“Beth consistently creates names that are based in real
meaning, not just meaningless strings of letters. Corbis
was such a name. If a name is really authentic, if its roots
are true, a designer can always go back to it as a source
and draw new inspiration. And when you can meld a great
name with great design, that’s when one and one make
three.”
Jack Anderson, Partner, Hornall Anderson Design Works
Corbis
When Bill Gates' "other company,"
the world's largest digital content
licensing firm, was ready to go
global, it required a name that
could span the world - understood
or at least pronounceable and with
no negative meanings across
many different languages. It
would need to be short with an
exact dot-com. Beth used her
knowledge of ancient languages to
find a root word that could be
"coined" into such a name.
Since content is key to the company's mission,
Beth seized on the Latin word for basket, a
vessel common to every culture. Corbis passed
international trademark and meaning checks
with flying colors, and the resonating
symbolism of the name gave employees a story
to tell and designers and marketers a
continuing basis for creativity.
copyright © 2007 - 2008 Beth Brosseau