From Blur to clever branding metaphors: how creative studios got their names

Creating a name for something is always high stakes. Whether it's your child, your pet, your business, or even your car. Whatever it is, you kind of have to get it right the first time (unless you're Kylie Jenner, of course).

For creative businesses especially, your name is your first opportunity to make a good impression and show some personality. They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but of course, people do anyway, so you've got to make it count.

So, we asked a couple of studios to share the stories behind their names. Some are values-led, while others are inspired by their love of film and music – but all of them are unique and offer a peek into what that studio has to offer.

Coffee & TV

Coffee & TV was established in London in 2012 by Chris Chard (producer), Derek Moore (VFX artist), Jon Trussler (VFX artist) and Phil Hurrell (CGI artist).

Excited to start their new adventure as an independent start-up, the four boys were keen to give it a name that resonated with their shared history, having worked together for many years, and their love for Blur…

It just so happened that Jon had worked on Blur's iconic music video for 'Coffee & TV'. Chris was totally in awe, and so it was, VFX somehow collided with Britpop. Coffee & TV was born.

The studio revealed that the name has been a big draw for many of their artists, who love that video too. The team even had a fabulous tribute to the origin of their name at Halloween when one of them dressed as the infamous Milky from the Blur video.

Butterfly Cannon

Butterfly Cannon is certainly a name that sticks in your mind and makes you instantly curious. At first glance, it seems a little random, but when asked why they chose that name, the studio gave two answers.

The short one: because contrast is interesting.

The longer version is that it's a visual metaphor for how they see branding. "The butterfly is the beauty, mesmerising, intricate, emotionally powerful. The cannon is the force, focused, impactful, impossible to ignore," says Jon Davies, the studio's co-founder. "Put them together and you get what we believe in: that powerful stories need to be beautifully told."

The real origin story is also a bit more personal. Before setting up the studio, the co-founders – Natalie Alexander and Jon – took a personality test. One came out as a social butterfly; the other, a loose cannon. "We'll never say who's who, but we loved the pairing straight away," says Jon.

"Two real words. Heavy with meaning. Uncomfortably contradictory. The kind of combination that feels like it must be telling a story," he explains. "Is it an idiom? Is it the butterfly effect? Who knows.

"What we do know is that it's noticed, it's remembered, and it always begs the question: why Butterfly Cannon?"

The Bigger Boat

This might just be one of our favourite stories behind an agency name. It will be no surprise that founders Doug Main, Andrew McCaul and Lee Boothroyd are BIG fans of the film Jaws. Specifically, the line that Chief Brody delivers when he sees the size of the shark: "We're going to need a bigger boat".

Therefore, the agency was named The Bigger Boat, positioning them as the answer to big creative problems. The name also goes some way toward explaining the creative side of what they do, including the meaning in the little things and the rationale behind everything they create.

ThreeTen Seven

Some might know that ThreeTenSeven used to be known as Thompson Brand Partners, named after the venerable Ian Thompson, who founded it in 1984. Back then, it was very common for companies to be named after founders, and many studios today still are.

When Rachel Burrell-Cook, Chris Skelton and Paul McGuigan took over in 2018, they felt they needed a fresh start and something more ownable. Naturally, they never got around to rebranding themselves, because whenever they started, they couldn't find a name they all loved.

Then Paul came across a brilliant quote by Jim Rohn: "There are only three colours, ten digits, & seven notes; it's what we do with them that's important"– hence the brilliant name ThreeTenSeven. "The name captures our shared beliefs about creativity, and it gave us plenty of inspo for our graphic identity and logo system (shout out Al Connolly)," says Rachel.

She adds: "Partly I think we were just glad to have a name that we could all agree on for the first time ever."

20(SOMETHING)

Andrew Barnard, co-founder and managing director of 20(SOMETHING), starts their story with a bit of honesty, admitting that naming the company was one of the hardest things they've ever had to do. He says: "For a creative company that specialises in brand and comms, that's really saying something.

"It's a real challenge that comes with pressure and demands conviction. This is a name you're going to live with, stand behind, commit to, fill with meaning and repeat a thousand times over the phone, in writing and during countless awkward round-table moments."

He adds: "You must be comfortable with it, it's not going anywhere fast – and you need a why. People do ask, and it's a small but precious moment for a mini elevator pitch." So, here it goes…

20(SOMETHING) was founded in 2019, at a point when Will Thacker, co-founder and creative partner, and Andrew felt a little lost and let down by the industry. They were keen to step away from adland's tired, repeat patterns and reorganise around an emerging supply-and-demand landscape. "As we sat staring at a blank screen asking ourselves, 'What does commercial creativity look like for the next decade?' we were also asking ourselves, 'And what the f*ck are we going to call ourselves?!'," says Andrew.

They were looking for a name that reflected their renewed creative commitment to the decade ahead. 20(SOMETHING) is rooted in the 2020s; a period that they suspected would be defined by seismic moves in innovation, cultural shifts and consumer transformation. Andrew notes: "As we move through the second half of the decade, some of what we anticipated has come to pass, some hasn't, and some of the tipping points we face today were beyond anything we could have imagined.

"But the specifics of change aren't the point, because what defines us is the belief that things will always change. Embracing that change is the only way forward, and that belief is what really sits behind the name and how we holistically think about life."