Apple on Monday refreshed the "Apple Retail Store" section of its website with a clean aesthetic inspired by iOS 7, complete with copious white space and Helvetica Neue Ultra Light banner text.
With the new look, Apple has brought the informational retail section more in line with the rest of the company's official website, which has moved from skeuomorphic graphics to a "flatter" design seen in iOS 7. The tweaked page was first spotted by ifo Apple Store.
While the Online Apple Store and other dedicated product pages switched to a white, open look shortly after the launch of iOS 7, the retail location landing page was stuck with a layout from the days of iOS 6.
With a hefty serving of negative space, the retail pages take on a "flatter" look and no longer appear out of date. Gone are the drop shadows, "depressible" blue buttons, gray background and overarching use of global light.
Instead of being segregated into separate "boxes" as seen below, text and images are now merged in a continuous flow of content. For example, the top carousel, which currently rotates through promotional images and text for the iPad, iPhone and MacBook Pro, abuts a wide-screen image of the Amsterdam Apple Store.
Retail store webpage prior to Monday's redesign.
Previously, second-tier pages like "Shop," "Learn" and "Genius Bar" had their own divisional boxes. The three categories — with the same pictures and corresponding text — are still there, but instead of being segregated, they share a common row of negative space.
Ancillary retail pages have received the same treatment, including the Apple Store locations list.
The update is representative of Apple.com's continual evolution, which usually takes graphical cues from the company's operating systems.
