Godin’s Purple Cow

I belatedly started reading Seth Godin’s Purple Cow. A really enjoyable and easy read. Seth has some interesting things to say about marketing in the 21st Century and over the next few months I’ll drop a few of his more salient points into this blog.

The book is available from the Book Depository and shipping is free.

Seth writes:

Instead of trying to use your technology and expertise to make a better product for your users’ standard behavior, experiment with inviting the users to change their behaviour to make the product work dramatically better.

I love design, whether it’s artistic (such as a book cover) or industrial (such as an iPhone). As you engage with your environment look at the design of the objects around you and give some thought to whether their shape, placement, height, operability and so forth are accidental, or not.

Very often those who design the objects found in our modern environment are actually attempting to modify your behaviour. It’s not sinister, it’s usually helpful, and it’s totally fascinating.