The Creepy Box

Don't run away screaming...it's just that Adobe Photoshop CS6 has arrived at B&H Photo. With the creepiest box illustration yet. It looks like something from some sort of futuristic horror movie to me. (Of course, I don't watch futuristic horror movies, so my creepy-meter might be badly calibrated. Still, I think I might not like having that box in the house.)

Here's their link for Photoshop CS6, and the one for all other CS6 products.

Mike

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Featured Comment by David Mayer: "Glad I'm not the only one to be creeped out by this. I know it's a matter of taste, and I also know it's just a box, so it probably doesn't matter, but still. When I overcome my initial repulsion and look closely, I see the scalloping which I assume are supposed to be scales. I guess I've seen too many bad 'shop jobs but this reminds me of really bad use of cloning tool. Maybe they want to sell some Photoshop (TM) courses."

Featured Comment by Chris Crawford: "The Lightroom 4 box is pretty freakish looking too."

Featured Comment by Ivan: "Weird, fantastic, cinematic, imaginative—and best of all, not corporate. Kudos to whomever had the guts to go with this."

Featured Comment by Andrew Kelley: "People still buy software in boxes?"

Comments

[PWL]

Aggh! Lizard People! It's true! They DO exist!

[Geoff Wittig]

Grumble.
Time to pay the biannual Adobe 'tax' again. There are always just enough improvements in usability or specific features that it's hard to say no.

The biggest cost isn't the upgrade price, but the opportunity cost of the time spent learning how to use the new version, and re-processing older images using the new 'n improved software.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Photoshop. But compared to paint & canvas, the perpetual upgrade churn gets kind of annoying.

[Eric Ford]

If I was under 10 years old, I'm pretty sure that image would give me nightmares.

[Bernd Reinhardt]

The only explanation to this is that they don't want to sell hard copies any longer - or they are showing you what you will look like if you spend too much time retouching rather than taking pictures.

[MartinP]

I much prefer the lizard on the front of Suse Linux, to the one on the Adobe box.

[Richard Skoonbeg]

I thought it was pretty bizarre as well. Just weird.

Photoshop is just not a good name for this application anymore... It should called Photo Secession CS6. IMHO.

[Rico]

Speaking of packaging artwork...I was browsing the iTunes store and saw Todd Hido's photo from his House Hunting book used as the album cover art by a band called Silversun Pickups.

[Nicholas Condon]

Aieee! I do watch futuristic horror movies, and that's much scarier than most of the character designs I've seen.

[Ben]

By some bizzaro rendering error the image for this post first loaded as the shot of David Brooks from an earlier post. Boy did I get a kick out of that... ;)

[Craig Beyers]

The cover of the Photoshop box is an interesting example of Ctein's post and wonderfully juxtaposed as well!

[Paris]

Seven hundred dollars? I suppose, if your livelihood depends on it.

Otherwise there are lots of alternatives that come in prettier boxes.

[Peter]

Looks like someone calling the shots at Adobe doesn't care too much for women.

[James W.]

I don't think people's reactions to this simply come down to a matter of taste. This sits right on the edge of the Uncanny Valley.

Message from Adobe's marketing department: 'Only nerds use computers, and all nerds like science fiction. So we felt this was appropriate.'

[Edie Howe]

GAH!!!!!!

Edie
Hold me, I'm askeered!

[Rodolfo Canet]

As for the topic of software still being sold in boxes, there was unexpected news today: Adobe has started selling Lightroom in the Apple's App Store. Same price as the boxed version, though.

I give no link, since TOP readers buy it from Mike's sponsors, don't they? ;-)

[marcin wuu]

I guess it would be nice to credit the artist while discussing his work. His name is Oleg Dou and his homepage is, somewhat unsurprisingly, olegdou.com. And I agree with one of the posters above - this is a great example of Ctein's next article's conclusion at work - while I was left icicle-cold with his moon over the brigde photo, I'd be one of the first in line to cough up the dough for one of Dou's eerily beautiful portraits...

[yesjb]

There is a medical condition called congenital ichthyosis. That's what this looks like.
I guess its someones idea of beauty, PR attention-grabbing etc. blah-blah.
But its pretty unappealing. I'll just get the download.

[Ed]

@Andrew Kelley: People still buy software?

Greetings, Ed (GNU) Kuipers

[Mike Hessey]

I'm glad it isn't just me who finds the new box pictures ... difficult (I go further and rate them repulsive) - another reason to buy (if despite the box illustrations you do) via on-line download, to avoid the images. But really these illustrations discourage me from buying the product (though I ordered LR 4 as soon as it was available).

[suprada]

From Oleg Dou's website - olegdou.com

“I AM LOOKING FOR SOMETHING BORDERING BETWEEN THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE REPULSIVE, LIVING AND DEAD. I WANT TO ATTAIN THE FEELING OF PRESENCE ONE CAN GET WHEN WALKING BY A PLASTIC MANIKIN…”

I think he succeeds in that - the photo on the box is for me creepy but in some way beautiful as well... Would I buy a print of his to hang on my wall...hmm no thanks...don't like to be creeped out all the time!

[Zeeman]

The box seems to say, "abandon all realism, ye who enter here."

[Dave Polaschek]

I can't begin to express how glad I am that I was on my five year sabbatical from Adobe when that box was released. I would have said something unkind.