When I was thinking about how to present myself publicly through IAMRAIN, I asked a branding question that was more personal than it first appeared: should I keep using Rain Topon, or create a more glamorous, more sellable name?
The commercial logic was easy to understand. Names can shape first impressions. A different name might sound more polished, more memorable, or easier to position.
But a brand decision is not only about what sounds marketable.
I took the question seriously
I did not reject the idea immediately. I asked whether a glamour name or nickname could make me more sellable. I wanted the public identity to work, not simply to satisfy a private preference.
That made outside input useful. I could consider how a name might land with other people without treating their possible reaction as the only authority.
The decision became simpler
After considering the alternative, I decided: use Rain Topon.
I also said something that mattered more than the branding exercise itself: I should be pleased with my name.
That sentence changed the standard I was using. The question was no longer only, “Could another name sell better?” It also became, “Do I want to build a public identity I can actually own?”
Choosing my own standard did not mean ignoring feedback
I still care whether IAMRAIN is understandable, credible, memorable, and useful to the public. Those are real design and business questions.
What I did not need was a new identity simply because a different name might appear more marketable in theory.
The name had to work commercially, but it also had to remain mine.
What I learned from the choice
This was a small branding decision, but it gave me a practical way to think about approval and autonomy.
Other people’s reactions can be information. They do not have to become permission.
I can ask for advice, test an idea, listen carefully, and still make the final decision from a standard I am willing to stand behind.
The limit
This does not mean “always use your first instinct” or “ignore the market.” A public brand exists in relationship with an audience, so feedback matters.
The lesson was narrower: I do not need to replace something genuinely mine just because I can imagine a version that might look more impressive.
For this decision, the name I chose to build with was the one I already had: Rain Topon.