Helpful words:
About Naming

Good creative leads and where to find them

Or, business is slow. What are you going to do about it? Here at A Hundred Monkeys, 2023 is off to a slow start. New leads, referrals, and new projects are all below average. The first thing we wanted to check when we realized this was “Is this an us thing or an everyone thing?” So we reached…

The shopping complex (and names that aren’t)

  • About: Naming

A branding lesson from none other than the strip mall The strip mall, a self-contained retail oasis and 20th-century Main Street, is a staple of towns across America. A one-stop shop where you can get a haircut, pick up a prescription, get your smoothie fix, and have your taxes prepared all in one run. Multi-level?…

assorted characters cover

Say hello to Assorted Characters 👋

  • About: Naming

Assorted Characters is a limited edition 3 volume zine of names and other found text collected by the team at A Hundred Monkeys. It is available exclusively through No Picnic Press. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been taking pictures of names and other language I find. This could be on a neighborhood…

New word, who dis?

What happens when we see words that are unfamiliar to us — in naming and beyond Ingredients, technologies, viral strains, street names, animal breeds. We see new words constantly—so much so that we don’t always notice when it’s happening. Our brains become accustomed to new words quickly after a bit of language processing, which of…

Brand architecture is a delusional fantasy

As I, a branding professional, understand it, Brand Architecture is the relationship between all of the branded elements within an organization. This could be subsidiaries, sub-brands, products, features, services—really anything branded within an organization. So if we take Nike as an example, they have owned subsidiaries like Hurley and Converse. They have sub-brands like Nike…

Look Before You Leap: 2¢ on Scoping Projects

  • About: Naming

This might sound really obvious, and it is: don’t say yes to something without understanding what you’re saying yes to. Obvious, right? Kindergarten level awareness. Don’t take candy from strangers, don’t run off in a crowded subway station, basic little kid rules. That being said, now that we’re no longer five years of age and…

running brand naming

Ingredients to run with

Taking a closer look at running shoe ingredient branding There is a vast world of running shoe ingredient brands. What started with Nike Air and Asics Gel has exploded into a supernova of running technologies™️. While these running companies are busy churning out new innovations, what are they actually communicating to their customers? Do runners…

One of These Things…is Not Like the Others

When building something new, most companies are likely familiar with their most relevant competition — their names and brand identities. Some companies have to face off with densely populated sectors where competitor names (and their inspirations) are nearly identical, and can create a significant level of brand confusion. These crowded spaces can be seen as…

Being creative on demand

For money. With a deadline. Time is ticking. Creativity is not an on-demand resource, even though working in the creative field makes it feel that way. People hire you for your creativity based on your track record or your client list or because they think you’re a “creative person.” Sometimes creativity flows effortlessly and other…

We’ve Got Your Number: Brand Names that Use Numbers

At A Hundred Monkeys we know that names are made up of interesting stuff. Sometimes there are rich stories, curious histories, or interesting etymologies baked in. Other times brands include unexpected “characters” like letters from ancient alphabets, mathematical symbols, or numbers. I was curious to explore the latter of these three types of names and…

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