Strike a Pose

Pic Your Poison: the Stories behind Amazon Product Photos, Volume 1

They’d set up a loft-like, open area for Derique (which was not, he assured them, pronounced like Derrick, but rather Day-reek) on one of the top floors of the office. It featured great natural light and a stunning view, which made sense. Derique was not merely a graphic designer; he was an artist of the highest caliber.

Claude knocked twice before Derique called out, “Entrez vous.”

Claude was nervous, of course. Everyone who visited Derique felt that way. To be in the same room as such a brilliant man was intimidating. Still, he had a problem, and only Derique could supply the solution.

“Look, I’m going to get straight to the point,” Claude said, not even pausing to exchange pleasantries. “I’ve got a product going to market soon, and the images? Derique, they’re a damn mess!”

“Maybe zis is fault of product, non?” said Derique, who lounged on a leather couch and who was from Columbus, Ohio.

“Not a chance,” Claude said. “It’s a mouse. A good, battery-powered travel mouse at that. Compatible with PCs and Macs alike. And it’s wireless. Thanks to a 2.4Ghz wireless connection, there’s no lag to speak of. And its wireless receiver is small enough that you can just leave it in your computer. Or else you can store it conveniently in the mouse itself. Yet, despite all this, when you look at a picture of it, it just lacks that certain–”

“Je ne sais quoi,” Derique said.

“Exactly,” Claude said.

“For you, Claude, I fix,” Derique said. “I create a picture that conveys ze mouse’s utility, its practicality, its, how you say, workday functionality, but also a sense of play and even… sexiness?”

“That would be amazing, Derique,” Claude said. “But how? How will you do it?”

“For answer, I give two words,” Derique said, before reconsidering. “Or, actually, is three words, but two of ze words are made into un word avec un hyphen.”

Claude couldn’t stand it. “What is it? Just tell me, dammit!”

Derique made a sweeping gesture with his hands. “‘Post-it boudoir.’”