Picking a name for a branding agency? That’s a big task. Even more so if that happens to be your own agency. Here is how Sublimio was born.

At Sublimio, our boutique branding agency founded in 2009, we have created many brand names for our clients, and we have shared those stories here and there. There is one naming story, though, we have not really shared. Our own. 

This is where Sublimio gets its name.

Sublimio = sublime?

When hearing the name “Sublimio” for the first time, what most people think of is the adjective “sublime” with an Italian touch. Fair enough. We don’t really deny it, after all we always strive to create the best work for our clients: sublime might well describe what we aim for. And the Italian touch is there for sure.

This is just part of the story, though. Take sublime as an end state. We are the ones, though, who are supposed to get you there. So we chose to focus on the process, instead.

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Yes, the word that inspired our name is “sublimation”.

You may have heard of it at school, though it’s not as popular as other state changes like – say – liquefaction or evaporation. This is because sublimation is a weird beast.

Simply said, it is the process where a substance changes directly from the solid state to the gaseous one, without passing from the liquid state, as we’d expect.

Not something that happens in your kitchens every day, right? Quite alchemical, even. And yet, it’s part of the world of physics.

‎‎There are a couple of things that fascinate us about sublimation and that inspire our approach to our branding work.

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First of all, it describes a process that in some way “elevates” something that was static, until that point. It’s still the same substance, but now it’s lighter, it’s in the air. 

This meaning is not limited to the domain of science. In art and aesthetics, sublimation also has a meaning of elevation: artists “sublimate” common experiences and emotions into something higher and inspiring.

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Secondly, it’s a surprising transformation. As we said, not what you’d expect. It packs that “wow” factor that is so good to achieve with a branding project. When both our client and us can look at a new brand with wonder, that’s sublimation.

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And finally, it’s not a magic trick. It’s physics. It’s rigorous, and repeatable, and explicable. Oh, and the whole thing is depicted in our logo. Go check it, we have been giving it away all along.

What sublimation means as a branding vision

So what does it mean to “sublimate” a business into a brand?

The business is the solid part (well, hopefully it is): it is grounded, tangible, real. But in a way it can also be heavy. Reality sometimes can weigh you down, act as an anchor that lets you little room to move. 

This is where many businesses find themselves: well rooted, but also unable to leap. In our vision, that’s what branding can and should do: take that very substance – real, concrete – and give it the freedom to be lighter, to change shape at will, while staying the same.

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In this sense, sublimation is a philosophical approach, a different way to look at familiar things without ignoring them, it’s the opposite of escapism.

The fact that it’s a state “leap” (from solid to gaseous) is fundamental. You don’t do branding in little, rational steps. You need a big jump, even a scary one, to get where you didn’t think you could go.

Creatives know this well: you don’t follow an existing path. You jump and then you trace the path yourself.

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But as we said sublimation is also real, transparent. While it has to be surprising, our clients need to be able to understand. No creative smoke and mirrors, no “you wouldn’t understand”.

That’s why physics professors are so cool. You must be amazed AND get it. 

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Staying true to our name

With such a name, we put some pressure on ourselves. First of all, on quality. We basically burnt any chance to deliver some “good enough work”, as the name “Sublimio” builds quite an expectation.

But that’s good: the clients that show up are of the ambitious kind, those who like to do things the right way, clients who don’t settle. You may think this implies more work, but we would do that anyway and most importantly it will be vision driven.

‎The other part of the promise, though, is respecting the starting substance. We can’t just “cover the object” and bring in some creative smoke, that’s called illusionism.

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The brand has to be made of the matter the business is made of. This means, first of all, taking time to understand. Not all businesses are exciting at first. Finding the part that lends itself to sublimation takes some time and some heart. Understanding our clients’ world is fundamental to develop a brand they can see themselves into. 

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In other words, we strive to be creatively and aesthetically elevated and at the same time, strategically well grounded. We call this philosophy “Beautiful Thinking”, and we believe it’s possible. Call us crazy. 

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What you can steal from us

Not our name, of course, but a couple of ideas.

First, don’t bother chasing trends with your name. Sublimio has always been quite an odd choice in terms of sound, compared to the major trends in agency naming. And yet, we have realized it’s easy to pick up and remember. Also, we were always comfortable using it, and that’s a big plus.

Second, pick a name that will remind you why you are doing what you are doing, every day. Naming should never be a half-hearted or purely opportunistic act.

After all, you have to live with it.