The world’s 55+ segment burgeons with an estimated $3.4 trillion worth of annual buying power, and boomers are ready to show deserving brands the money. They’re tons hipper than their predecessors – not to mention ergonomically, economically, and aesthetically discriminating. The time’s ripe for refined products and brands that cater specifically to their health needs without yelling “early bird special.”

Inspired by democratically design-minded brands Method, OXO, Dyson, and Simplehuman, Sabi seeks to bring sophisticated design to the seasoned masses. The brand’s founder, Assaf Wand, says the idea for Sabi came from his mother’s quest for a discreet, user-friendly way to take her medications. He teamed up with Yves Béhar of renowned industrial design firm Fuseproject to create a better-looking way to swallow those bitter pills.

Wand is savvy enough to not limit the age appeal of his “health and wellness” products, saying that Sabi wants to “transform mundane daily chores – taking pills, taking out the trash, getting dressed, opening jars – into moments full of delight…across all life stages.” Behar believes Sabi “will make sense to an older generation in need of solutions, but also to a younger set of users that simply expect good design everywhere.”

Sabi products are meant to be pretty and poetic with enhanced quality, versatility, and utility. Take for instance, the Folio, a pill organizer that mimics a sleek Moleskine notebook. The name “sabi” perfectly encapsulates its mission, to “elevate people’s experience of everyday life.” Derived from the Japanese aesthetic construct, “sabi” means beauty that comes with age; the concept that use – and the artful mending of damage – can actually make an object more beautiful and valuable.

“Sabi” might ring a bell because of the ascendance of “wabi-sabi” into the popular consciousness. The brand’s website defines it as, “寂  SABI [/sab-i/] noun – a Japanese cultural aesthetic inspired by the notion of life’s transitory and evanescent nature. Deliberate or cultivated simplicity in daily living. Artistic representation that strives toward refined understatement.”

As conceptual and highbrow as this language sounds, the name “Sabi” is an excellent choice for this brand. It’s differentiated in the marketplace, easy to spell and pronounce, memorable, evocative, and rife with positive, layered meanings. At just four letters, it’s short, sweet and looks great visually – stark and simple on packaging, product, digital and print communications. Its tonality is spot-on: pure and spare, in-sync with the pared-down look and feel.

The names of Sabi’s three product lines: Vitality, Agility, and Mobility are exact and elegant, along with its individual products. For example, each Vitality product’s name is short and evocative, conveying its functional benefit with a bit of fun: Chop (easy pill cutter), Crush (easy pill smasher), Folio (pill traveler), Grande Carafe (pills + water bottle), Holster (daily pill clip), and Shake (easy pill dispenser).

Finally, a brand that takes the pain out of popping pills, with a dose of slick style and a catchy name. That’s something I won’t get sick of anytime soon.

Overall Name Grade: A

Of course, with Apple’s now-not-so-new introduction of Siri I was forced to reconsider my allegiance to Android.  As I’m sure everyone knows, Siri is the much talked about personal assistant feature on Apple’s new iPhones.  You can use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and ask it fair questions like “why does anyone pay for cable anymore when Netflix so rocks?”  Don’t be a hater!

As clever as Siri may be, I just couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t make the switch.  Fortunately for me, quicker than you could ask “are there any other personal assistants?” several Android based Siri competitors emerged, filling one of most temporary gaps in mobile history.  The most prominent of the Android competitors is Iris, a personal assistant app developed by Dexetra, an Indian company.  Supposedly they developed Iris in 8 hours, confirming that Dexetra is not just a company but the Indian street name for speed.

Before writing this review, I tried to avoid online commentary about the name.  La la la la la la, I’m not listening to you.  So much chatter all the time.  Here’s a thought: someone create an app that with click of a button removes all subjective bullshit and distracting commentary from my search results (sorry, it’s late at night and I’m irritable).

Anyway, my opinion on the Iris name:

I like it.  I really do.  That’s it.

Okay, there’s more.

By now many of you are probably aware that Iris is Siri spelled backward.  Of course that wouldn’t be very interesting if the result weren’t so compelling.

Why do I think it’s a compelling result?

Well, because it’s a personal assistant of sorts humanizing the technology makes a lot of sense.  Poor ol’ Siri.  I bet he/she/it didn’t even realize his/her/its name spelled backward was a really sexy and smart blonde.

Actually, I’m almost certain about that.  Though I didn’t come across much information about the origin of the Siri name, I know that Siri is the company that Apple acquired to obtain the technology and that Siri is a spinoff of another company called SRI.  It’s possible that Siri may have been how folks at SRI pronounced their company name.  Right or wrong, it’s not likely that anyone ever considered the reverse spelling of the word.

