Commercial success by looking for desire lines

Abstract

'Desire Lines' are the ultimate unbiased expression of natural human purpose and refer to tracks worn across grassy spaces, where people naturally walk - regardless of formal pathways. This perfect expression of natural purpose can extend into other interactions in the real world and in the software world. Rather than trying to understand user needs from a focus group, being alert for desire lines will show you users' actual purpose more directly. Smart companies have an obsession with what is typed into their Search facility, analysing hourly this pure expression of what people want from their sites. 'Normanian Natural Selection' is proposed to describe survival of the fittest design. Companies focusing on desire lines apparent in their products, will be able to successfully adapt them to what their users really want. Perhaps these positive adaptions in design, aligned with human natural purpose, will lead to their greater commercial success. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.