VMWare Fusion: Nice box!
VMWare’s Fusion virtualization for the Mac is out, and it has a really nice looking box.
VMWare’s Srinivas Krishnamurti tells the story:
While not quite Apple-esque, we felt that this was a clean look and conveyed the essence of our product. We all felt that black background was more appealing than other colors we considered. Perhaps the coolest and most unique part of this design is the flaps that open down the middle on the front. After spending an entire Sunday afternoon at Best Buy, I realized most software boxes either have no flaps at all or have a flap that opens like a book. Boooring! We didn’t want to be just another box. We wanted to be proud of the box, just like we wanted to be proud of the software we were building. VMware Fusion has two flaps that open down the middle – think of the monitor opening up down the middle. Each of the flaps has three screenshots showcasing the product while the middle of the box (once you open the flaps) has detailed description of the product.
I’m both amused and inspired at the way that Apple’s design ethos rubs off on other companies. VMWare is a great technology company, but they aren’t generally known for their design savviness. Witness the current VMWare Workstation 6 box:
[Update 13:17] Forgot to paste in link to original blog story…
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