Of course personification isn’t the only thing going for Iris.  In addition to taking an appropriately human form, the name is truly meaningful.  Through association with our eyes and our brains, the word speaks to vision, intelligence, and insights.  Whether it’s true (and it’s not), it suggests precision and accuracy.  It’s also the Greek word for “rainbow”, which could arguably imply finding answers and reaching the unreachable.

And it’s short.  4 letters. 2 syllables.  Perfect for a phone app with little screen real estate.

For me, it’s also much more dignified than most of its competitors.  A quick search in the Android market for Siri-type personal assistants returns the following:

Speaktoit (well, that’s getting’ to the point at least)

Dragon Go! (if there’s a drag feature that might be interesting)

Cluzee (Clooney in drag??)

Jeannie (that’s original)

myBantu (okay, you can keep it)

Alice (there’s only one Alice, and I don’t think I’m asking her for directions)

EVA (EeeeeeeVaaaaaa )

Everfriends (adolescent)

Zahdoo (doo doo)

So I really do like the name.  Not sure the geniuses at Dexetra put any more time into the name than they put into the app, but in any case I like it.

Before grading though I want to share the results of my Iris Q&A.  I downloaded the app to experiment with it, and as I suggested earlier I didn’t find it particularly accurate.  The following questions yielded the following answers:

Q: What does IRIS stand for?   (The first time it didn’t understand me and thought I asked “What does IRA stand for?”)

A: IRA stands for Individual Retirement Annuity.  It can also stand for Individual Retirement Arrangement and International Reading Association.  (okay, not bad if I had said IRA)

Q: What does IRIS stand for? (he asked again)

A: I have to process that one for a while.  (Really?  You don’t have an answer for your own name??)

Q: Which is better, a cat or a dog?

A: I always prefer the more expensive one.  (that doesn’t make any sense on multiple levels)

Q: Do people name things for a living?

A: Not that I know of.  (okay, now you’ve offended me)

Q: I play guitar.  Do you?

A: Yes, I do play guitar! You can hear me play guitar at www.myspace.com/north  (alright–fully redeemed!  Iris is a sexy, smart, axe wielding blonde!)

Okay, so maybe the Android developer community needs to keep working on their personal assistants, but I’m stickin’ with the platform.

Overall Name Grade: A-

Overall App Grade: C+

The company—which retains the brands Kate Spade, Jack Spade, Lucky Brand, and Juicy Couture—proclaims on its new website:

Fifth & Pacific is the intersection of our intrinsically American brands. It is where California cool meets New York chic. It is the fashion destination of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and the open, casual feel of Malibu. From New York City, to the coasts of Los Angeles and Shanghai and beyond, Fifth & Pacific telegraphs who we are today — a brand-focused company serving our customers across the globe with high-quality, imaginative, and inspired products.

I had to read that paragraph three times to confirm that it was, in essence, saying that the new name geographically connects the retail brands, er rather, it telegraphs that we’re a totally global brand.

Um, what?

Gobbledygook aside, the name is also highly reminiscent of several other recent, high-profile fashion launches: Gilt’s Park & Bond (see our review of that name here), Nordstrom’s Treasure & Bond, and Gap’s short-lived Forth & Towne.

Also, one part of the name refers to a street, the other an ocean.

And it’s a mouthful.

But you know what? None of that matters all that much. Paying customers will be cognizant only of the retail brands, which may change over time. The naming assignment here was to develop a somewhat fashionable-sounding parent company name that was innocuous, pronounceable, flexible, extendable, and available—as a trademark, URL, and intuitive stock-ticker symbol (FNP).

These things are harder to do than you might think, and on these measures, the name succeeds.

Overall Grade:  B

Wait…what’s the difference between a consumer credit card and a small business credit card? According to a study by CardHub.com, there is virtually no difference between consumer credit cards and business credit cards. In fact, the recent push for business credit cards could be a way for financial institutions to circumnavigate the 2009 Credit Card Act, designed to protect the interests of credit card holders.

Putting aside my thoughts on greed in the financial industry (really, that wasn’t a Catchword tent at Occupy Oakland), if Ink was only judged from a brand naming perspective, it is clearly a strong name. It is short and evocative – an all-around great choice for a credit card geared towards business owners.

