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Source frontmatter

ddx:
  id: aibadge.research.naming
  type: research-note
  links:
    - target: aibadge.research.prior-art
      kind: informed_by
status: decided
activity: 00-discover
created: 2026-07-22
updated: 2026-07-25

Naming Exploration

Goal: Choose a durable public name before PRD / frame. Status: Decided — public product name is Innsigle. Brand lines A1/B4/H1 locked 2026-07-25. Repo slug: aibadge (legacy code name; rename optional later). House: Azgaard (azgaard.net).

Locked decisions

#	Decision	Status
1	Primary metaphor: seal / mark (not badge-first); signet = optional crypto depth only	Locked
2	Emotional tone: craft pride first, civic transparency second	Locked
3	Origin states are composition (colophon / BOM)—not good vs bad	Locked
4	Brand affinity: Norse / Azgaard (etymon + glyph geometry; no runic cosplay)	Locked
5	Signet = internal concept (optional signed claim)—not always-on chrome	Locked
6	Public product name: Innsigle	Locked 2026-07-22
7	Brand lines Slot A1 / B4 / H1 (byte-exact; straight apostrophe)	Locked 2026-07-25

What “colophon” means

Composition of how the work was made (human, AI, tools, blend)—not a moral grade. Name = the seal. Payload = the colophon.

Public brand lines (locked)

Apostrophe in chrome/H1: straight ASCII ' only.

Slot	Exact string	Surfaces
A — category	`Content provenance for the AI era`	Meta category clause, Non-goals opener, evaluator tables. Not footer. Not sole H1.
B — chrome	`The maker's seal for published work`	Footer cue, sample snippet default, DESIGN chrome
H1 — home	`The maker's seal for published work`	Home H1 (same as B; lead paragraph teaches)
D — interior	`Not a verdict. A colophon for how it was made—sealed with Innsigle.`	Specs only; not site footer

Maker = publisher/operator who puts the seal on work—not “human author only.” Seal / mark = visible Innsigle (valid signed or unsigned). Signet = optional cryptographic bind—not what B4 claims on every page.

Sigil (bounded)

English sigil is a cousin of seal / Latin sigillum / ON innsigli: an identifying mark. Public use: glossary + at most one body sentence on home or Marks—not footer, not H1, not occult register.

Not chosen (brand lines)

ID	String	Why not
A2	Content provenance in the time of AI	Superseded by shorter A1
B1	A seal for how work was made	Operator preferred B4
B2	How it was made, sealed	Operator preferred B4
B3	Sealed with care for how it was made	Operator preferred B4

Name decision: Innsigle

Field	Value
Public brand	Innsigle
Etymon	Old Norse / Icelandic innsigli — seal, seal-ring; wax on a deed
Spelling choice	Innsigle (anglicized product form). Historical lemma is innsigli (double n, ends in i). Brand spelling favors English word-shape while keeping the seal lineage.
Pronunciation (locked default)	INN-siggle — rhymes with single; stress on INN. One word, two syllables after “Inn”: Inn-siggle.
Why this name	True document-seal word family; Norse/Azgaard fit; avoids bare Sigli (live AI software company at sigli.com); visual seal carries recognition so the string need not be instantly English
Not chosen	Sigli (collision), Segl (ON = sail), AI Badge, Mashbill-as-name, English Signet-alone

Brand architecture

Layer	Role	Name
House	Studio / operator trust root	Azgaard
Product	Public seal system	Innsigle
Maker	Publisher/operator who seals work	Any house or person issuer
Concept words	Explainer vocabulary	seal, mark, colophon, claim; signet (crypto); sigil (bounded)
Visual primary	Mark readers recognize	Innsigle seal mark
Repo / code	Engineering slug	`aibadge` until rename

Ship pattern: “Innsigle by Azgaard” or seal.azgaard.net / innsigle.* when domains settle.

Name + visual

Operator note: the key element is a visual branding element. Wordmark and spoken name support the seal mark; recognition lives first in the glyph/system, second in the string. Naming doc does not lock mark design—that is design-system / brand work after frame or in parallel discovery.

Guardrails

Do not market as AI detection.
Do not use “Credentials” as an Innsigle object name (C2PA Content Credentials as competitor proper noun is fine).
Do not ship public brand as Sigli alone.
Always separate declared colophon and signed seal from detected fact.
Etymology honesty: Latin sigillum line via North Germanic legal vocabulary—not a pre-Christian pure root. Say “Norse/Icelandic for a document seal,” not “ancient pagan word for truth.”
Do not use occult/spell language for sigil; plain “identifying mark.”
Do not imply chrome B4 means the page is cryptographically signed.
No fantasy runes / Vegvísir / Viking cosplay in public copy.

Domain (open, not blocking)

Option	Notes
`*.azgaard.net`	House-first; low cost
`innsigle.*`	Product-primary if available
Keep researching before purchase	Name lock does not require domain day-one

Say: INN-siggle (rhymes with single).

Do	Don't
Inn-siggle	Inn-sig-lee, Inn-sig-ul, In-siggle without the double-n feel of “Inn”

No other variants. Brand audio/video uses this once; the mark carries recognition.

Deferred

[ ] Domain / handle acquisition
[ ] Repo rename aibadge → innsigle (optional)
[ ] Visual seal mark + colophon layout system
[ ] Trademark skim before public launch

Decision log

Date	Decision
2026-07-22	Metaphor, tone, colophon, Azgaard affinity locked
2026-07-22	Reviewed sigli / innsigli; bare Sigli rejected (AI firm collision)
2026-07-22	Public name locked: Innsigle; visual seal primary recognition surface
2026-07-25	Brand lines A1 / B4 / H1 locked; seal ≠ signet in chrome; sigil bounded

Status

[x] Metaphor, tone, composition frame, house affinity
[x] Public product name → Innsigle
[x] Promote into product-vision.md
[ ] Domain / collision skim for launch
[ ] Visual mark exploration
[ ] Proceed to frame (PRD) when ready