Balanced Website Design: Optimising Aesthetics, Usability and Purpose (Paperback)

by Dave Lawrence (Author), Soheyla Tavakol (Author)
Key Phrases: interaction design, heuristic evaluation, webpage dialogues, Optimising Aesthetics, Tutorial Exercises, Balanced Website Design (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"Balanced Website Design" (BWD) is a new methodology that fuses the strengths of traditional structured, stepped, and iterative approaches and a sharp focus on defining and achieving the desired characteristics of purpose, usability and aesthetics - absolutely essential requirements for any website. The book includes discussions of new perspectives on usability and aesthetics in the special context of website design. "BWD" is suitable for all types of websites, for individual and/or team projects, and should prove to be of significant value for even the most experienced of website designers. "BWD" provides guidance, structure and detailed documentation/process support for the activity of designing and implementing your next website - helping you maximise its effectiveness and relevance. It includes: a stepped, iterative, comprehensively structured, and easy to follow approach to website design; an approach that identifies and balances design needs with specific design ideas across each of aesthetics, usability and purpose components; new perspectives on usability and aesthetics; specially designed documentation provided to facilitate and support each process step; a methodology that is applicable to all types of website, and to all project scenarios; and resource based support via the book's website.

About the Author
Dr. Dave Lawrence is a Senior Lecturer in multimedia web technology at Middlesex University, and has been researching in this field for over a decade. The BWD concept and material have been progressively tested in classes over the past five years. Soheyla Tavakol comes from a freelance graphic design background and has been teaching at university level in desktop publishing and digital media for many years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846285186
• ISBN-13: 978-1846285189
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,098,287 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique, aestehtically organized, informative & easy to follow, August 21, 2007

By	V. Ameli - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've found in many website design books, if it is too focused on technical information, it soon feels outdated. I'm pleasantly surprised with this book, since the information offered is mainly on how to design a balanced and aesthetically working website, suitable for any level of expertise in designing a website and for any purpose. I am an artist and love designing my own websites - with mid level technical understanding. To me, the basic knowledge & psychology of aesthetics is essential, and remains always the same - - it can never go out of date. This book has a large focus on that. I highly recommend this book.

I particularly enjoyed the flow of ease of the book, explaining from the beginning what the book is about, and how to use it, with clear and easy to understand tables and images. The authors have kept their promise.