19 Hilariously Bad Stock Photo Attempts at Visualizing Tech

Tech companies often feature complicated, intangible offerings. Machine Learning, IoT, Actionable Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, Quantum Computing… the list goes on. These concepts are inherently difficult to visualize and, as a result, companies are often pulled to some of the darkest corners of stock photography to illustrate their point.

So before you post the first picture that shows up when you search, make sure you aren’t falling into the stock photography trap. Ask yourself: “Does this picture make my company look generic, cheesy, and amateur — or does it reflect the sophistication of our brand? Here are 19 hilarious tech stock photos I strongly encourage you not to use (and one “awesome” photo hidden among them).

1. This person spotted a virus with a magnifying glass.

I am pretty sure it is that easy.

2. You are not in “Minority Report” nor are you Tony Stark… so, no.

This guy is really putting his finger on innovation, though.

3. This network connecting bodies of water to land masses.

Or are they angels like in “It’s a Wonderful Life”?

4. This “wearables” cyborg.

Part man, part machine?

5. This person in a very clean room that is upset about… something.

On that generic laptop.

6. This masked hacker that is about to grab your password. With his hand. Out of Cyberspace.

Hacker… network security… internet… virus… identity… security breach… BINARY!

7. This “unsecured” credit card.

I always secure my credit cards this way.

8. This cautionary tale about Net Neutrality.

Down with it.

9. This person enjoying virtual reality right into oncoming traffic.

10. This artificial intelligence emerging in this binary tunnel.

11. This person holding the entire IoT in his hand… which consists mostly of people.

12. This sad attempt at visualizing cognitive computing.

13. This terrible visualization of Industry 4.0.

14. These actionable analytics.

15. This Machine… Learning.

16. The all-too-common “keyboard key cop-out” to visualize quantum computing.

17. This person “social networking.”

18. This SaaS.

19. This dog using a… actually, please use this. This is awesome.

At Golden Spiral we are shaping technology marketing — that means we are actively working on creative ways to visualize complicated tech concepts and services. More importantly, we are focused on uncovering the soul of your brand and finding a way to visualize your concept in a way that is true to who you are. If you’re interested in learning more about how we do this, get in touch.