Thread: Can you own a colour? Review please

Hi,

I would like to ask your opinion about PigInk.com


We created PigInk.com for designers where you can choose a colour and

• name it
• Link it to your own website
• receive an in-depth datasheet of your colour
• Get a custom badge
• Link your colour to Facebook,
• ...etc.

Please have a look, any feedback on the concept/design/implementation are welcome!

I don't get it...

Originally Posted by Corrosive

I don't get it...

Hi Corrosive, thanks for the quick feedback!
Which part of the website do you find confusing?

Originally Posted by Pigink

Hi Corrosive, thanks for the quick feedback!
Which part of the website do you find confusing?

Well, it's not really the site. I think that is very well executed. It is the concept of 'owning' a colour. I think that could be fairly misleading, like when they used to sell stars or planets. If I 'owned' the orange we use on our website then what does that get me?

Or is it just a bit of fun and I am missing the point entirely!

You are right, it's an abstract idea, a bit like selling stars/planets (which we all know are owned by the mathematician in Little Prince)

So, owning a colour is:
33% fun - you can show off your friends/colleagues/clients that you own a colour. You get a badge and all other colour owners accept that your orange belongs to you.
33% marketing - more visibility to your website, plus a clear association between your colour an your site.
33% informative - you get a lot of information from the colour datasheet to help you choose secondary colours, print colours, etc.

I guess I have to make this a lot more clear on the website!

-----------------------------------------
PigInk

It does have that Star Registry feel about it. Not a fan I'm afraid - though referencing the Little Prince - what a wonderful little book.

Originally Posted by Pigink

You are right, it's an abstract idea, a bit like selling starts/planets (which we all know are owned by the mathematician in Little Prince)

So, owning a colour is:
33% fun - you can show off your friends/colleagues/clients that you own a colour. You get a badge and all other colour owners accept that your orange belongs to you.
33% marketing - more visibility to your website, plus a clear association between your colour an your site.
33% informative - you get a lot of information from the colour datasheet to help you choose secondary colours, print colours, etc.

I guess I have to make this a lot more clear on the website!

In that case I will wind my neck in and stop being so bloody grumpy and middle-aged! It is a neat idea for a bit of fun. Good stuff.

Minuteman Press - I know what you mean, it might seem pointless paying for something that's not physical or can't really be yours.
But isn't that what we do all the time? The whole website business is purely virtual - people pay thousands of pounds for websites, logos, online memberships... and none of them exist in the physical world.
But even the physical things are loaded with virtual values so that they can be sold for a lot more money.
A T-shirt with an Armani sign would cost 4 times more than one with a different sign on it.
So, it's possible to add value to something that exists by connecting it with something 'special', even if it's abstract.

Sooo... Back to Little Prince Prince analogy...


Corrosive's website(the fox) is orange, just like any other orange. But if Corrosive(Little Prince) adds value to it by owning its colour, he will make it special:

• the website(the rose (analogy jump)) will be more special with its colour(and a badge!) than all other roses...ermm..websites :)
• The Little Prince will own his special rose and no one else can steal that - as only one person can own a given colour.

More importantly... it's fun!
If people pay lots of money for silly brands(even if you pay extra for the Armani gear, you won't own Armani), then hey, why not own a colour instead for £1.99?

What do you think?

-----------------------------------------
PigInk

I understand, so long as fun is the objective. If profit is the objective I do not think that this is a viable business (but I'm often wrong!).

Has to be made crystal clear in all marketing that the purchaser has zero legal title over the colour. Purely a novelty product. In the example with Corrosive, no value would be added - he would not own the colour.

Web investment - an intangible asset. Our ROI is a factor of 35 on any web related investment.

Hmmm...as a designer why do I need further help choosing colours for my brand/identity?
And so what happens if I continue to use an colour that someone else 'owns'? Do I go to 'colour court'? Am I hauled over a hot Pantone chart?

For £1.99 I'll buy myself a nice 'brown' coffee!