Web Design: The Complete Reference

Rating:
Summary: Nice Desk Reference for any Web Designer
Review: A fundamental knowledge of HTML and familiarity with a web authoring tool such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage will significantly increase the value you derive from studying this book. For the beginning/aspiring Web Designer this book offers essential information for going professional and becoming recognized in the field of web design. Whatever your caliber is as a designer, the book is awesome to have as a desk reference. After you've finished studying this book, I recommend also studying "Professional Web Site Design <from start to finish>" by Anne-Marie Concepcion. This second book shows readers how to effectively manage a web design business!

Rating:
Summary: Great Reference with lots of topics
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but frankly it's turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made lately. I've been the most happy looking at the huge number of topics it covers. It is true that at times it is much more theory based than how-to, but it covers just about everything a Web designer encounters from usability to technology to project planning issues. For a small designer like me it tied a lot of loose ends together. After having used it for a few months I'd say it tends to be the strongest in site design and usability and the weakest in how to make buttons in Fireworks or more mundane tasks that my boggle a beginner Webmaster. Yet I use it all the time because I can pretty much look up information on any topic a client hits me with like search engines, JavaScript pro-cons, usability, servers, etc. I won't get 100 pages on each subject but I get more than enough to help me answer my questions. I can't say that's why I bought it but its turned out to be probably my most dog eared book. If you are going to buy a Web Design book to have around once you know the ropes and you are beyond the how to stuff, I can't say there is any other choice on the market. In that sense I guess I really have to give it 5 stars. If there were other choices maybe 4 since I will say that I would have liked some color stuff actually in color and some more graphics stuff, but fortunately the Lynda Weinmmen books I had covered that very well.

Rating:
Summary: A strong, broad overview
Review: Powell's Web Design is an extensive and thorough overview that provides a lot of breadth at enough depth to be worthwhile. The book will probably occur differently depending on the reader's prior knowledge. For myself, it helped put certain pieces in place and gave me a stronger sense of how various items are related.

While NOT an advanced text for someone wishing to gain expertise, the book is by no means superficial. What I found very worthwhile was Appendix A: Core Web Design Principles. Reflecting on these rules and suggestions was very valuable. Understanding each of them puts you well on your way to a strong grasp of web design.

I don't consider the book a "complete reference" so much as a comprehensive presentation of web design at a level deeper than an introduction but short of advanced. A very worthwhile read for those in the middle that will add to their maturity in the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Great Reference with lots of topics
Review: This book depends on designing theories more than real designing practice which is the most important way to be good designer. It is very dry and boring and if you are beginner don't bother your self much with this book.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive but common sense
Review: This book does not lack in details or volume. It is highly recommended for someone that is a beginner to novice in the website world. Don't expect it to teach you HTML or JavaScript. It concerns itself more with information architecture and GUI / design principles. For an experienced webmaster, it is common sense stuff that you already live by.

Rating:
Summary: Center your desing in the user
Review: This book doesn't help you very much in the design of web pages. It helps you in the design of web SITES. After reading this well structured book you will be capable create a structured web site in a few easy steps.

If you want to build dynamic, simple and user centered web pages you must read the rules and ideas this book gives you.

It covers almost every basic aspects of modern web building without getting into very complicated explanations. You can learn CSS (including some of those little effects you nowadays see in almost every website), HTML, XML.

For professional looking web site without "Las Vegas effects" and things like that, buy it, read it and practive its concepts.

Really 5 stars !

Rating:
Summary: Center your desing in the user
Review: This book doesn't help you very much in the design of web pages. It helps you in the design of web SITES. After reading this well structured book you will be capable create a structured web site in a few easy steps.

If you want to build dynamic, simple and user centered web pages you must read the rules and ideas this book gives you.

It covers almost every basic aspects of modern web building without getting into very complicated explanations. You can learn CSS (including some of those little effects you nowadays see in almost every website), HTML, XML.

For professional looking web site without "Las Vegas effects" and things like that, buy it, read it and practive its concepts.

Really 5 stars !

Rating:
Summary: Not for everybody.
Review: This book is a general overview of web design.

The book begins with examples of web architecture (linear, hub, etc.) and then begins to expand on all issues related to web design( Text, Graphics,etc.). In my opinion it does not do this in the proper order. You learn about Graphics and Browser Auto-Detection before you learn about text. This is not that bad though. Basically this book lists improvements and the do's and don'ts of making a site. This book does not teach HTML! You will find very little on tags. The book frequently references it's Companion Book (Complete Reference: HTML).

This book also stops teaching about 75% through it. It then begins to explain what the future of web design will be and starts it's huge appendix section. In my opinion, alot of the different appendices should have been in a different book. What's the use of listing the hexidecimal color codes in a book that mentions very little or nothing about color usage in web design.

I also would have liked a section in the book on page layout. The book uses one layout throughout the entire book.

Java and CSS code is spread throughout the book, but no mention of how to put it into your site. Another thing I did not like about the book was, on about 25% of the improvements to web sites it listed, it gave you no code to perform the improvement. Examples: There are many useful forms in the book, but no code. It fully explains the importance of having a local search engine on your site. No code. There are many others.

Also, the book is too big for it's binder. After the first full day of usage(turning pages and laying the book flat so I could reference or type in some code) pages began to separate from the binding. I'm gonna have to go to Kinko's and get it rebound.

To me, this book is meant for someone who knows HTML code, but does not know the methodology of creating a user friendly site.

Do not, get this book if this is your first time building a site!

Do get this book if you are seeking to improve upon your current web design style!

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable!
Review: This book is absolutely wonderful! Anyone truely interested in web design will benefit greatly!

The author is very knowlegable in the web medium and gives extensive detail into some of the most important and least looked at areas of design... the design itself! That's right, this book won't serve as a complete HTML guide. The book does talk a lot about HTML, it's stucture and propoer use and functure as well as gives lots of code examples. Same for javascript. But this book is mostly geared towards design issues. Where do you but the navigation bar on a website? How big to make your buttons? How should you organize the site? What are the steps to creating a web project? What kind of site models could you use? How to best use the web technologies available to create usable content.

The book emphasises a balance between form and function and talks a lot about usabillity, something that is of utmost importance in making interactive media. This book will guide you through the thinking behind interface desing concepts and aesthetic issues as well.

Easy to read and superbly written, this book is great! Some other reviews have displayed a dislike for it's focus on design principles and concepts instead of code the underworkings. While the book will infact give you good examples of use of HTML and Javascript as well as tons of info about these technologies (and brief intros) it was not meant to be a code manual. The name is "web DESIGN: the complete refrence"... if you want a code primer or refrence or beginners guide to making simple web pages get a different book. This book however gets you thinking about the issues of desinging usable websites that you probably never considered and that up until now, many books have been completely ignoring.