Naming the new studio
Hey friends! Today I want to walk you through the process of how I named the studio.
If you’re a new subscriber, the tl;dr is that I’m walking away from freelance to build a new studio practice. Our North Star is to operate more like a hospitality company than a traditional studio to ensure the experience shines as much as the work.
Standing out as a client services business is hard because the space is incredibly crowded. In a world where everyone claims to be “different” how do you get remembered?
On top of that, specializing in “strategy” is a tall ask—especially in the tech world. In a culture that over-indexes on execution, how does one sell strategy without all the baggage that comes along with it?
To get to the answers I did what I do best—assembled a brief that summarized my ambition for this new entity.
Three major themes emerged from that exercise:
Inspired by Danny Meyer’s business philosophy, I wanted to pay homage to hospitality, specifically around how good hospitality makes people feel.
I wanted to celebrate craft by creating a brand that emphasizes the process just as much as the results.
It was vital that the name left a strong first impression—communicating “different” without sounding just like everyone else.
I can’t emphasize enough how much a brief helps with any problem solving endeavor, but it’s especially important for naming. There are all sorts of exercises you can run to find the perfect name, but it’s like wandering the desert without a compass if you don’t have a brief to keep you grounded.
Armed with these constraints, I stumbled upon the perfect name...
Off-Menu
It pays homage to hospitality. ✅
It emphasizes process, not just results. ✅
It leaves a strong first impression by screaming “different” without sounding the same. ✅
Love it when a plan comes together.
My friend Grover pointed out how the “-” in Off-Menu symbolizes my unique approach of bringing together two unexpected things, in a memorable way.
And this just so happens to be what we did with our brand—combining the concepts of “agency” & “hospitality,” first experienced in our new name.
Upon sharing the new name with my pal Camille, she reminded me how Off-Menu is part of a new & emerging trend where brands are starting to lead with "what they're not" to build an emotional connection with customers. That’s why we’re seeing brands like Not Boring & Off-White (rip Virgil) take a different approach to naming; one that seems to be working.
I couldn’t be more stoked about Off-Menu, and the brand we’re creating. Next week I'm going to share a little more about the problem we’re solving & how we’re thinking about positioning ourselves. Stay tuned!