An often underappreciated aspect of product design, in my opinion, are the names that are given to the products and the weight they hold on influencing their perception.

It is obvious that Nothing has a design vision that is a central aspect of the development of the company and the overall brand that will emerge as they grow. I am curious how the product names will fit into the aesthetic that they are building, and if they will take a unique route from the typical numeric style progression seen with most tech products.

ear (1) is an interesting first look at how Nothing will be taking this into consideration. To me it has an industrial feeling to it and I think this fits well with the transparent design of the product. With the font and the use of parentheses it almost feels like a blueprint, or an initial draft to an important document, and for me it gives the sense of a first iteration of something important, but with bigger and better things to come. Maybe it is also just me looking too much into what is simply a way to identify the product.

I am interested to see what comes next. When I think of name design, I think of brands like Herman Miller which have staple products with memorable names that reflect the style of their products. They are unique, sometimes exotic, and match what they want the customer to think of each product (Eames - executive, Aeron - forward thinking design/tech). There’s also Sony with their headphones (WH-XXXX) which are seemingly never-ending in their different iterations and can be confusing/overwhelming for the average consumer and in my opinion, detracts from the overall perceived quality of what are otherwise great products.

I’m curious to hear the insights of others; do product names have much influence on your overall perception of a product or a brand?

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    Thanks @SteveW

    I don’t think the name of a device has much of a sway on my decision-making when picking a product. I will say that having owned and recommended a few OnePlus devices, non-techies were baffled by, for example, the name “OnePlus One”…I’m not sure that having to explain the name of a device is a positive thing… 😆 As you mention, I think Sony are the worst offenders; it’s all too easy to accidentally buy older revisions of their products due to such unhelpful naming conventions.

    I agree that the naming of Nothing’s first product feels very industrial, it reminds me of how the military names/labels their equipment, so simple, that it’s impossible to misunderstand. I’m sure people working in retail/logistics will appreciate this simplicity when fulfilling orders! I believe this easy-to-understand naming is all part of Nothing’s ambition to make technology fade away, and with that, remove the ego and expectation that comes with the often bizarre and exotic names that other consumer tech companies come up with.

    SteveW I’m curious to hear the insights of others; do product names have much influence on your overall perception of a product or a brand?

    For me, nope
    Its the specs and user experience that matters

      SteveW

      Interesting discussion, thank you!

      I believe that words are the first contact we have with a product, and they can have even more power than an image in some situations.

      Talking about an online environment, words are the presentation letter of pretty much everything and consumers, generally, will be more likely to click in a “catchy” name than in a standard/complex/numeric denomination.

      It’s all a matter of psychology. If you feel identified somehow with a product, you’ll be more likely to buy it; be it the colors, the design, the values of the company, the name, etc.

      Some years ago, I heard an interview on the radio of a person who had only one job: naming products and brands. He explained how he turned upside down the profits of companies that were in red numbers and how just by changing the name, they sky rocketed. Names can be so simple, yet so powerful.

      All this to say that, to me, names can play a role, but won’t condition the buy of anything just because of them.

      Now imagine this: you see an incredible device/accessory that you love but for any reason you don’t buy it when you discover it. Some time after you remember the image of the product, it is vivid in your mind, though you are not able to remember the name. 

      Wouldn’t it have been different if the product/brand had a different name?

          Archive (bot)

          Totally agree with this. Product quality will always come first obviously, but if you launch something with a name too weird and forgettable than you will end up killing a bit of the buzz about the product. And also really ruins the mouth to mouth advertising since you can’t really recommend it easily to someone. 😅

              Archive (bot) It’s all a matter of psychology. If you feel identified somehow with a product, you’ll be more likely to buy it; be it the colors, the design, the values of the company, the name, etc.

              I really like the point you make here. Design and product aesthetics can simply be just how it looks and functions if that’s all you choose to take from it, but there’s something else there. It’s the reason why we can be compelled so much towards material objects and unable to explain why. We use these items in part to form our own identities and influence our personal design philosophies.

                  A simple exercise anyone can do is trying to say the name of the main earphones from two brands, Apple and Sony, and see which ones one can name by memory and without cheating with google. 😅

                  I know apple has the airpods pro, while Sony had the x something 3 and now has the x something 4. 🤣

                  youbi

                  Exactly, I think that when you have a name that sticks with you, like one of those songs you can’t get out of your head, it’s easier to recommend it to others and even to talk about it.

                  Also in the long run, as part of history, impossible names are more likely to be forgotten. As you mention, I don’t think many people can remember the exact name of some Sony earphones, probably not even their creators. 😅

                  SteveW

                  That’s another interesting point. What we have and use represent us and builds our image. Those objects are part of our non-verbal language and communicate to others our tastes, interests or even ideologies.

                  Do objects have the power to shape us, and others, by the way they are conceived and designed?

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