Charged with creating a name and brand identity for a fledgling outdoor gear company, we knew it was a hill we wanted to climb. Based in Washington near the Cascade Mountains, our client needed help with naming his company and crafting an identity that would speak to novice campers as well as intermediate hikers. They knew they wanted mountain imagery but didn’t know how to convey a company that is worthy of the trust given them by outdoor enthusiasts.
First order of business, name the company. I dove into who the customers were, getting to know their biggest needs. our clients had done a very good job of doing the research before he ever contacted me. This was a tremendous help and made light work of drawing a picture of his perfect customer. Next a look at the competition. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? What is the message they are sending? What does their brand identity say to the customers we are intending to steal?
We were not intimidated by the field, but there was plenty of healthy respect. I sat down and brainstormed all the words associated with the market, the client message and customer. I then found all the synonyms for those words as well as any translations for those words that sound useful. Taking all those words, I then cut them into sections of words, called “morphemes” and began to stick them together to create unique words or word combinations. Once I had a good selection of possible name matches, I searched the USPTO and domain databases to see if any are available to use. I narrowed them down by preference to present.
This process takes a little time, but it’s worth it.
After much deliberation, we landed on the three front runners and sent them to a trademark attorney for review. The Name chosen was IBEKA. The word “bek” means mountain in the Potawatomi language. Framing it in the likeness of the word “ibex” brings a new word meaning “goat mountain”. IBEKA was one of my favorites and I am very happy with this direction.
Forming an identity for a company is part science and part art. I submitted several concepts and we quickly found a path we wanted to take.
We both gravitated to one of the concepts presented, the mountain. However we both liked the idea of incorporating a goat into the logo. I made the suggestion of hiding the goat in the mountain, so when a customer does see it, they won’t unsee it. After many iterations and tweaks we found the mountain we wanted.
The Color of Mountains
I truly enjoyed playing with the color schemes for IBEKA. This project afforded me some much needed play time outside. I got to spend some time outside and still count it as research. We explored many color schemes, textures, and imagery and landed on what I think to be a strong, dependable, yet adventurous palate for IBEKA.
“Mark performed outstanding work. His communication style focused on some of the most important aspects being excellent customer service and efforts to better understand the customer. He reached out many times for video conference sessions to touch base on goals and checking for understanding between both parties. His work truly reflects his tenure and experience and I look forward to working with Mark again. I definitely got my money’s worth. Hire AmperBrand, you won’t be disappointed.”
– Jay, Owner, IBEKA Outdoor
