How to name an interior design business
Everything you need to know
Naming your interior design business though a priority does not have to be innovative or different
Sometimes the best name could be your name
Ensure that your chosen name’s domain is available
Let‘s be clear- when starting an interior design business, naming it may be one of the first things that you do.
How much effort should you put into naming your interior design business? Should you spend days or weeks thinking about it? Should you keep it simple and stick with your name/s, use your initials or target a niche with a name that refers to the type of designs that you do, for example, Office Interior Expert. If you work in a specific location, you could include this in your name ie West Coast Interior Design.
Should you include the word interiors or interior design in your name?
Be clear about what you do
If you are going to operate your business only as an interior design business, include the word interiors, interior design or design/er in your hame. This helps potential clients know that they are in the right place if they come across your name on a website or business card. However, make sure that you ensure that your name can grow with your business. For example, let’s say that you start your business offering styling services. If you include the word styling in your name but a few years later want to offer a full interior design service, this may mean that you might need a rebrand. Though entirely possible, it will probably make life a little more complex.
You can use your own name/s
Yes, you can use your own name. As interior design services are extremely personal, it is quite usual to use your name. The only time that I would advise against it is if your name is one that associated already with a well-known designer or if your name is particularly difficult to spell. You don’t want someone googling your name and heading to the site of another designer or constantly being misspelled as your name is difficult.
If you are in partnership, a combination of names can be an interesting and distinctive choice.
Using your own name will not stop you from growing your interior design practice. There are many interior designers with huge practices that still the name of the founder.
2. Make sure that your domain (or a version of your domain is available)
Ensure that you have checked that the name you have chosen is available. The easiest way to do this is to go to a site like GoDaddy or BlueHost and test out a few names. Depending on how much it costs, consider buying a couple of versions of your name, especially if you are not sure. For example, if you have decided to eponymously name your business, consider buying janesmithtaylor.com if available as well as janesmithtaylorinteriors.com. It’s always good to cover your bases.
Another thing to consider is country location. If you are a designer who works only locally, for example, in Australia, you could consider janesmithtaylorinteriors.com.au as well as .com. However, if you later want to sell courses or e-design services, you might want to consider purchasing .com only. If budget allows, I would buy as many domains as I think I might use in the future.
Check also your name
3. Test out your name on friends and family and clients
Get a few opinions on your name before you make your final decision. This should not be the only thing you consider, but it may be useful to poll your name. Get them to say your business name out aloud and make sure that you like what you hear.
If they bring up any concerns, make sure that you consider them and think about possible alternatives or variations.
4. Make sure that your name can be used if your business model changes (if that is a possibility).
Let’s say you name your business after the area that you live in. This may not be a problem if you will always live and work in this area. However, if you want to move sometime in the future, it may not make sense to bring this name with you. On the flip side, you might be able to sell your business if you decide you do not wish to keep operating it. However, this will mean that if you do want to keep operating an interior design business, you may have to start again.
So now you have taken all these considerations into account, let’s consider some naming conventions for interior design firms.
(Name) Interiors/ Interior Design/s/ Designs/Designer
A variation on this is one of the most common types of names of interior design firms. It’s simple and distinctive and above all, personal.
2. (Initials) Interiors/Interior Designs/Designs/Designer
The same comments apply with using your initials. It’s however, do sound out the name, it can sometimes be less distinctive than your name.
3. (Keyword) Interiors/Interior Design
This variation of name can be helpful if you are servicing a clearly defined niche, or if you are operating in a particular area. For example if you are a designer that services a suburb eg Rose Bay , you could name your business Rose Bay Interior Design. This means if a potential client googles Rose Bay interior designers, your name will pop up. Another example would be if you are a designer for medical practices, you could call your business (Your Last Name) Medical Interiors. You may have to be creative here and try out a few variations as the more obvious names may already been taken.
4. Original name
You may want to call your business something unusual. Be careful not to make the name too obscure. If you are designing home interiors, make sure you ensure that you again include something like home or interiors so that potential clients will understand what you do. Google variations of the name to ensure that a business with a similar name is not too close.
Though naming your interior design business may be an important decision, don’t overthink it so much that it stops you from actually starting working. Give yourself a time limit to actually make a decision so that you can get started on your new and amazing interior design business.
Check out our courses on branding and websites specifically for interior designers just like you who want to start and scale up their interior design businesses.