Yet, the Ink launch was waaaaaaaaaay back in 2009. More recently, Chase complemented the Ink business credit card with a new expense-tracking mobile app, called Jot. This is a nifty program for cell phones that allows the business owner to track business expenses by custom-tagging purchases in real-time. As the wife of a small business owner, I notice my husband saving receipts, and jotting notes, clients, and names right onto these receipts. Here you have an app that allows you to do just that with the touch of a few buttons.

Chase’s launch campaign for Jot encourages you to “meet” Jot – personifying this app as an expense super-assistant. Further proof that their marketing effort towards small business owners was effective: said husband actually ripped out an ad for Jot presumably to remind himself to investigate and sign up for it (Jot is only available to Ink customers, thereby adding one more sucker to the subscriber list).

Once again, if you completely ignore the social responsibility aspect, Jot is a great name. It is evocative in nature and complements Ink quite nicely. In naming, shorter is almost always better – most notably with apps. The challenge is communicating a meaningful message in a short name. Jot accomplishes just that – with only three letters. Due to the cute logo and the tie-in with Ink, I find the name to be quite memorable as well.

As far as I’m concerned, the name Jot is hot. Catchword did not work on the name, but if it was an external agency, they deserve praise. If it was created internally, somebody deserves a raise!

Overall Grade: A

You’ve gotta think that changing a name more than once in the security biz would be a bad thing. I mean, do we really need to be made insecure about a company that has “provided training to over 10,000 foreign military and counter-terrorism specialists, law enforcement agents and 50,000 U.S. government personnel?” Nope, didn’t think so. Changing names like underwear doesn’t really convey trustworthiness.

The incongruous name “Academi” smells like a honking red herring to me.  According to the website, it “comes from the Greek ‘akademia,’ an institution founded by Plato and rooted in higher wisdom and skill, producing both thinkers and warriors alike. ACADEMI is that institution today.” They started off first as “Blackwater,” then switched to “Xe Services,” named after an obscure element (albeit a “noble” one), and now they want to be seen as a pseudo-educational institution? Sounds like a stretch to me.

The decision to use a name of Greek origins is understandable. After all, in an industry that needs to remain opaque, it behooves behemoth, high-profile companies to hide behind generic, relatively empty-vessel names. The blander, the better, you might argue, especially if you’ve been in a PR pickle or two.

On their website, they elaborate upon their new training emphasis, devoting an entire section to it. But despite their shiny cyber-packaging, tagline “Elite training. Trusted protection,” and executive team, my feeling is that most people will still refer to it by its infamous moniker, “Blackwater.”

And while “Academi” does a fair job of distancing itself from “Blackwater” or “Xe,” it’s too much of a radical departure to be convincing. Remember when Philip Morris re-branded itself as Altria? The name was simply too lofty, so no one took it or the re-branding seriously. A name change can signal a true shift in strategy – a renewed push to do things right — but it has to be credible.

When you’re best known for accidentally killing civilians in a highly-contentious war, sometimes the damage done is just too egregious. Some bad news sticks better than others, and in BlackwaterXeAcademi’s case, the company’s reputation may be irreparably tarnished. Perhaps with time – and actual time spent building meaning into a name – they’ll be able to make “Academi” seem more than a lame bandage trying to heal a crippled corporate image.

Overall Grade: C+

Now there’s Pumagility: a cool-looking style of running shoe brought to you by the athletic brand Puma.  But while it’s certainly a portmanteau—and a reasonably clever one—I can’t say I’m crazy about it.

Yes, it’s a fitting name for a lightweight trainer that’s all about ease of movement. (And I like the tagline it’s been paired with: Get a move on.) And yes, the meaning is clear enough—heck, it’s practically a mission statement. But there lies the rub.

As portmanteaus go, it’s flat-footed.

What makes most portmanteaus so cool is their multidimensionality: the way they blend two disparate concepts to create a third. But the word puma already evokes agility—which is why it works so well as a stand-alone brand name. Pumagility is redundant. It practically bludgeons you with its message.

There are also naming architecture issues. Why does this running shoe, and almost no other in the Puma portfolio, get to piggyback on the mother brand? It would be one thing if Puma adopted a naming convention where the brand name was always combined with another word. But Pumagility is one of only two naming examples that I see in their running shoe portfolio that uses the word puma (the other being Pumafox).

Fact is, Puma’s running shoe portfolio is already overrun with a thicket of diverse names. (To give you just a tiny smattering, they include:  Faas 300, Voltaic III, Cell Vetara NM, OSU NM, Osuran, Volt, Complete Ventis II, Cell Turin, and H-Street Plus.) What’s needed are some simple, consistent naming conventions—rather than more invention.

