Sapiblog - The Official Blog of Sapitot Creative

So Apple just announced their new laptop this past week, and all I can say is shazam! If anyone could argue that Apple is not using design to the fullest in their products, I would say check this out, HERE. It’s a marvel of product design, the whole thing is thick as a finger and weighs less than 3 pounds, yet contains a 13 inch monitor and full keyboard. I cannot wait to try this out at the store. With a starting price of $1,700, it is probably out of my range for the meantime, but it holds a lot of promise for the future of mobile computers

All this new geek hype got me to thinking…with my aging PC desktop here at home approaching the 5 year old mark, I have to face facts that one day when I go to turn it on, it will either not start, or give me the blue screen of death. I must say, it has done an incredible job during its lifetime, as I’ve pushed it hard, running Photoshop, Illustrator, iTunes, and more, all at the same time, on just 500 megs of memory and 80 gigs of hard drive space. I’ll give the credit to my buddy Eric who pieced it together with separate parts. I’ve only had to replace the CD-ROM drive during that time, and that was only because it was used from my previous rig, which would have made it almost 8 years old.

My PC is probably hurting inside for me typing this on its screen, but I am definitely considering a Mac the next time I’m faced with a computer purchase. How could you not? Leopard runs both PC and Mac programs, is faster and cleaner than Vista, and not to be superficial, but it is sexier. So what to get? I’d love to have the portability of a laptop just for the convenience factor, but I could still probably get more use out of a desktop for my freelance. I’m seriously looking at the new iMac as an option, but at the same time I’d love to have the Mac Air for travel. Ah, heck, let’s go gangbusters and just get both!

Any other suggestions of what to look at out there?

Currently listening to: Sia - Some People Have Real Problems

Seeing as this is the first news posting of the new year, I would like to wish you all a happy new year. I hope the holidays treated you well. Here’s to a fantastic 2008.

I finally found some spare time to post up some new work that I’ve been doing at my newish job at the Discovery Channel. Some new logos and a web site made the cut. A couple more additional projects will also be added soon.

I’ve always been one that cringes at political design. It seems that no candidate ever takes the time to do justice to how they present their message. Clichés abound in this realm: the traditional flag, eagle and stars decorate just about every sign posted in someone’s front yard that proves that they are most patriotic candidate. Even worse, this fall I saw signs here in northern Virginia that used the most horrid of fonts…comic sans! C’mon now!

I finally found such a candidate in Barack Obama. I had not logged on to his site since his candidacy was in its infancy and from what I recall, it was a decent site. I revisited it during the pre-New Hampshire hype this week and was pleasantly greeted with a very fresh, clean and youthful site. An absolutely beautiful, well thought out presentation. The subtle patterns in the background, the charming widgets that decorate the page are all very tastefully done. The designers picked a very simple sans serif font to use consistently throughout the site, as opposed to the heavy handed serifs that Hillary uses rather inconsistently on her page.

The design does what all great design should do, compliment the message, and also lets the information breathe. I don’t feel as though I’m getting bashed in the head with all of his latest news and achievements, the site gracefully unfolds as the viewer scrolls down the page, with everything easily navigable. It gives the impression of a very sophisticated, well prepared candidate who represents change. The look of Obama’s site reiterates his position of breathing new life into Washington. In comparison, his rivals’ sites feel clunky and cluttered. Perhaps a it’s a good contrast of the old generation vs. the new one coming of age.

Now I’m not saying I would base my vote off of a web site design (although he already has my vote in the bag), but you have to respect someone who takes the time to thoughtfully present their case. Hats off to the designers and developers…if anyone figures out who did the site, I’d love to see their portfolio.

You can check out the Obama site here: www.barackobama.com

Most importantly, get out and vote this year, wherever you live. This election is too important not to do so.