Brand Names That Sell: By J. David Placek, Founder, Lexicon Branding

David Placek is responsible for driving the strategic and creative vision for Lexicon Branding. Under his leadership, the company has continued to focus on the development of brand names that support revenue and marketing objectives. In developing category-changing names like Pentium, Swiffer and BlackBerry, Lexicon has become one of the most influential brand development firms in the world. According to Placek, "In today's digital environment, effective brand names are more useful - more critical than ever before. The right name will serve as a foundational marketing tool, delivering both revenue and high value intellectual property."; David lives with his wife, Nelle, and two daughters, Kennedy and Brenna, in Mill Valley, California

Since 1982, Lexicon Branding has created some of the world's; most successful brand names, including BlackBerry, Intel's Pentium, Coca-Cola's Dasani, Toyota's Scion, General Motors'; OnStar, Apple's PowerBook, P&G's Swiffer, and Subaru's Outback. Lexicon is, arguably, the most inventive company in this category. In fact, over $350 billion of products have been sold that carry a brand name created by Lexicon. Lexicon has also become a leader in corporate branding: Tangerine, a rebrand of ING DIRECT, is now Canada's largest online bank; Conversant, a rebrand of Mosaid, leads the field of intellectual property management; and in Texas, Aquacor has become the innovator in water purification systems.

Studio Hinrichs is the design office of Kit Hinrichs, who was a partner of Pentagram, an international design consultancy, and principal of its San Francisco office for the past 23 years. Studio Hinrichs engages in all types of design projects, including corporate communications, brand identity, promotion, publishing (books and magazines), packaging, interactive and environmental systems. Over the course of his 45 years in design, Hinrichs has won hundreds of national and international awards for his work and has been the creative force behind several of the most successful and most recognized graphic and brand identities known today.