Customer Reviews

Web Graphics for Non-Designers

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just what it says: Web graphics, for people without a lick of graphic talent or design sense - like me.

This book goes over just about every common method of making a web page look better than just text. From basic color science and typography to Flash authoring, "Web Graphics for Non-Designers" covers it - thoroughly, and in concise language that does not talk down to those who have been to design school.

I especially enjoyed the chapters on color science and general web-page layout. In each of those chapters, I learned something I didn't know before. If I had to pick a least favorite chapter, I'd say Flash, just because Flash scares me right now.

If you aren't generally creative to begin with, this book will only indirectly help you decide what content to put on your web; it will, however, help you better organize and present what you're planning to put on your web already.

Although this book gives prodigious and beautiful examples of web pages throughout the (English-speaking) world, very few books help you with the creativity and imagination that you need to decide what to come up with in the first place. Since that's the problem I suffer from as a web developer, I pay particular attention to books that claim to help with web creativity but don't deliver. Web Graphics is not such a book, I'm happy to say. But the pictures are pretty, and I could try to emulate them quite easily with this book if I wanted.

I lucked out with this purchase, and it will hold a prominent (small) space on my shelf - and at that, one that I reach for fairly often, and don't loan out. If I need to brush up on a skill, or figure out how to position something without breaking the rest of my layout, I'm fairly confident I'll be able to get the answer out of this book, and at less thickness than the standard King James Bible, that's a good book to have.

To start off, the book is easy to read - something which I increasingly need with a very busy lifestyle. It was especially important as design isn't a core skill for me but It is becoming increasingly important for my job. All of the subjects covered were very interesting, although the font chapter was heavy going (i am not sure that fonts will ever be exciting to me) - it didnt provide unnecessary information.

The quality of the printing is not always top quality in chapters 2 - 4 (some of the images are poor - the designers at work found that hard to forgive) but that didnt get in the way of the message.

What have I got out of the book?
I particularly found color theory fascinating.
I now have the vocabulary to find out more on the subjects in the later chapters
I can better critique my own designs, understand what the designers at work are trying to do, and can used designs I like to inspire my own, as I can now take them apart to the constituant parts.
I have already started to benefit from the understanding of what makes good design.

_Web Graphics for Non-Designers_ is definitely a book for beginners. Most experienced web designers and graphic artists will probably find very little new information. However, for someone who has just started to set up web pages and has not had any formal training in graphics or layout, the book is very valuable.

It touches on a number of basic things needed for a good web page and web site, including images, tables, borders, different types of layout, text vs. images, and ways to control file sizes and download times.

It also goes into more depth about presentation, covering issues such as color theory, uses of color, how color displays on different monitors, fonts, typefaces, print vs. screen typefaces, and text layout.

There is also quite a bit of information on image files, such the uses of GIF and JPEG files, formats such as PNG, and other formats such as Flash animation and scalable vector graphics. A brief description of the major web graphics packages is included as well.

Finally, the book talks about some of the things that make a website FUNCTIONAL (and not just a fancy picture), such as simplicity, usability, flexibility, and consistency.

I found this to be a very helpful book for someone (myself) who has just started trying to design and set up websites. I actually feel pretty lucky that I stumbled across this book, as it was almost exactly what I needed to help me figure out what I wanted to do with my sites.

However, I do give this book four stars instead of five because there were some places where it seemed like the authors jumped around a little bit, the section on graphics programs was hard to follow without having actually used those programs before, and I really wish they would have had more information about typefaces and uses of color.

Overall, a very well-written and useful book. I was so impressed I have already bought glasshaus's book on cascading style sheets (CSS).

The book is well worthwhile for the beginning developer, someone who has a limited web library, or someone who has never done anything on the design side. On the other hand, if you have several years of experience, the book will be of less use. I personally found myself saying, "I know that already" a little too much for me to make the a permanent addition to my shelves.

It is well written, has up-to-date graphics, and would be great for someone wanting to get their library started.