At A Hundred Monkeys we make every word count. From naming to brand messaging, our expertise is distillation.
We believe human attention is a resource worth earning and respecting. We use language to draw people in.
We are a Berkeley, California-based naming and writing studio. Since 1990, we’ve kept busy working with passionate people who can embrace creativity without being assholes. So far, so good.
MIRO is an excuse to think of your workday as a collaborative canvas. Derived from Joan Miró, the Spanish painter and sculptor who painted bright, bold murals of surreal amoebic forms. His vibrant, energetic work was a perfect metaphor for bringing ideas to life. Miro can also be considered as an empty vessel name with a connection to the Spanish word for “look” or “watch.”
When we began the project, Miro (then RealTimeBoard) had offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Perm. We were lucky to be able to meet with the majority of the team in San Francisco to demo the product and work through our intake process. The team wanted a short, unmistakable name that spoke to creativity and visual collaboration.
“We wanted our brand to be not just a company name but a ‘love mark’ to accelerate our word of mouth growth. So Miro is a famous Spanish artist who inspired us. His paintings have different shapes with very bright colors and we found that our boards developed in kind of the same style. We see every user or creator as an artist and their boards as their unique canvases. So we wanted to bring a little bit of art into the day-to-day job of each person who uses our product.” -Barbra Gago
Names were screened in the US and EU.
Not a project priority but the team was able to acquire miro.com
After legal review, we met with the leadership team in San Francisco and worked through the final contender names one by one. It rarely happens this way but we actually made a decision as a group, in the room.
Ultraderp is equal parts high performance and big dumb smiles—just like most of the dogs you’ll find running around on trails. Ultra as in ultralight, ultrafast, or ultra marathon. Derp as in that face dogs make when they don’t know what’s happening but aren’t about to let that get in the way of a good time.
Ultraderp is an ultralight, packable dog leash that weighs as much as a single AA battery. It can be worn on the dog’s collar and deployed whenever needed simply by pulling the pink “U.” Ultraderp excels in situations like running and hiking when you only need a leash sometimes. Because it’s so lightweight, it’s also great for walks, parks, breweries, and anywhere else you might find yourself with your pup.
We worked with the Berkeley, California-based founders to name the company. We also helped with some key copywriting, and went on a couple of trail runs in the hills because we like dogs (and sometimes running). Mucho joined us on the project, developing the visual identity.
We conducted a preliminary trademark screening in the US.
URL wasn’t a priority of the project but when you pick a name like Ultraderp, the URL somehow winds up being available.
There were a couple of contenders but only one that got an interesting reaction from everyone who heard it. We worked alongside design partner Mucho to bring the Ultraderp brand to life.
Brightband is a public benefit corporation developing AI tools to improve weather and climate-related decisions for all of humanity. The name is a reference to a bright band—a radar phenomenon that indicates the presence of melting precipitation. In the context of their work, the name signals positivity and the collective efforts of a “band” of academic researchers, meteorologists, and technologists.
We began with a name evaluation—helping the team assess their internal naming candidates, including the placeholder name, OpenEarthAI. Then, we developed a round of names related to forecasting tools, the scale of impact, and a collaborative mindset.
Names were screened for AI, machine learning, and meteorological conflicts in the US. Brightband received a B grade and ultimately cleared a deeper legal screening with their counsel.
Brightband had more than a dozen available URL’s, and they were able to pay a reasonable price for brightband.com.
First, they narrowed down to a short list of options that received support across the team. Brightband was in the mix, though it wasn’t the frontrunner until we reviewed potential URLs. It was clear from the number of options that it was the most ownable name in the set.
Stelo is the first FDA-cleared glucose biosensor available without a prescription. The developer, Dexcom, entrusted us to find a name that felt empowering, told a story about optimizing health, and would help introduce this technology to a whole new audience.
We searched for compact names that could convey power and lend themselves to a future where the biosensor would provide augmented feedback on a growing array of analytes in one’s blood. Stelo means “star” in Latin, and “stem” in Italian. When we presented the name in the second round it was well-received for signifying healthy growth and having pleasant phonetics.
Names were screened for medical device conflicts in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany. Stelo received A’s and B’s in those markets, and ultimately cleared a deeper legal screening with Dexcom’s counsel.
Dexcom was able to acquire stelo.com for their new product.
We worked with four Dexcom researchers and marketers who coalesced around a vision of the device as a “partner in thriving.” Stelo was actually not the original top name for the team. However, they soon found that it made a strong, natural connection to the product.
Definite Articles is a performance apparel brand that is entirely biodegradable. The fashion industry wastes 2.4 billion pounds of textiles annually. Biodegradable apparel is an important step in closing the loop.
Definite Articles is a term borrowed from grammar. In English, it’s the word the. But in the context of clothing and fashion, the term takes on new meaning. Calling clothing articles makes them feel valuable and considered. Definite Articles feel durable and confident. This acts as a fitting counterbalance to the idea of biodegradable clothing—as if to say “This clothing is built to last.” That is, of course, until you’re done with them and pop them in the compost.
Definite Articles received an A grade in preliminary trademark screening and didn’t run into any issues during the registration process. This is thanks in no small part to it being a longer, two word name. In a world where everyone wants something short, longer names definitely stand out.
The team at DA registered definitearticles.com. Again, having a longer name was very helpful here.
Definite Articles was the fourth name presented in the first round. We do a lot of groundwork before presenting names to ensure that our early options can be winners.
Who do we work with?
We aren’t going to regale you with an exhaustive list of everyone we’ve had a meeting with since 1990. We’ll keep it short. What matters most to us is doing interesting work with good people.
This is a group of companies big and small where there’s mutual respect and a solid track record of collaboration.
Alphabet
Angular Ventures
Day Job
Foresite Labs
Miro
Moniker
Mucho
Okta
OpenAI
Samsung
Slanted Door Group
Smith + Diction