Name: Run Studio Run
Brand: No Picnic Press
Price: 25 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (23 reviews)
Author: Eli Altman

Moniker

Rose Linke

Whitney Trump

Don't Call It That is not a book about naming. It is a step-by-step workbook that walks you through all the ins and outs of the naming process. Go from zero to a great name in the time it takes you work through this concise, beautiful book.

Don't Call It That

The original naming workbook is back.

The third edition has 62% more content than the second — no minor rewrite here.

Multiple real-life case studies from A Hundred Monkeys projects throughout the workbook.

Direct quotations from clients illustrating how audiences perceive and adopt newly created names.

Three entirely new chapters address market testing names, the widespread preference for shorter names, and distinctions between visual and phonetic name qualities.

The book has been completely redesigned by the fine folks at Moniker.

The third edition has been edited by long-time collaborator Rose Linke, including dialogue transcripts from their collaborative process.

Wordsmash, Rhyme time, Opposites attract, That's not my name, Unlikely allies, and Simple enough.

Exercises underwent comprehensive revision with new additions and modifications to previous ones.

Two earlier chapters merged into a unified positioning chapter called "Condition your position."

What's new in the 3rd edition

Mark Pernice

Nick Sheeran

When you name things for a living, you become acutely aware of the vast verbiage around you: storefront signage, trucks on the highway, products in the grocery aisle. Assorted Characters is a collection of the names, words, and phrases that made us stop and look twice — the arresting language of everyday life, gathered across three volumes.

Assorted Characters

A three-volume zine of arresting language

The original 2013 first edition, from a limited run of 1000 copies. Illustrations by Curtis Jinkins, lettering by Cathryn Galloway. This edition was sold out — until we found an extra box of books while moving our office. Only a handful of copies left.

Don't Call It That — 1st Edition

The original 2013 edition

Commercial Type

Draplin Design Co.

Hey Studio

Kate Bingaman-Burt

Manual

Mikey Burton

Champions

Perky Bros.

Under Consideration

For anyone looking to start their own creative services business of any kind, this is the holy grail.

We also did a four part podcast miniseries speaking to different studio leaders about how they approach the business side of their work.

Run Studio Run started out on Kickstarter where it became a featured project and raised 150% of its goal. The book was designed and illustrated by Moniker in San Francisco.

Run Studio Run

The business book for creative people that isn't boring, repetitive, or blatantly sexist.

Run Studio Run should be required reading for all creative individuals and small studios.

I loved this book and found it helpful in so many ways. Eli is a great writer.

One of the most useful marketing books I've read in a while. A great balance between how to think of the problem and a methodical path to solving it.

This book is a well-written, easy to read, highly informative book that gives you the basics and foundation for running a successful creative business. Eli Altman tells you how it is, warts-and-all, and gives you solutions and recommendations that make sense. The core ideas throughout the book are primarily two things: 'what gets measured, gets managed' and 'have focus.' The clarity and scope of the book is just enough to not be overwhelming, but enough that you'll actually learn a ton and avoid a lot of mistakes. I wish I had had this book earlier in our career.

I read it over the Christmas break and found it to be as enjoyable — because Eli is funny — as educational. It reads easy, far from stiff and instructional, and comes with lots of lessons learned from the variety of contributors within. I highly recommend it and have already purchased it for a friend running a studio of his own.

I've read a ton of business and self-help books, and this one was the most practical for starting and building a small studio. The elements gave me clear action on what to do next, and I honestly feel that my future would not be the same if I didn't read this book. It's a game changer.

A wonderful look into what is needed to run a small creative studio — the nitty gritty bits and the strategies to allow yourself to be as involved as you want. I appreciated the wide net Eli cast for owners who like to get in and make work vs. those who'd rather teach and direct. I also found it helpful as a freelancer and former employee of small agencies as a future guide and an explanation of what many people encounter in the industry.

A fantastic guide for any creative entrepreneur in design or business to sharpen skills and run their shop more efficiently.

As a designer this was a great perspective on each element of a design business with good insight and tips to make it a better venture.

A good idea to look at each part of running a studio and write a blurb about each one — easy to reference. I used Don't Call It That to name my own studio and find this is part of the toolkit one needs to get going.

Eli has distilled all of the tough lessons and experience he's learned the hard way into very clear, actionable, descriptive takeaways in short consumable chapters. The result is me taking photos of page after page, sending them to my small team, until everyone's now bought a copy and we're making it our first book club book for the leadership team. Can't recommend this enough for anyone at any level in any client-focused business or agency.

A lot of the questions I've been talking with my business coach about have been answered thanks to this book. So excited that this book exists and will be recommending it to my network.

Eli has clearly been there and done that. His book is filled with practical advice and keen insights that opened my eyes to things that were right in front of me. I am President of a small creative agency and I made this book required reading for my team.

This book offers amazing practical advice and has become an essential reference tool for us in navigating the business decisions of our studio. We have implemented a lot of the lessons to grow our team and build structure and process into our service.

Eli is the real thing. It would be positively nuts to build a small agency or studio without his wisdom — he's the rare creative talent that's also become a remarkable business person.

Great information, easy to digest and read. Very useful for small business owners.

I love Eli's writing style. He conveys profound lessons in a fun and conversational tone.

As a freelancer looking to move towards more of a studio setup, this book has been informative and inspiring. I'll certainly reread it every year to ensure I'm covering everything.

Specific actionable advice with real world examples and insights from the author and other studios. A must read for anyone wanting to or running a design studio.

A great book — any designer or person in the creative industry should read it. It provides so many new learnings about the design business.

Very useful. Highlighted most pages. Great for knowing how to actually run a business rather than just knowing your craft.