From HAIRLOOP to ROLL Beauty: Naming Our 360° Hairstyle App for Shipaton

Hello, I am Ryu from AMANEKU Studio. I am excited to share a significant milestone in our app development journey - the name we have chosen for our new app. In our previous post, we briefly introduced the app, but now we have settled on a name: ROLL Beauty. This is a crucial step in our 60-day journey from conception to App Store launch, and I will be sharing the reasoning behind our choice of name and the design of the logo.

Our app, ROLL Beauty, is designed to help you record your hairstyle in 360 degrees and share it with your hairstylist. The concept is simple: record one full rotation of your hair in about 8 seconds, then view it from any angle by dragging the video with your finger. You can also pin questions to specific angles and communicate directly with your hairstylist.

The inspiration for this app came from the observation that hairstylists rarely see a client's hair in its natural, everyday state. Their clients' hair is often washed, dried, and styled before or during the haircut. As a result, the stylist may not see the true condition of the client's hair, and the client cannot easily see their own hair from all angles.

The name "ROLL Beauty" encapsulates several elements of our app. Firstly, the action of rotation - the app revolves around turning around once to capture your hairstyle from all angles. Secondly, a "roll of film" - each 8-second recording is a compact visual record of your hair at a specific moment. Lastly, a "camera roll" - the app serves as a place where all your hairstyle recordings are stored and accumulated over time.

This single word "ROLL" ties together these three key ideas of rotation, recording, and saving, which is why we felt it was the perfect name for our app.

Finding the right name took longer than we anticipated. We explored over 100 name ideas before settling on "ROLL Beauty". The process involved brainstorming with AI, searching each candidate on the App Store and the web, and repeating the process dozens of times. Some names, like "Turnly" and "Nape", were already taken, while others, such as "HairLog" and "Hairbook", were almost unavailable. After extensive research, we finally found a name that connected with our app concept in a natural and meaningful way.

The logo for ROLL Beauty is also ready. It is based on the idea of a full rotation, represented by a ring. The ring is not a perfect, closed circle, but has a small break on the right side, symbolizing the moment before the rotation is complete. This design captures the feeling of being in the middle of recording, turning, and creating something.

The color palette consists of three main shades: Espresso, a deep brown that gives the design depth; Bronze, a warm metallic color that adds motion and energy; and Ivory, a soft color that brings the name forward clearly. This color choice was practical, as many beauty apps use pink, which can sometimes appear too feminine and exclude male users.

We wanted to create a visual identity that was warm, calm, and gender-neutral, appealing to anyone who cares about their hairstyle.

In conclusion, choosing a name for our app has brought it closer to reality. Until now, our app existed as an idea, a prototype, and design files. However, with the name, icon, and visual identity finalized, it now feels like a tangible product we can bring to the world. In the next post, I will share more details about the development process.