Apple Website

I lovelovelove pretty much all of the graphics for the Apple computer company.  They are so simple but so professional and "cool" in style.  I could go on and on and on with detailed examples of Apple's amazing graphics, but for today I just want to show you a screenshot of their website.

Ahhhh. WOW.

I love the way this site looks, and Apple products... someday I dream of owning a MacBook Pro and an iPhone.  Maybe one day. :)

But in the meantime I can enjoy their graphic design.  I'd like to give you a few specific reasons why I like Apple's graphics, though, instead of just generally raving about how great they are!

First, the minimalism.
I am amazed by the way Apple manages to maintain a hugely minimalistic identity without ever losing the excitement of it all.  Sometimes minimalism can be a little boring, or just a little exasperating, as in "that's ALL there is to the design?"  But Apple avoids these pitfalls brilliantly and, in my opinion, swings to the opposite end of the minimalism spectrum by providing an example of how great minimalism can be.  Apple would probably be, to my knowledge, one of the prime companies that incorporates minimalist design.

Number two.. the typography.
You knew I was going to talk about that, right? :) I'm not sure what the font on Apple's homepage is, but it works.  Totally.  It's a simple, sans serif font, but not one of those starkly simple fonts that would be stereotyped as "minimalist."  They use a comfortable, useful, relatable-looking font in a wonderfully minimalist way.  There isn't too much crowded text on the homepage, but they also use descriptive text as a primary feature.  I also like the consistency of the fonts they use.  The bolder, main font on the homepage looks very similar if not identical to the rest of the type on the website.  It appears that Apple has managed to use one font consistently over all their design, which is quite a feat.

The neutral colors.
White and gray are the main design colors of the site, and I think that is an excellent choice.  It really draws attention to the colorful pictures of what's on Apple electronic devices.  And I'm also impressed that this simple color palette does not come across as boring.  The shades of gray are varied, and they look not boring but rather, un-distracting.

The only thing I'm a little iffy about concerning the design of the Mac website is all the gradients.  I don't tend to be a fan of them in logo design, but you know, I'm starting to not feel quite so set in that.  I'm not really sure where I stand on it anymore.  But I think they're actually a good thing in the design of the Apple website.  I mean, if gradients (and drop shadows) were really all that bad, they would probably not exist in graphics software.  But since they exist, they must have their uses, and I think the addition of some gradients and drop shadows add interest to the website.

What do you all think of the Apple website?