Creating my agency brand—the name, visual identity and digital presence—was the first task and challenge I took on to bring my business to life. Yes, there was all the legal stuff to tackle, too, but I needed a name before I started working down that checklist.
I went into the branding process with an aim to create something that I loved wholeheartedly and would be proud to call my own. My secret weapon on this mission was my friend Rebecca who is a talented designer and renaissance woman I have known since we were toddlers. I trust her abilities 100% and knew that she was the only one to collaborate with to effortlessly produce a brand that felt entirely like me. The keyword there being effortless—finding a collaborator who “got” me, has straight up skills and is a pleasure to be around meant that the journey itself would be joyful which would inevitably infuse the outcome.
It was important to create a space for the work to take place, which was just as much about setting aside dedicated time as being in the right environment. For us, that meant being somewhere peaceful and inspiring with no distractions. We holed up on a rainy wintry weekend in February at an Airbnb in Sebastopol called “Small House on Sacred Land.” It was perfectly remote and cozy, had gorgeous light and was surrounded by nature.
Rebecca asked me to bring some visual inspiration, magazines and images that I liked the style and vibe of. She also asked a lot of questions about my vision for the business, the type of work I would be doing and clients I wanted to attract. The night we arrived, we talked through all of this and more. The power went out shortly after we got settled in due to the storm—no Internet, electricity or cell service meant we truly were in a bubble of our thoughts, ideas and Mother Nature.
The next morning, we had power again and got down to creative business. I knew I wanted the company name to be one word, something simple, and that I didn’t want to use my own name. I wanted the name to convey something more and to represent this new chapter of my career and life.
Rebecca started building a template in Squarespace with an image of Venice Beach at sunrise that caught her eye on my Instagram feed. She made a placeholder for that TBD word, “The Word,” and found the perfect font and color palette. While she was working her visual magic, something about seeing “The Word” sparked a brainstorm around “Word” that eventually led to FORWORD.
I liked that FORWORD was about words, truth and momentum. What I do relates to storytelling, creating narratives, putting ideas into words and concepting and communicating in general. The directional implication of “forward” appealed to my innate drive to make things happen and bring ideas to life—the production side of my business.
A flurry of internet searches revealed there wasn’t another FORWORD. However, someone owned the URL forword.com already as well as the Instagram handle. Argh! We set that potential issue aside for a while and Rebecca continued to tinker with the landing page, FORWORD replacing “The Word.” See ya, place holder!
In a stroke of genius, Rebecca added the line through the Ø to make it obvious the word is deliberately misspelled. It looked gorgeous and stylish and gave it an international vibe. Plus, the forward slash reinforced the brand. We were onto something.
After doodling and dwelling on the name, I wrote the phrases “Take Me Forword” and “Take Me For Word.” The addition of “Take Me” transformed the one word name into a call to action and brand promise. A dual statement of intention: a promise of forward movement and progress as well as the integrity of who I am and what I bring potential clients and collaborators.
The takemeforword.com URL was available and we went for it. Rebecca made it official on Squarespace and a few hours of refinement later, I had a company name (FORWØRD), basic brand promise (take me for word + take me forward), website (landing page only to start) and email account (Squarespace is so efficient!).
We ultimately accomplished this brand building exercise in a handful of hours in one very rewarding day. There was never even another contender for the name.
I believe in FORWØRD, I love the way it looks and the story behind how it came to be. I appreciate that it’s open for interpretation. It’s multidimensional. And no doubt will continue to evolve. #takemeforword
