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The Art & Science of Web Design

Ebook 4: The Art & Science of Web Design

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Another Mirror

By Jeffrey Veen; New Riders Press, 2001

For everyone who has ever looked at the Web and asked“Why?” rather than “How?”

The Art & Science of Web Design will help you understand the Web from the inside. It is structured around core Web concepts that often get only a passing mention in books on Web design. This book is not a reference book or a style guide. It is your mentor, whispering in your ear all the answers to those ubiquitous questions, and reminding us that there are now new rules and new ways to break them.

Jeffrey Veen is an internationally sought-after speaker, author, and design strategist.For six years he created some of the most respected commercial sites on the Web as Executive Interface Director for Wired Digital.

When it comes to Web design, style guides are often too boring and predictable to capture the attention of caffeine-riddled Web developers. But not The Art & Science of Web Design; this book strategically equips readers to design sites effectively.

Jeffrey Veen, an established design guru and one of the creators of HotWired.com, has authored a carefully structured look into the undercurrents of Web design. Organized around the key development topics, the book is laden with a historical background of standards, features, and trends. Yet the topics are timeless and core to good Web engineering, so it's space well spent. The mix of expert opinion and historical explanation creates a well-rounded reader experience.

Issues such as interface consistency are explored within the unique paradigm of the Web, with the assistance of a sidebar to explain what "above the fold" means. Performance is discussed with an unusual twist: the current constraint on Web-browsing performance is actually good since it fosters creativity and more elegant design and development. This, beyond the usual design tips, is what makes this book special. Art & Science stays at a reasonably high altitude, dwelling not on the fine details of browser compatibility but rather on the key areas designers need to be concerned about. With his years of experience and knowledge of the legacy of traditional publishing, Veen has provided a great perspective on the dicey work of Web designers. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Technology history (publishing, presentation model)
• Interface consistency
• Site structure
• Interactivity and self-aware content
• Browsers
• Performance
• Web advertising
• Database-driven content

About the Author:

Jeffrey Veen is an internationally sought-after speaker, author, and design strategist. For six years he created some of the most respected commercial sites on the Web as Executive Interface Director for Wired Digital. He is involved in standards work with the World Wide Web Consortium as an invited expert on electronic publishing. Veen is a columnist for Webmonkey, and was named by CNet as one of the "First Annual Web Innovators." His first book, HotWired Style: Priniciples for Building Smart Web Sites, is considered a milestone in the development of visual standards in Web design.

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