Long Giraffe

It is often, and for very good reasons, that people start with a name that names an idea, and then work towards manifesting it. For example, when building a web service, find the domain first, and then implement. Or when creating a YouTube video, write down the title and create a sketch of the thumbnail first before getting down to the actual content. Or when writing a blog, write down the title first, and the rest becomes easy.

Alejandro AR recommends going the other way. Don’t name your projects, he says.

When I name the project or idea ahead of time, the idea becomes entangled with the name. This doesn’t make sense at this stage because the name should adapt to the idea, not the other way around.

Now, I’ve started using code names for my projects, using a generator until something feels right and fun. Examples include: European Toad, Quick Whale, Long Giraffe.

It is not for me to judicate which approach is better, but Alejandro’s approach does sound more fun and freeing, and I know for myself that I’ll be trying it out for the next few things I want to build!