Firstly to get the BIG news out of the way, Snow Leopard has been made available for pre-order. So if you haven’t done so already, go order now. Now to more important issues …
While the new interface upgrades look fantastic and I’m sure this leading to bigger and better things with future OS X releases … the designer in me just can’t get past the front cover of the box art, and I’m not alone.
When you compare it to the graphical boxes for releases of years gone by, this one just comes across as “typical” and “expected“. Not typical by Apple’s standard, but just typically ordinary and logical … words I would never use to describe the artistic direction from Apple. So at first look you can understand why people would be questioning why Apple have made such a decision.
Yet there would be some logic behind the design direction and this is when it begins to make sense … to me at least.
1. This has always been stated not to be seen as full release, hence the cheaper price. This was not the huge advance interface steps that we saw in Panther to Tiger, and then Tiger to Leopard. So why should they be held to having the giant X on the front of the box?
Could this be the first steps Apple are taking to get the adoring Apple fan base to stop referring to OS releases as OS X? Could this be the last OS X release and they would prefer the focus is on the new brand of ‘Snow Leopard’ and not OS X – Snow Leopard, as was with Leopard a few years back. With the branding having equal weight on this new design, it is definitely allowing for a traditional phase in the branding of this product range.
It is with this concept behind the actual product I can see why they created packaging that is clearly separated from the previous releases.
2. Now this is fairly obvious. The product is called Snow Leopard. Snow = White. Majority of the box is white. What better way have seamless packaging that by having a photograph of a Snow Leopard in the snow fading into the rest of the white on the box?
Look I studied design, I’ve been working as a designer in the commercial world for 7 years now and yeah I would be shocked too if this was the best idea I came up with too. Yet, I really think that looking at this subjectively and not knowing the FULL marketing plan behind this and future directions for Apple, this could very well be the perfect decision.
Yes it is simple, yes it obvious and I was like you too and thought “Huh?” at first but … Why shouldn’t a simple design like this work? This is Apple, a company named after a fruit and their logo is … surprise surprise an apple. Like life itself, design shouldn’t always be over complicated and as we all know sometimes the most obvious solution can be the best.
So I’ll stand up proud and say I don’t mind the Snow Leopard box art … who is with me?
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Comments ( 6 )
Sunky added these pithy words on Aug 24 09 at 9:34 pmVery smug. Clearly they should have given him the shifty eyes, like that dog in The Simpsons.
decryption added these pithy words on Aug 24 09 at 9:45 pmFuck that shit – this is amateur hour. Did the work experience kid do it or something? Fucking balls. I could have shit out a better box design. Fuck you Apple, my experience is ruined. Fuck you Steve Jobs, you liver-less cunt. I’ll give you $30 to stay the hell away from my computer. Windows 7 for me!
Sunky added these pithy words on Aug 24 09 at 9:49 pm“Did the work experience kid do it or something?”
I shit you not. That was my original title for the post, but I calmed down and my view changed.
Pants added these pithy words on Aug 24 09 at 9:49 pmHa. Liver-less! Liver Let Die?
Zerotime added these pithy words on Aug 25 09 at 12:15 amOh, definitely. I’d buy the Snow Leopard Collector’s Edition if it had a Pulse-style shifty-eyed cat on the box.
