Creating Titles for Your Artwork

Do titles really matter?

How much time and effort should one spend on titling your work?

Titles can be important to the outsider looking at your art; a good title needs to become part of their narrative too, as well as the artist’s. A good title could be what helps sell your art, which can also mean, a bad title can hamper it.  So the question we are asking ourselves now is what makes a good title?

A good title will:

• Provide insight into what inspired your art work, perhaps tell a story.
• Leave room for the viewer to bring in their own meaning and interpretation to the art work.
• It will be memorable.

How to create titles:

• Start with the obvious.  If you have key points in the art work use those as a starting point.
• Was there a inspiration or certain emotion that lead you? Draw on that to help create the title.
• Is there an underlying story? Give clues with the title.
• Put yourself in the viewers’ shoes. Ask yourself what do they see? Is there something you want them to focus on?
• Keep it short.

Over time it may become difficult to come up with unique titles, it all depends on the amount of work you have. Some ways are to create a naming system that works for you, have a dictionary or thesaurus available, or ask for help.

Questions to ask yourself about titles:

• Why do you struggle with titling your art work?
• Have you created a system that works for you?
• What advice would you give to others? Would that advice help you?
• What are some of your favorite art titles? Use them for inspiration.