“Lytro Is the Camera of the Future" (CNET)
“Lytro: the ‘magic camera’ that's blown our minds” (CNET)
“Lytro Launches to Transform Photography with $50M in Venture Funds” (TechCrunch)
“Lytro’s Camera Lets You Shoot First and Focus Later” (New York Times)
“Lytro Camera to Shift Focus of Photos” (Wall Street Journal)
“Lytro Camera Lets You Focus Photos After You Take Them” (Wired)
“Camera Startup Promises a ‘Picture Revolution’” (Venture Beat)
“Lytro: The $50M Tech that May Change Photography Forever” (Fast Company)
“Lytro Changes the Way We Take Photographs” (CBS News)
“No focus, no problem! Out of focus pictures soon to go obsolete” (Examiner)
“The Making of Lytro” (K9 Ventures)
“The Future of Digital Photography” (PCWorld)
The list of headlines like these goes on and on.
When I was invited to name the company, then named Refocus Imaging, I could tell this was going to be a special project. The clients were fantastically brilliant, and there was great chemistry between us. My enthusiasm, which typically runs on the high side, was boiling over.
I was giddy over the opportunity to name the future of photography. Photography has always been near and dear to my heart: My father is a retired photographer and cinematographer, and I take pictures, too. I studied optics in college under David G. Stork, and, at Landor, named other photography technology (like Photoshop Lightroom and HP Instant Share).
I can’t go into details about the strategy or alternative names I developed for Lytro, but I can say the project was dreamy from start to finish. Charles Chi, Lytro’s Executive Chairman, feels the same:
“Anthony was a pleasure to work with. Very professional and effective. I highly recommend him and would work with him again.”Thank you, Lytro, for engaging me on this amazing assignment!
And congratulations to the Lytro team for their continuing success.
UPDATE: July 27, 2012
Sequence Branding, who designed the Lytro identity system, has posted a thoughtful piece about naming. They reference the Lytro naming and say a few kind words about yours truly. Thanks, Heather and the rest of the Sequence family!
UPDATE: July 8, 2011
The gratitude I expressed above is actually incomplete. Until now, I couldn't reveal my partner on the Lytro branding project. Now I can say, it’s Sequence Branding who hired Operative Words to create the name, Lytro. Sequence developed the brand strategy, the kick-ass logo and look and feel system, and the admirable tagline "Picture Revolution" for the company now known as Lytro.
Thank you, Sequence, for inviting me to collaborate with you on this once-in-a-lifetime assignment!
- Anth
