Effective brand name development requires the following skills:

• A repository of interesting educational and life experiences upon which to draw, and a nimble mind able to make unexpected connections and metaphors
• Well-developed language skills, especially in English, Latin and Romance languages.
• A keen ear able to hear the sounds and rhythms of interesting words and names (best done, in my experience, by songwriters and musicians).
• A sharp eye able to see the shapes of interesting words and names, envisioning their graphic potential.
• Strategic intuition able to identify names that meet communication objectives, no matter how suggestive or fanciful.
• The patience and inquiring mind needed to keep exploring after the most obvious names have been found, thereby creating names of distinction.
• The experience that enables a namer to understand the type and style of names likely to appeal to target audiences and able to be registered as trademarks.