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Inspiration 2005: Two New Hot Web Design Books  

:: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 ::

The UPS driver and I are getting to be on a first-name basis these days, as more complimentary copies of web design, SEO/SEM and usability books are shipped to me for review.

Below are two that, when taken together, offer web design help with an emphasis on design from the technical and usability perspectives. Taken separately, they each provide lots of examples and neither of them demands the reader to read every section first, or in the order presented, before being able to apply their techniques.

Spring Into HTML and CSS

Pre-Order HTML and CSS



Molly E. Holzschlag authors a new book, available in May 2005, on HTML and CSS, but don't be fooled by the title. This is no basic web design "for dummies" type of book. In a new series called "Spring Into...", dreamed up by Addison Wesley publishers, the aim of this book is to provide information to professionals and those who want more advanced instruction, but still want it delivered in easy to understand language. If you're new to web design, this book will get you on the correct path, immediately.

Molly's book will help web site owners take their web sites to the next level in today's Web (and browser) environment. She gets you going in XHTML immediately and standards compliant without any pain. Examples abound, as do sections like "Quantum Leap", which I found were more like "Hey, I didn't know that!" blurbs of information.

Advance book orders are being taken now. I highly recommend this book to beginners and advanced designers who want to understand new ways to code both HTML and CSS and want to do it properly the first time. There are things in her book that I never found in other books, and were lessons I had to learn the hard way - yet, Molly manages to read minds and she's got the stuff in her book.

Web Design Garage



Available now, Marc Campbell's new book, "Web Design Garage" is just plain cool. It's not just a book. It's an experience. It's not just about web design. It's about user centered design. It's not just about the boring details of code. It's about how to code with passion and experiencing the true thrill of this type of media. When you're ready to plunge into creative bliss, this book's for you.

Loaded with example code, tips, facts, and images of examples, this book combines a lot of content (i.e. reading) with gobs of "just do it now, I know you hate to read this stuff" goodies. Marc explains the how and why. He encourages experimenting, and putting the needs and interests of your end users first.

Curious about color? It's in there. Achieving balance? Slicing images? Launching scripts with links? New fangled navigation techniques? CSS tricks? Creating unique looking links? It's all in there, and way more.

Price Comparison Book Deals

I buy most of my books second-hand from Amazon's used book dealers. The quality has always been excellent, and shipping fast, courteous and professional.

Another alternative is to keep checking for book deals. One good place to try is Informit.com

Blogging about soon...Dan Thies writes an SEO Kit (I love it. It's living in my living room and I even passed up watching "Desperate Housewives" because I was buried in Dan's new work.) And, the Eisenberg brothers, Bryan and Jeffrey have written a book that's on its way to me now, called Call to Action. Can't wait to dive into that one.

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 4/13/2005 03:41:00 PM

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