Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
The Most Important Step Before Starting a Project
On the importance of a name
It's a fine day to get started on your next project and the ideas for the application come flowing in. You pull up your notebook and start noting down features for your next big thing and feel it all come together. The outline is ready. You begin research on methods to go forward with development and you come to a conclusion on which stack/platform to build on.
With the knowledge equipped, you open up your projects folder and now you are faced with the most daunting task. What do you name your project?!
It's all in the name...
But what's in a name? Your project can be built without it. You can call it something random like "example1", "thatproject42", "ANewOne007". Something as forgettable as that is likely to end up in the archives of your projects folder, another one gathering dust.
Yet, if you choose a single word or phrase for your project, you bring a certain life to the idea. That word or phrase may be connected to the project itself or maybe something random like food items (Oreo, Gingerbread, Jellybean...). It then begins to embody the essence of the project and in some form, the essence of the idea you are looking to build.
A reference
You can name your project something as simple as "Athena" and then the associations to the god of knowledge pave a path of ideas to the features. Now, you have a name to refer to in your mind as you think about your idea. As your idea builds, you can now start associating it to that name.
Promoting the project's core application becomes easier with the name. People tend to hold on to names much more easily than entire concepts or applications. Using your name to advantage along with a tagline, then goes a long way in marketing and making it stick in memory.
A Certain Power
Rather than something nameless that gets lost in the noise of the day-to-day, the name breaks through. Sometimes, in the mere act of naming the project, it gets a certain power, a power to drive you and motivate you.
When you think of the name, you can feel it calling to you, whispering to you with a voice of its own. You can feel the blocks assemble as you contribute towards the manifestation of your project.
The True Name
Eragon is one of my favourite fantasy novels from childhood. There was one branch of magic that always stuck with me from the series; that was the fact that each and every one of the inhabitants of Eragon's world had a true name. A true name is a group of words in the Ancient Language of their world that summarise that person's existence. This applied to objects in his world as well.
Knowing something's true name gives you power over it. Thus, the knowledge of the name gave you insight into that thing and helped you wield control over it.
The true name also holds its origins in ancient Egyptian mythology, where the goddess Isis gained complete control over the sun god Ra when she was able to learn his true name.
Having held my fascination since then, I always keep this fact in mind when naming my projects. I have found they indeed take a life of their own and kindle excitement from me.
The Nameless
There is one occasion, where being nameless has stood out in my mind. It was the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3, the Dragon rider and wielder of the giant lightning spear. He is one of the toughest, most memorable bosses in the game and till the end, we never find out the name of the king.
In being nameless, he already got a name that everyone remembers from the horror that he has wrought in the challenge he sets out to you. The one time that I know of, where the Nameless became a name, a label to associate this warrior to.
There is always power in a name.
So, How to Choose a Name?
When choosing a name for your project, keep the following things in mind:
Make it memorable: Choose a name that is easy to remember and unique.
Make it relevant: The name should reflect the essence of your project and its purpose.
Keep it simple: Avoid complicated or long names. A simple and concise name is easier to remember.
Make it relatable: Choose a name that resonates with you and that you can relate to and feel connected to.
Be open to change: While it's important to choose a name that reflects your project, don't be afraid to make changes if necessary. Your project may evolve over time, and the name should reflect that evolution.
Recently, we were working on a markdown-based NextJS blog for Coffee. This blog was supposed to hold all the playbooks to get you started with programming. The project started with the name "playbook-markdown-blog", but ended up with "Moon". You may wonder why we named it Moon,
maybe we wanted you to reach for it (the moon, that is), after all, the playbooks would give you a foothold in the world of programming, or
maybe it stands for "Markdown Optimized On NextJS", or
maybe it was just for the fun of it.
In the end, it sounds way-way better than "playbook-markdown-blog" and unlocks possibilities beyond the original plan for the project. It definitely has a better story that makes you wonder about it.
What's in a name?
Insight, Chronos, Strand, Wynd, Margar, Falcon, Nucleus, Valkyrie, Raven, Athena...
Every project has a name and a story. Each one serves a function that is reflected by its name at times, and at others, embodies the spirit of the project. Not lost in the past but always making their way through by its name.
So I ask you, what's in a name? Что в имени?