All of your arguments are very self-serving, and really don’t speak to your initial consternation regarding the titles, and their perception by clients. Ultimately, you have to take into consideration the demographic that you are targeting.

Who is your primary clientele? To me, the little intrinsic gain that you might receive from these “creative titles” doesn’t outweigh the possibility of prejudice that might incur as a result of the titles themselves. It seems to me that this desire to have a “cool” and “unique” title is derived from the geek notion of monikers. The desire to be facially known as “1337 d00d” started seeping into legitimate business. Based on your justification, would you allow someone to put the title “Super C00l W3b Devel0p3r d00d”? What if the developer really wants to be represented in this manner? My guess is your response would be no. Why? Because it isn’t pragmatic. You readily recognize the dangers of utilizing such creative names, which is why you are so expressed your reticent nature in that regard.

Fair, or not, the response I have gotten from focus groups (very informal) regarding this particular topic - the response has always been that the desire to have such an informal title is quite puerile, or at least perceived as such. When they see such a “unique” title, what forms in their mind is the image of a pimply faced, socially inept individual that technical individuals are so often believed to be. The response has almost always been excruciatingly admonishing of the practice, with one respondent referring to it as the “jackass maneuver of being different for the sake of being different”.

Certainly, if you want to portray yourself as a purveyor of unique products and services, your portfolio should speak for yourself. Ultimately, the title is mere semantics. A pioneer or rebel in a particular industry is rarely positions itself in a manner antithetical to the status quo - they add value to a particular methodology with refreshing input. It if often said that if you have to say your something, then you aren’t. I think this holds particularly true in this circumstance. If you have to create a title to show you are different, then you certainly are not.

Ultimately, the capacity of your employees is to fulfill the objectives of your clients, and do their job. Certainly, raising morale usually leads to more productivity, and happier employees…but you have to weight the unintended consequences and risk, and ask yourself whether it is worth it.

I think in this particular case, the prudent choice is quite evident…but your experiences may be different, so take everything with a grain of salt.