Rebranding from hackerspace name?

Operations Proposal Considerations
61

One thing I noticed while reading this thread is that most people expressed negative feelings towards the current name and how it puts new members off and intimidates people. So based on this thread the conclusion that I am drawing is that the name needs to change. (I don’t remember seeing a single person on the thread defending the current name)

I did not see any clear direction as to where we are headed though so time for some research.

Personally, I can say after having been a member 4 or so years ago and being a member again now, I am seeing a very different crowd of people. While I used to sit around and talk to people near the computers, I am now in the shop building things.

I feel like the space is now more of a “Collaborative Workspace” (many individuals working together) than a “Hackerspace” (single individual)

I might feel better about “Hacker” if it implied many people. “Hackers United!”

62

Well, I think the name is quite fine.

I would ask the question: “What is our goal?”

If we want to appear “more friendly”, showing more “friendly faces” with “sunny pictures” on the website landing page is probably going to do more.

If we want more people, a bit of marketing and sales (run some cheap group classes or kids classes) is going to be more effective than a name change.

63

My hope is less to find a name that causes elation of joy in those who hear it like some mystical feng shui

i just want us to have a brand besides [City]-[State]-[buisness type]

i dont think we need to spend 3 years picking a perfect name, could even be a made up word. just a brand for trademark.

Make-Ex
Makeva
Matrix builders
Collabporiun
Toolsdeck

I dont think it really matters what it, just need to pick a name for a brand , that we cna make our own, then start driving home an advertisemtn plan

64

Looks like we’re actually going forward with changing to the name Asmbly! What does everyone think?

Personally, I like the name. Funny thing — I actually heard of Asmbly before ATXHS and was keeping an eye on the project. Sorry to see it got derailed but happy to see that it’s being rebirthed…or adopted or something. Anyway I was attracted to the name and I think it’ll do us well.

2 Likes
65

I love it. The name has the exact characteristics I was looking for. Something to simultaneously evoke making and community. Also assembly is what we called our semi-regular morning meetings at high school in Scotland, so there’s an extra bit of nostalgia attached to the name for me. Also excited to transition to 501c3, definitely has the potential to open some doors for us in the future.

2 Likes
66

obviously its not a name that’s spent 3 years of fung shui research but its nice, it gives us a nice brand to refer to ourselves.

(any time coke or pepsi change their logo’s they actually do spend millions on consultant groups and fung shui experts just to slightly change the swirl of the coke swirl that really doesn’t look different to me lol)

So we are “Asmbly” i like it, it works. being able to finally be a 501©3 is also a bonus.

and also changing from hackerspace to makerspace is another bonus, it gets away from the “hacker” stigma we’ve had to contend with.

Now to make a new topic to discuss making a new logo lol.

1 Like
67

@gordoa40, that’s funny that you actually came across Asmbly before ATXHS!

@wynd, I love that the name has an extra nostalgia element for you. The definition of assembly as a gathering of people was a very intentional reason why we and the original people that came up with the name really like this. This space is not just about the things we do in it, but also the community we build.

@Tookys, I’m not sure I follow with the feng shui part, I only know of that as an interior design term. From a market research perspective, the Asmbly founders did do the work there and also used business consultants to determine any potential conflicts with existing businesses. Certainly not an effort that millions were spent on, but the research was indeed done. On the logo front, we are already working with some design and branding professionals for a logo/brand package. We’ll share more on that when we’ve got something to share. :slight_smile:

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