Optical fiber brilliance

Lighting technology naming

Long-time client Corning engaged Catchword to develop a name for its new light-diffusing optical fiber that enables colorful decorative lighting to be embedded to fit just about any space. You can bend, curve, and wrap it around almost anything, while maintaining bright, beautiful, and uniform light. Imagine designing with light!

These thin strands allow colored light to be integrated into environmental design as well as automotive, electronics, apparel, entertainment, and more. Unlike EL wire, the fiber casts a bright light, is highly bendable, and requires much less power, making illuminated wearables—such as bike helmets, safety vests, even wetsuits—a practical reality. But aesthetic design and safety aren’t this fiber’s only application—researchers are exploring medical uses, including photodynamic therapy and light-guided surgery.

After we developed over a thousand names for the product, the client selected Fibrance. A natural combination of fiber and vibrance, Fibrance quickly telegraphs the product’s key attributes and benefits. Its easy pronunciation and intuitive spelling ensure that international audiences have no problem engaging with the brand.

After great success introducing Fibrance in 2014, Corning decided to create a spinoff company focused on developing smart, integrated products and solutions based on the fiber. Catchword was tapped once again to develop a name for the new brand: Versalume. Since then, Fibrance has been lighting up the world with Tron-like designs such as Meizu’s illuminated headphones, the basketball court of UC Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion, and smart garments by performance apparel brand Sabrina.

Client
Corning
Corning
Industry
B2B Tech
Industrial & Energy
Service
Product Naming
FibranceFeaturedImage_1800x695

“[The coach] envisions a bright future in which Versalume can use Corning Fibrance Light-Diffusing Fiber technology to colorfully light up the perimeter of basketball floors to be synchronized with shot clock and game clock buzzers. ... With the perimeter of the floor lit up, an official would conceivably have another tool and an angle that is sure to be within the line of sight.”

Diamond Leung | Sports Illustrated, April 19, 2017

Unlimiting possibility

Versalume scuba suit underwater
Corning Fibrance architectural applications
Fibrance details Mercedes exterior

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