Besides, Pumagility is a bit of a mouthful. And there’s something counter-intuitive about a name that’s trying to communicate speed and takes so darn long to say.

Overall Grade: B-

Crowdsourcing of this type isn’t new. Companies like Threadless, which uses a community of artists to develop new t-shirt ideas, have been around for years (Threadless started in 2000). Lulu.com lets authors publish books and e-books, online music and images, custom calendars, etc. – professionally and cheaply; they’re not a ripoff vanity press. And 99designs is one of the most popular online design contest marketplaces, where graphic designs can build their portfolios and small businesses can find great work for a low fee.

But Kickstarter is built specifically for the arts. It’s a pretty simple idea: someone pitches a creative project, and if you want to support it, you pledge a small (or large) amount. If the project meets its funding goal, they get the money and you get the satisfaction of funding an independent project. If they don’t meet the goal, you get your money back. No harm, no foul.

The Kickstarter name is a great match. Kickstarting a motorcycle means doing in the old, manual way, using muscle and skill. You try it a couple of times, and when you do it just right, the motor roars into life. It’s an evocative metaphor for what Kickstarter does: funding small, do-it-yourself creative projects like comics, film, games, dance, design, etc., a little at a time, the old-fashioned way, like passing the hat at a party.

Kickstarter has all the desirable qualities we always look for in a name. It’s simple to pronounce, easy to spell, easy to remember, full of energy and positive connotations. And it’s fun to say! While it’s a name that needs a bit of explanation the first time you hear it, once you do, you won’t forget it. And you might end up using it to make that movie you’ve always dreamed about – but don’t quit your day job.

Overall grade: A+

Here’s a sample of what’s in store:

MO: What’s the process involved in finding the perfect name for a product or brand? Is the process the same each time?

Laurel: Thirty or forty years ago, it might have been possible to come up with appropriate and available names over a few drinks at the bar. But now, the marketplace is so crowded that it’s very difficult to find names unless you throw a lot of creative power at the project. At Catchword we believe that a successful naming project is the result of a structured process: setting objectives, creating a lot of names (sometimes more than 2000!), rigorous screening, and evaluating names based on their fit and potential as a brand – not just “do you like it?” We follow the same process for every project, big or small.

It’s important to understand that the “perfect name” isn’t one that jumps off the page – because if you fall in love with a name, it usually means you’ve seen it before, which then means it won’t be available for you to use. Your name becomes the “perfect name” after you’ve chosen it and start to build a brand around it. Two weeks later you won’t be able to remember the other candidates!

Bucking this industry trend, Nokia recently announced its even simpler nomenclature strategy – using just numbers and eschewing letters entirely, except for select family names, like the Lumia. The new naming conventions are “designed to make things easier for users, so they can quickly work out where a devices sits within a series and beyond that have a clearer idea of what each series does.”

Historically, Nokia is synonymous with alphanumerics, raising the first mobile generation on a steady diet of letters and numbers. You probably remember the exact model number of your first Nokia, but back then, there just weren’t that many phones to choose from. And as Nokia expanded its portfolio, it became hard to remember that X-series stands for “entertainment,” E-series means “executive/enterprise,” C-series is “core,” and N-series means “new” (and isn’t “new” relative anyway?).

Not to mention that specific devices became indistinguishable from each other, and customers couldn’t tell one model from another (Samsung’s similar problem led them to pare down their nomenclature as well). The jury’s still out on whether Nokia’s new naming strategy actually “reduces customer confusion,” but I think it does. Each Nokia device gets a new number between 100 and 900, with lower numbers indicating lower price and complexity of features; for example, they launched with the 600, 700, and 701 – intended as mid-range devices. Seems pretty clear to me.

OK, so cold-hard numbers aren’t as sexy or inviting as real-word names like “Galaxy” or “Droid” or “iPhone,” but keep in mind that only a handful of these sub-brand names have ascended to the awareness of the masses. The rest – anyone remember “Replenish,” “Devour,” or “Incredible”? – wandered off in the wireless shuffle.

Sometimes classic design principles really do apply: less is more. That means less of those romantic real-word/lightly-coined names. They should be applied sparingly – like butter – to signal truly differentiated offers, as Nokia does with its first Windows phone, the Lumia  — which signals a radical departure from the other names in its portfolio.

Now this name does work harder to establish an emotional bond with the customer than say “C6-101.” Despite the web brouhaha about Lumia meaning “prostitute” in Spanish – oh, how could a company like Nokia overlook such a double meaning?! – I actually quite like the name. It rings prettily when said with “Nokia.”

