Curiosity is the secret

Curiosity is the engine for the search, among other things, for ideas. By feeding our curiosity, we gather information that later allows us to argue a concept, generate a story, create a name. It’s what will then enable us to develop storytelling.

A few days ago, I heard a phrase that said: “We shouldn’t worry about knowing what we already know, nor about what we know we don’t know; we should focus on what we don’t know that we don’t know.” As our curiosity increases and we feed it, we fill ourselves with opportunities to create new things.

In the naming process at Scalto, we have experienced many complex situations, especially because in the past, the registration processes did not seem as complicated as they are now. Previously, a company could register its brand in several countries without much difficulty. It seems that everything is already created, leaving fewer possibilities as we search under the same models or processes.

Now clients want names that can be registered worldwide, and this seems like a titanic task. Hence, the creation processes are increasingly complicated. A name, despite us being Latinos and accustomed to mixing names for people, does not emerge as easily, and even less so by divine inspiration that everyone agrees on. The process is becoming so complicated that it almost seems like we need to invoke spirits from beyond in what would appear to be a paranormal session in the style of “Poltergeist.”

To create names, the process requires a wide range of tools, but above all, a lot of curiosity.

I remember an anecdote about a brand, “Kalea,” where during the session, Sophie, who was leading the process along with the team and the board of directors, began by saying: “We need names in Spanish, easy to pronounce, short, that reflect who we are.” From there, everyone began to work, looking for options with the resources we had at hand. When the name options came up, “Kalea” appeared as an option suggested by Sophie herself.

“Where did that come from?” – we asked – Her response was: “‘Kalea’ is a Hawaiian name meaning ‘joy, happiness,’ feelings that should never be missing in our lives. It also means ‘bright, light that illuminates the future, hope.'”

OK, so we were all enchanted with the idea since it perfectly reflected the value proposition we were proposing for the brand, but what about the Spanish requirement? Hahaha.

Clearly, we must open our curiosity for these processes, involve everything we have at hand, and above all, let ourselves be carried away by what we don’t know because that’s where we will find differentiation. Beyond that, there is no greater technique, no AI that can provide the perfect name because the strength of the name is not necessarily in the result but in the story of how we got there.

In the same way, Asics, the brand of shoes and sports equipment, is perceived differently when you know it means “Anima Sana In Corpore Sano” (A Sound Mind in a Sound Body), and so with many of the brands we know.

This is how the best stories, brands, and even characters that stay in our minds and hearts forever are born. This brings me to connect with a phrase I heard recently: “We shouldn’t worry about knowing what we already know, nor about what we know we don’t know; we should focus on what we don’t know that we don’t know.” I also made a confused face reading the end of this phrase until I understood it; and it’s how many things we don’t know that we don’t even know. Even Aristotle would if he were a Millennial or GenZ of this era.

I just want you to remember that the moment our curiosity awakens, we fill ourselves with opportunities to create new things. Some, never imagined.

That’s when the magic truly happens, that’s the secret of curiosity.