New packaging for Vista and Office 2007 unveiled

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Wednesday, 01 November 2006

Until the iPod’s simple yet effective packaging, Microsoft’s software boxes were the ones many others copied. Now the new packaging for Vista and Office 2007 have been unveiled, we may well see competitors copying Microsoft again. So, what do the new boxes look like?

If you’ve had a chance to see the logos for the 2007 editions of Word, Excel and other Office software, the new packaging for Vista and Office will look quite familiar.

Ever aware of the need to have dynamic and attractive packaging, the new boxes have a look and feel that is intended to convey the feeling that Vista is meant to elicit. Whether they will succeed or not is yet to be seen, but as you can see from the packaging below, they certainly do look modern and stylish, yet it’s ‘just’ a box to hold a CD and a quick start guide.

According to the Microsoft Vista Team Blog, "Designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that’s designed to protect the software inside for life-long use. It provides a convenient and attractive place for you to permanently store both discs and documentation".

They continue by saying that "The new design will provide the strength, dimensional stability and impact resistance required when packaging software today. Our plan is to extend this packaging style to other Microsoft products after the launch of Windows Vista and 2007 Office system".

While the Windows XP packaging is quite different, I'm reminded how that package looked like quite an improvement over the older Windows 95 and 98 boxes. I especially remember the folder within that contained the CD, the license key and a basic quick start guide. At the time, it oozed a glossy marketing feeling that made me feel good – even though we’re talking about Microsoft.

It looks like they’re going to do it again, with the blogosphere already praising the new packaging – at least, at this early stage. They’ll certainly stand out on retail shelves and practically demand that you pick them up and have a look.

Of course, we’re all still waiting for the final RTM code for both Vista and Office 2007. There’s little point in having new packaging if the software that’s meant to be shipped within is not yet finished.

The packages above are Vista, the ones below are Office

But launch plans are well on track, and in little more than a week, the RTM gold code for Vista will at last be in the hands of all those who want it and are able to legally get a copy from Microsoft. To see larger pictures of the boxes, visit Microsoft’s Vista Team Blog website.

Whether you’re a fan of Microsoft or not, it’s hard to deny that they’ve done a great job with the packaging. Let’s just hope we can say the same for the final versions of Vista and Office 2007.
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