you a place to start.
 
#19 ·
Hey Jasonda, thanks.
Well I guess we'll start with words then.
And hey, like I said I don't get offended, I didn't think you guys would fall in love with that name. No one does. I just needed some reassurance. It's okay to say that you hate it.

As far as what I want, it's hard to explain right now. Don't take Farennikov Apparel as an example of what I want.

For the "classy" line I want to create something that would appeal to intellectuals. Well, not geniuses but people who like to think, like to read books and like good music. They are not nerds, at the same time, or some sort of geeks. They are successful or going in that direction young adults (25-35), but are not as serious as they appear. They are fun and witty. They hate slogans and are not fans of "branded" apparel. They like to dress modestly but with taste and sense of fashion. They are both straight and gay. They will pay up to $80 for a t-shirt and up to $50 for a hat. They might be MBA or PhD students. They study a lot but when they party they have a lot of fun. And they wouldn't wear t-shirts that say "Kiss me I am Irish".
 
#22 ·
Lewis - great points. My point was, if you're aiming at both groups, no need to include that information. In this particular case, it's not helping to define the brand. If he wanted to sell to only one group, then it would be extremely important to define it. But in this instance I honestly think it is irrelevant because the buying tastes of straights and gays are not so divergent that you would have to specify that both groups are included.

I wasn't actually thinking of that information offending customers (as you said, they wouldn't see it) but a profile of your target customer is an important aspect of a business plan, something that you would show to banks, private investors, etc. later on, so it's not always going to be totally private information.
 
#25 ·
I got to agree with one of the other posters on this thread Don't use HUMPteeDUMPtee unless you're creating a line for kids.
Maybe HUMPteeDUMPtee by Farennikov??? ;)

IMHO HUMPteeDUMPtee just doesn't work for your current line. I say stick with your current name. That's a cool name!!

BTW like your designs!
 
#27 ·
As a person who makes part of her living on the net selling domain names and SEO, how about you have a look at this site and find a name there, the one you have now is more for a niche market and if you plan on making yourself a big name, it wont work for that one.

For any name that you plan on making a household one, you need it to be not only a domain thats not used but one that is pronouncable.

six letter random pronounceable domain name

Also if you use namecheap.com to buy your domain hit me up and I can give out the password to get a discount.

Plus people dont use long domain names anymore, takes too much time and its easier to just type in around 5-8 letters.
 
#28 ·
your designs are nice
why not create your name - that is what branding is
you have a very bandable name
if you feel it is hard to remember- spell it as it sounds and/or spell it how it is most often mispelled.

also purchase all the domains that are similar spelling and redirect.

other than that I would look at
Faren
Nikov
Vokin

I would never sell out my heritage to sell a shirt
if anything tap into your heritage for support on getting your brand built
That is like attempting you grew up in the hood so you can sell rap music when you can just be from where ever and do hiphop.

just my half a cent
will give the other have later
"I know I'm still a penny short then"
 
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