What’s in a name? Choosing one is rarely taken lightly. Whether it be for your company, your pet or your child, it remains with you and reflects who you are. So, no pressure then…

When Chris and I first put a name to our creative partnership back in 2016, we looked no further than Wolf&Player. Of all the contenders, it was the obvious choice. We were lucky enough to have two strong, memorable surnames, and the name formation was a tried and tested industry approach – think Saatchi & Saatchi, Wieden & Kennedy.

It worked, and it was commented on positively time and time again by those we encountered over the years.

So, when we decided to relaunch this year under a new name after months of strategy development, it raised a few eyebrows.

We weren’t even sure whether the name should be ‘on the table’ as part of the rebrand. But we did know that we wanted the following:

1. To be more inclusive

This isn’t the ‘Chris & Lucy Show’ – our collaborators, partners and clients provide the ecosystem for success that goes beyond the two of us. We might be the co-founders, but our names don’t need to be ‘above the door’.

2. To move away from the traditional agency model

The design industry has changed. How we work, where we work, who we work with… We’re looking to the future in all we do, and the ‘Surname&Surname’ approach felt more aligned with the Mad Men era of the past.

3. To reflect our mission

Leaning on your surnames leaves little room for implied meaning (unless you’re really lucky – alas, our offer has nothing to do with wolves or playing). In an evolving market, we recognised we could afford to be a little more obvious through our naming, to reflect our role as positive impact website designers.

All that said, there had never been a contender we thought could truly work. That was until friend, collaborator and Advisory Board member Geoff Kendall lent us a book.

“An earnest desire to save the world”

The book was ‘Ishmael’ by Daniel Quinn – a philosophical novel exploring the role of human culture in shaping the natural environment.

It centres around the premise of Leavers and Takers. Leavers (typically pre-agricultural revolution) take only what they need to survive and have learned to live in harmony with the earth and other species. In contrast, Takers take what they want from the world, regardless of consequence, on the belief that we are the superior species.

Ishmael (who, by the way, is a telepathic silverback gorilla – don’t let that put you off) states: “The premise of the Taker story is ‘the world belongs to man’. … The premise of the Leaver story is ‘man belongs to the world’.”

It’s so simple but so true. We have all been born into the cultural era of The Taker, yet so many of us are now actively pushing against this premise to change the narrative and the direction of our future.

“The world doesn’t belong to us, we belong to it. Always have, always will. We belong to the world. We belong to the community of life on this planet – it doesn’t belong to us. We got confused about that, now it’s time to set the record straight”. – Daniel Quinn

Once we’d both finished the book we had a debrief, and shared how the Takers and Leavers premise had really struck a chord. And that’s when it was suggested. “How about…Made for the World?”

Could it work? Was it too ‘on the nose’? We had to sleep on it. But the more we turned the phrase over in our heads and repeated it out loud, the more we grew to embrace it.

Because everything we do is literally ‘made for the world’ – it’s our entire ethos as designers, to only make things that inspire positive action for people and planet.

We’re passionate about the urgency of the transition towards a Leaver culture. And while the internet’s potential as an enabler of this is colossal, we’ve spent most of our careers frustrated that so much of our practice is set up to fuel ever-increasing consumption, with devastating results for our planet.

We’re on a mission to change that. To make websites that are part of the solution – fostering collaboration and innovation to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

And with that, we became Made for the World – a positive impact web design studio.

Because the world is not made for us, we are made for the world.

Could your website be doing more for the world? One of our Action Plans is a great way to find out. It’s a free 60-minute workshop where you can learn more about how your website can drive improved impacts for your cause.