And as their blog entry points out, the Nokia brand architecture team did pick up on the  “prostitute” association. Deeper inquiry revealed that most Spanish customers thought of “’light’ and ‘style,’ rather than the more obscure, negative meaning.” And remember that names rarely appear in a vacuum. With the appropriate messaging and visual context, most Spanish-speaking customers probably won’t think about paid sex. Virgin is a good example; the word itself could be risqué, but the totality of the brand’s identity and communication conveys so much more than sensuality (or lack thereof).

The Nokia folks go on to explain that in “Finland…’lumi’ means snow, and lumia means slow in plural,” which further communicates the sense of clarity, light, and lucidity – all positive attributes of a brand-defining product. I also like that it’s short and easy to say in many languages.

So, Nokia, kudos for pimping out your newest device, in a classy manner.

Overall Grade: B+

If you own a phone or a tablet you probably have a reader on it.  For me, it’s Pulse.  Love Pulse.  This is my reader.  There are others just like it, but this one is mine.

Flipboard is probably the most popular product in the space, but it’s only available on iPad, and I’m a Gazoogle guy.  But they’ve got like millions of downloads and partnerships with scores of leading publishers.  They like to say they’re combining the beauty of print and the power of the web.  I’ve seen it.  It’s pretty cool.  Other players in the market include Zite (CNN), Editions (AOL), Zinio, Taptu, and Issuu.  And in the weeks ahead Google will announce its own offering, codenamed Propeller.  Everyone take cover (and keep an out eye for our review of that name when it takes flight).

So what to make of the Livestand name?  As I indicated, I have a lot of respect for Yahoo!’s naming decisions.  Can’t imagine too many research respondents checked that top-2 box endorsing Yahoo! when that name being considered.  “Joyce – what did you say?  You think Infoseek is so much more telegraphic.  And you, too, Frank.  I think that’s a shared feeling in the room.”  Might as well have been ordering the Chicken Carbonara Breadbowl at Domino’s.  It’s at-your-risk naming, folks.  And yeah, I know, the original Yahoos probably aren’t even around anymore.  It’s a different sideshow now.  New louts in marketing.  But it’s a culture, people!

I really like Livestand.  The name, that is.  I don’t think it’s revolutionary in the way that Yahoo! was, but it’s a smart name for a bunch of reasons.  It alludes to a news stand, it implies a dynamic interface, and unlike most of the other product names in the space, it’s fairly intuitive for a news and media reader.  I could be wrong, but I think most people have to noodle on the word “Issuu” a bit before realizing that it’s probably hoping to recall the word “Issue”, as in subject matter (I really don’t know if that’s the intention, but I guess that’s the spin I’d put on it if I were marketing that name).  Livestand is much clearer, though still unique.  In fact, after a quick trademark screen of the name it appears to be the only LIVESTAND in any trademark class.  Sui Generis!  Practically unheard of, and another strong case for composite naming.  I’ve said before and I’ll say it again and again and again, composite names make for unexpected brand names and are oftentimes cleaner looking trademarks.

I really like the balance the name strikes between traditional and modern publishing.  Different as they are, both forms have their virtues, and I like that Yahoo! wasn’t afraid to incorporate a term (i.e., “stand”) that recalls the publishing days of yore.  While Zite, Zinio, Issuu and others all spurned the association for more futuristic looking and sounding names, Yahoo! embraced it, and used it to their advantage (the same may be said about CNN’s Editions, which is unapologetically conventional in look, tone and meaning).  The pairing with the word “Live” was a savvy move.  It’s a great word that communicates a lot about this product and the direction in which the space is headed.  It speaks to interactivity, currency, dynamic content, and of course live, streaming news and media.  It evokes “coming alive”, and draws associations with a multidimensional, truly immersive news and media experience.  And it feels like a very natural fit with the word “stand”.  That is, the two real words when combined feeling perfectly organic, compatible, and harmonious.  Like soulmates, it’s as if they were always meant to be together.  Live looked into Stand’s eyes and they just knew they had a future together.  Sometimes nauseating but in this case just wonderful and smile inducing.

Lastly, while the word “Live” is sometimes a tricky one to work with in naming (is it LIVV or LYVE), not once did I mistake the name for LIVV-STAND.  For me, it’s clearly pronounced LYVE-STAND.  It’s a matter of context, and in this case, it works.  No confusion about pronunciation here.

So, well done, Yahoo!.  Way to break out of the pack with a smart, appropriate, powerful composite real word name.

Overall Grade: A-