For a long time, Apple has simply done packaging 'right,' especially for the iPod.
Although the packaging for iPods isn't the flashiest on the shelf, it is a marvel of simplicity and amazing design, like the machine itself. The experience continues inside the box, where it seems the iPod engineers must have been involved--everything has a place, and space is never wasted. I still recall opening the first iPod I ever bought, fascinated by the multi-foldout design that let so much stuff fit in such a compact space. As a matter of fact, that box is still on my shelf. But this post isn't about the inside of the box, it's about the outside of the box.
iPod packaging is clean, well thought out, and almost spartan when compared to similar products from others. Where competitor X will have multiple font sizes and colors, huge blocks of text, splashes of varying color and style, and legal mumbo jumbo, the iPod box simply tells you what's inside in a few words and images. It stands out because it's not garish and overbearing, unlike everything else.
Which is what makes this video parody (alternate lower-quality link), in which Microsoft redesigns the iPod's box, so amazingly funny. Forget that it's even Microsoft being parodied; it could be nearly any of the other major players in the technology business. This spot is very well put together, and to me, it really demonstrates how very hard it must be to go simplistic and clean when everyone is probably pushing quite hard to "fill that empty space with something!"
And no, I don't normally post just links to other things, but this one is so well done, it really is worth watching!
I saw that video (via iPod lounge I think) and yes, it's really well done. It's quite amazing how much effort Apple puts into making everything elegant, from the product to the box it comes in.
Jim
http://www.humanbeingcurious.com
Turns out that that movie came out of Microsoft itself.
Jacob: where did you find that out?
Rob: I saw this linked in macosxhints a couple of weeks back, and just had to show my fellow graphic designers. You are spot on: there is always someone pushing hard to fill all available space. I think clients often feel like, "well, we are paying for the space, and ink coverage doesn't cost any more, we should fill it with everything we want to say".
What Apple has always done well, but particularly with Jonathon/Steve in recent years, is realising that the 'space' and simplicity IS what they want to say.
As a copywriter for an advertising company, I can assure you that those very words "fill that empty space" have been uttered by every single client I've worked with at one point or another. The irony is that we are hired to determine the proper message and succinctly get it out but then they see empty real estate on the page and think they're not getting enough bang for the buck. I believe this is why clients often think everything needs to be mentioned or else you lose customers.
Messaging is key and when there is preponderance of banners, call-outs and subheads, that message gets lost. Companies tend to forget you have to draw them in first and a crowded canvas does little more than provide headaches. Apple does indeed allow the exquisite beauty of their products speak for themselves.
In my opinion, which may not matter to you at this point, is that the more a company tries to tell you about their product, the little that product has to offer.
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