What's In A Name: Binary Tweed

My main aim in setting out writing video games was to try and reinvigorate some of the forgotten genres that I loved so much as a kid. I knew right away I wanted a simple and slightly cheeky tagline, and "New games that are a bit like old games, but better" was the first thing that popped into my head. Long-winded yes, but it gets across character whilst doing exactly what it says on the tin.

I wouldn't be creating totally new off-the-wall games, so an enigmatic or futuristic name wouldn't do. I might be reinventing old things, but I'm thoroughly fed up of pop culture's obsession with retro. I wanted to avoid anything that suggested pixel art or chip tune music.
A couple of things led to the name Binary Tweed. An artist pal of mine was commenting on the not-quite-steampunk dichotomy of my handlebar 'tache and the mini-mohawk, along with some of the pinstripe/PCB trousers I was wearing. That kinda got me thinking that what I was trying to do with games was also what I was trying to do with my appearance. So, we were already looking at something that said Victorian/country gentleman, with something a bit nerdy.

The other was a series of pub chats with Phil Joyce, an ex-colleague designer, who's pretty good at branding. We went through a ton of ideas including Tweed Studios (too boring), Digital Tweed (too retro and reminiscent of '80s watches), Carbon Tweed (too eco-friendly), Quantum Tweed (too Stephen Hawking), and last but not least The Daniel Jones Entertainment Software Enterprise ... Man, I so shoulda gone with that last one!

We had quite a few iterations of logos, the funkiest of which involved zebra. Phil toyed around with hound's-tooth to bring a bit of tweediness, but the literal interpretation of the name seemed a bit tacky. In the end we went with the coat of arms, just because it was exactly the opposite of what most other people seemed to be doing.