Rating: 
Summary: There ARE better books out there
Review: I was disappointed by Veen's book. It seemed very banal, because, to me, he just appeared to be giving his opinion on a bunch of sites, and what was even worse, some of those "favorites" no longer exist. I would only suggest this book for the most novice of web designers, and not someone who's been "in the game" for a while.
Rating: 
Summary: For people who loves to think !
Review: I'm enjoying this smart book by Jeffrey Veen. He knows a lot about the "inside" of web development and gives you an organized vision of the process. Usually we tend to read more about the how to (how to master sofware, etc) than the why, but as I'm seeing, the more you understand the why, more you could master and control your webs and results. For serious web designers!
Rating:
Summary: pretty worthless, really
Review: I'm not sure who this book is intended for. For readers new to web design, it doesn't seem to be the most useful resource. And for web designers with any experience the author seems to go into excruciating detail explaining the obvious.
Rating: 
Summary: Great writing and typos
Review: I'm writing this 'review' only because of the other reviews commenting on Veen's writing. There are a lot of typos; I was struck by every one of them. Curious -- because I thoroughly enjoyed reading Veen's prose -- I think he's a great writer. I never read anything by him before; I just picked up the book in a book store, started reading it, and bought it. Admirable writing throughout. And the content? - well, read the other reviews and take your pick. It depends on what you already know.
Rating:
Summary: Good understanding of design and web technologies
Review: I've been in the Internet business since 1994/95. Veen's book is a book full of Web Design foundations and principles. Veen shows he knows the business well. He says he is a sort of in-between graphic designer and developer. If I wrote the book it wouldn't be much different. Graphical designers thinking of moving from print to web should read this book before they make the final choice to move. For some designers it's hard to understand what Veen writes: "Good design comes from a deep understanding of the technologies behind the scenes." I fully agree with Veen.
Rating:
Summary: What's It Worth?
Review: Is a four-year old book about one of the most rapidly changing phenomena in the modern world worth reading? Well, it all depends what you already know.
"Guru" is a word often attached to Veen who is known in the Internet community as a consultant and lecturer. In this book he offers his views on what was, at the time of publication, cutting edge issues in web design. After providing a review of the growth of the Web, he urges consistency in construction and a clear articulation of structure in the design of web sites. He feels that the building of top quality websites requires a deep understanding of technique, well beyond simple coding. He explains the real problems of the "browser wars" for designers and users, and the importance of speed in downloading websites. Veen suggests that advertising can be more effectively integrated into Websites and finally suggests a process to allow the creation of websites on-the-fly that will allow the designer to keep up with an ever-increasing pace of use.
Most of the time Veen tries to take a long view of web design, dealing more with what the web should be doing rather then telling the reader "how-to". But when necessary to make his point, Veen can get into code, as he does when describing how to make liquid page layouts or construct a dynamic Web site.
Veen's writing is direct and simple and I always was surprised when I reached the end of a chapter at how quickly it had come. The technical aspects are not overwhelming, even to non-coders, although some knowledge of HTML and script writing, while not essential, will make it easier to comprehend.
A lot of what Veen talks about has already become standard practice. He urges the use of Cascading Style Sheets, which at the time of writing, were the cutting edge. Dreamweaver MX 2004, the most popular full featured program for building web sites not only uses Cascading Style Sheets but also sometimes has to be told when not to use them. And Dreamweaver also has the interfaces for the quick construction of dynamic web sites.
On the other hand, given some of the big commercial web sites that I've seen, a lot of web designers still need to understand the importance of consistency, speed and concern for the user that Veen urges.
If you are a heavy-duty programmer, most of the techniques that Veen promotes will be old hat (or should be) but his philosophical approach to the web might still be useful to you. On the other hand, if you are out there building your own web site, to support some other activity that is your main concern, the goals that Veen suggests for your website are unlikely to have been emphasized in your effort to learn technique. Moreover, learning about some of the more advanced approaches might help you to build a site that's special.
