How Photoshop errors can mess up a product launch
On Saturday, I decided to go into Staples to buy some more office supplies. While I was walking from the parking lot to the store itself, I noticed this little stand with an advertisement for tablets that would be available for purchase at a later date.
See the Motorola Xoom? The one that is seemingly running the variant of TouchWiz that you can find on the Samsung Galaxy Tab? Yeah, I do too. Us geeks know that this is a simple Photoshop error, but somebody who is less knowledgable about tablets and their respective operating systems might actually believe that this is what a product looks like, and we all know that some people buy their products based on looks.
This is where hiring knowledgeable graphic designers can really benefit a company. Just take this very picture into consideration. Let's say that a businessman who, just like me, needed more office supplies and saw this advertisement. He really thought it was something special, that small island. So on the day that Staples started selling the Xoom, he went to the store to buy it.
When he arrived there, he was incredibly surprised to see that his beloved background was. . . different. No longer was it his beautiful island, but rather, it was a bunch of blue streaks. And, why aren't the icons arranged in the same way?
"I can't find my way around this product and because of that, I refuse to buy it" says the businessman, and with that, he walks away to the Apple Store next door and buys the iPad that looks exactly as it does in person as in the ads.
Now usually, that businessman would've done research at home before making such an expensive purchase. I'm sure most people (business or not) actually do that research before buying a product. But for that small market who may not have access to a computer but want to be connected at all times, that one advertisement could've helped make a purchase. Unfortunately, in this case, it killed that purchase.
I'm fairly certain this kind of thing happens a lot, specifically for that portion of people who don't have means of researching. In my opinion, it would be incredibly beneficial for companies to hire very experienced graphic designers. Without them, this scenario can be played again and again and again. And even again.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any friends or family members who make their purchases based on looks? Have you ever seen a Photoshop flub-up in a store? Let us (and those companies) know.
