How to Design Websites


Book Description

There are books on the nuts and bolts of web design and there are books about website aesthetics, showcasing examples of good design. How to Design Websites contains the essentials of both, addressing the skillsets required to produce websites that are functional and elegant but from a graphic designer s perspective. It demonstrates that you can design a working website in minutes without the need for expensive programs. Chapters include Code, Layout, Text and Typography, and Images and Colour Schemes. Useful tips and tricks panels are included, as well as step-by-step projects such as how to produce a portfolio site that will be of interest to design students and to graduates of all disciplines. Inspirational Trailblazer case studies showcase the best of contemporary designers and their work. Blogs, Facebook, Flickr and HTML5, and new ways of using the web, such as mobile phones and netbooks, are also discussed.




Web Design in a Nutshell


Book Description

Are you still designing web sites like it's 1999? If so, you're in for a surprise. Since the last edition of this book appeared five years ago, there has been a major climate change with regard to web standards. Designers are no longer using (X)HTML as a design tool, but as a means of defining the meaning and structure of content. Cascading Style Sheets are no longer just something interesting to tinker with, but rather a reliable method for handling all matters of presentation, from fonts and colors to the layout of the entire page. In fact, following the standards is now a mandate of professional web design. Our popular reference, Web Design in a Nutshell, is one of the first books to capture this new web landscape with an edition that's been completely rewritten and expanded to reflect the state of the art. In addition to being an authoritative reference for (X)HTML and Cascading Style Sheets, this book also provides an overview of the unique requirements of designing for the Web and gets to the nitty-gritty of JavaScript and DOM Scripting, web graphics optimization, and multimedia production. It is an indispensable tool for web designers and developers of all levels. The third edition covers these contemporary web design topics: Structural layer: HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 (9 chapters), including an alphabetical reference of all elements, attributes and character entities Presentation layer: Ten all-new chapters on Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2.1, including an alphabetical reference of all properties and values. Behavior layer: JavaScript and scripting with the Document Object Model (DOM) Web environment: New web standards, browsers, display devices, accessibility, and internationalization Web graphics optimization: Producing lean and mean GIF, JPEG, PNG, and animated GIFs Multimedia: Web audio, video, Flash, and PDF Organized so that readers can find answers quickly, Web Design in a Nutshell, Third Edition helps experienced designers come up to speed quickly on standards-based web design, and serves as a quick reference for those already familiar with the new standards and technology. There are many books for web designers, but none that address such a wide variety of topics. Find out why nearly half a million buyers have made this the most popular web design book available.







Learning Web Design


Book Description

Do you want to build web pages but have no prior experience? This friendly guide is the perfect place to start. You’ll begin at square one, learning how the web and web pages work, and then steadily build from there. By the end of the book, you’ll have the skills to create a simple site with multicolumn pages that adapt for mobile devices. Each chapter provides exercises to help you learn various techniques and short quizzes to make sure you understand key concepts. This thoroughly revised edition is ideal for students and professionals of all backgrounds and skill levels. It is simple and clear enough for beginners, yet thorough enough to be a useful reference for experienced developers keeping their skills up to date. Build HTML pages with text, links, images, tables, and forms Use style sheets (CSS) for colors, backgrounds, formatting text, page layout, and even simple animation effects Learn how JavaScript works and why the language is so important in web design Create and optimize web images so they’ll download as quickly as possible NEW! Use CSS Flexbox and Grid for sophisticated and flexible page layout NEW! Learn the ins and outs of Responsive Web Design to make web pages look great on all devices NEW! Become familiar with the command line, Git, and other tools in the modern web developer’s toolkit NEW! Get to know the super-powers of SVG graphics




Son of Web Pages that Suck


Book Description

Humorously describes ways to design, build, and maintain effective Web sites, including criticism of Web sites the authors feel are poorly designed.




Hello Web Design


Book Description

This book democratizes web development for everyone. It's a fun, clever guide that covers all of the key design principles, best practices, useful shortcuts, pro tips, real-world examples, and basic coding tutorials needed to produce a beautiful website that you'll feel confident sharing with the world. Because you, too, can design for the web! Hello Web Design contains everything you need to feel comfortable doing your own web development, including an abundance of real-life website examples that will inspire and motivate you. No need to spend time and money hiring an expensive graphic designer; this book will walk you through the fundamentals - and shortcuts - you need to do it all yourself, right now.




Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites


Book Description

This book teaches you all you need to know to create effective web sites for businesses of all sizes. It’s packed with useful tips and practical examples. First you are taken through the planning stage, including overall site structure, grouping content, using content and language effectively, and planning for accessibility. Next, you are shown how to effectively design the different parts of your site as well as how to add specialized improvements, including feedback forms and search functionality. The examples focus largely on CSS and HTML, but the principles are applicable to any site and some useful Flash examples are also provided.




Design for Hackers


Book Description

Discover the techniques behind beautiful design by deconstructing designs to understand them The term 'hacker' has been redefined to consist of anyone who has an insatiable curiosity as to how things work—and how they can try to make them better. This book is aimed at hackers of all skill levels and explains the classical principles and techniques behind beautiful designs by deconstructing those designs in order to understand what makes them so remarkable. Author and designer David Kadavy provides you with the framework for understanding good design and places a special emphasis on interactive mediums. You'll explore color theory, the role of proportion and geometry in design, and the relationship between medium and form. Packed with unique reverse engineering design examples, this book inspires and encourages you to discover and create new beauty in a variety of formats. Breaks down and studies the classical principles and techniques behind the creation of beautiful design Illustrates cultural and contextual considerations in communicating to a specific audience Discusses why design is important, the purpose of design, the various constraints of design, and how today's fonts are designed with the screen in mind Dissects the elements of color, size, scale, proportion, medium, and form Features a unique range of examples, including the graffiti in the ancient city of Pompeii, the lack of the color black in Monet's art, the style and sleekness of the iPhone, and more By the end of this book, you'll be able to apply the featured design principles to your own web designs, mobile apps, or other digital work.




Web Design Playground


Book Description

Summary Web Design Playground takes you step by step from writing your first line of HTML to creating interesting and attractive web pages. In this project-based book, you'll use a custom online workspace, the book's companion Playground, to design websites, product pages, photo galleries, and more. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology How do top designers learn to create beautiful web pages and intuitive user experiences? Great examples, expert mentoring, and lots of practice! Written by web designer and master teacher Paul McFedries, this unique book shapes and sharpens your skills in HTML, CSS, and web page design. About the Book Web Design Playground takes you step by step from writing your first line of HTML to creating interesting, attractive web pages. In this project-based book, you'll use a custom online workspace to design websites, product pages, photo galleries, and more. Don't worry about setting up your own servers and domain names—the book comes with a free "playground" which lets you experiment without any of that! You can concentrate on core skills like adding images and video and laying out the page, plus learning typography, responsive design, and the other tools of the web trade. What's inside Getting started with HTML, CSS, and web design A free, fully interactive web design workspace Working with images, color, and fonts Full-color illustrations throughout About the Reader If you can use a browser, you're ready to create web pages! About the Author Paul McFedries has written nearly 100 books, which have sold over four million copies world-wide. Table of Contents PART 1 - GETTING STARTED WITH HTML AND CSS Getting to Know HTML and CSS Building Your First Web Page Adding Structure to Your Page Formatting Your Web Page Project: Creating a Personal Home Page PART 2 - WORKING WITH IMAGES AND STYLES Adding Images and Other Media Learning More About Styles Floating and Positioning Elements Styling Sizes, Borders, and Margins Project: Creating a Landing Page PART 3 - LAYING OUT A WEB PAGE Learning Page Layout Basics Creating Page Layouts with Flexbox Designing Responsive Web Pages Making Your Images and Typography Responsive Project: Creating a Photo Gallery PART 4 - MAKING YOUR WEB PAGES SHINE More HTML Elements for Web Designers Adding a Splash of Color to Your Web Designs Enhancing Page Text with Typography Learning Advanced CSS Selectors Project: Creating a Portfolio Page




Product Design for the Web


Book Description

Web designers are no longer just web designers. To create a successful web product that's as large as Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest-or even as small as a tiny app-you need to know more than just HTML and CSS. You need to understand how to create meaningful online experiences so that users want to come back again and again. In other words, you have to stop thinking like a web designer or a visual designer or a UX designer or an interaction designer and start thinking like a product designer. In this breakthrough introduction to modern product design, Etsy Creative Director Randy Hunt explains the skills, processes, types of tools, and recommended workflows for creating world-class web products. After reading this book, you'll have a complete understanding of what product design really is and you'll be equipped with the best practices necessary for building your own successful online products.