Rating:
Summary: Superb book by a design master
Review: Jeffrey Veen is on a mission to make the Web a better place. His latest book, "The Art & Science of Web Design," came from a need he saw for a higher-level view of Web design: "I looked around at what Web design books were available, and saw a hole in the market." Veen was Executive Interface Director for Wired Digital, and the man behind Webmonkey, HotWired, and HotBot's designs. For many of you, reading this book will be an "aha" experience. According to Veen, Web design is no longer logos and layouts, it now takes a multidisiplinary approach, with elements of information architecture, programming, and of course design. Veen says: "The line between design and programming is getting more and more blurry." The rare few who stretch beyond their comfort zones and learn these other disciplines can become design masters. Jeffrey Veen is such a person. It's a different kind of Web design book. Veen doesn't dwell on technical details, he guides you towards more elegant solutions. He provides ways you can find the best solutions (interfaces etc.) through the use of heuristic usability and pattern matching, rather than the tedious testing promoted by the likes of Jakob Nielsen. It's a new design philosophy really, a more fluid approach with "intelligent content that can figure out how to display itself correctly" created from dynamic publishing systems (databases and scripted templates). And Veen makes it look easy. Veen's final chapter on "Object- Oriented Publishing" ties it all together with a great example of a database-backed scripted template (using ASP) front-end to a church's sermon respository. He whipped the site up on his hard drive using low-cost tools, and shows how easy it can be to create a consistent look site-wide, lower maintenance costs, and easily add new "views" of your data. The benefit of separating presentation from content is that your site can more easily adapt to changing standards, and formats. Want a WAP feed? No problem, query the database with a different template, or even an XSL style sheet. The days of large static sites are numbered. Going to "dynamic publishing" using a database gives your company a strategic advantage over your competition, as you can publish content faster, and change designs and formats much more efficiently. Your site comes alive.
Rating:
Summary: Superb book by a design master
Review: Jeffrey Veen is on a mission to make the Web a better place. His latest book, "The Art & Science of Web Design," came from a need he saw for a higher-level view of Web design: "I looked around at what Web design books were available, and saw a hole in the market." Veen was Executive Interface Director for Wired Digital, and the man behind Webmonkey, HotWired, and HotBot's designs. For many of you, reading this book will be an "aha" experience. According to Veen, Web design is no longer logos and layouts, it now takes a multidisiplinary approach, with elements of information architecture, programming, and of course design. Veen says: "The line between design and programming is getting more and more blurry." The rare few who stretch beyond their comfort zones and learn these other disciplines can become design masters. Jeffrey Veen is such a person. It's a different kind of Web design book. Veen doesn't dwell on technical details, he guides you towards more elegant solutions. He provides ways you can find the best solutions (interfaces etc.) through the use of heuristic usability and pattern matching, rather than the tedious testing promoted by the likes of Jakob Nielsen. It's a new design philosophy really, a more fluid approach with "intelligent content that can figure out how to display itself correctly" created from dynamic publishing systems (databases and scripted templates). And Veen makes it look easy. Veen's final chapter on "Object- Oriented Publishing" ties it all together with a great example of a database-backed scripted template (using ASP) front-end to a church's sermon respository. He whipped the site up on his hard drive using low-cost tools, and shows how easy it can be to create a consistent look site-wide, lower maintenance costs, and easily add new "views" of your data. The benefit of separating presentation from content is that your site can more easily adapt to changing standards, and formats. Want a WAP feed? No problem, query the database with a different template, or even an XSL style sheet. The days of large static sites are numbered. Going to "dynamic publishing" using a database gives your company a strategic advantage over your competition, as you can publish content faster, and change designs and formats much more efficiently. Your site comes alive.
Rating: 
Summary: Another "expert" writing about common sense
Review: Let's face it, if you have any sense for web design you don't need this book (especially for. The same blah, blah, blah about consistency and page download speed. It's common-sense, people!
Rating:
Summary: No use for this book
Review: Of the many usability and design-oriented books I've had to slog through in search of useful and practical information, this isn't one of them. I found it to be a waste of my reading time and was, in some parts, actually annoying (if a book can be annoying) because I was earnestly searching for practical advice... and all I got was, as another review suggested, hipster commentary. If that's your thing, go for it.
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