Product DescriptionTired of making web sites that work absolutely perfectly but just don't look nice?
If so, then The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is for you. A simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites.
Understand the design process, from discovery to implementation
Understand what makes 'good design'
Developing pleasing layouts using grids, the rule of thirds, balance and symmetry
Use color effectively, develop color schemes and create a palette
Use textures, lines, points, shapes, volumes and depth
Learn how good typography can make ordinary designs look great
Effective imagery: choosing, editing and placing images
And much more
Throughout the book, you'll follow an example design, from concept to completion, learning along the way. The book's full-color layout and large format (8' x 10') make The Principles Of Beautiful Wed Design a pleasure to read.
Editorial Reviews
'The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is a good book to kick start your graphic-design journey. The biggest benefit that I got from this book is the knowledge to learn from great designs as opposed to just admiring them in a state of awe.' - Slashdot.org
'Jason is a great writer, and the book is quite easy to read. It's put together wonderfully, including many full color screenshots and other forms of imagery that make the book a pleasure to read. I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone in Web design.' - MondayByNoon
'Jason Beaird covers web design in a way that non-designers can understand. He walks you through all of the aspects of design development from initial meeting to finished product. If you are just getting into web development, this is a must read.' - Blogcritics.org
'This is a thoroughly practical guide to web design that is very well written: good technical depth in easy-to-understand language with excellent illustrations and graphics that support the text. For many users it will be the only web-design text they will need. For those who want to further advance their skills and knowledge it will provide a sound foundation.' - PC Update
'His 'Don't just tell, show!' style makes this book accessible to everyone... It strikes a carefully thought-out balance between describing principles and illustrating them. It is clear and well structured, with practical examples in every chapter.' - Mitch Wheat
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Become An Artist
This book does the incredible, it actually teaches sound artistic principles such as textures and color combinations. If you did not think of yourself as an "artist" before reading this book, you certainly will after.
There are beautiful illustrations within this book so that you can actually see for yourself the artistic principles the author is using words to describe. The old cliche "a picture is worth a thousand words" is certainly true for this masterpiece.
Rating: - Useful but not thorough
I'm a programmer with an artistic side that is waiting to be born.
I didn't realize that web designers are actually artists bringing their talents onto a monitor screen (duh?). They go through formal training and education in graphic designs, theories, etc and they use all of that to get a site looking good. I always thought websites somehow would just look good on the front end if someone just casually work on it and as long as us backend programmers are at work then all is well ... Read More
Rating: - Terrific Book
Beautiful Web Design gives the user an insight look into what to think about when laying out your web site. Typography, color theory, composition and more all come into play. The author of this book is great!
Rating: - Great book!
I love this clearly-written well illustrated book. It's well paced, increasing in complexity as it goes along. I have stickies all over and keep going through it again and again, each time finding new and useful suggestions. I have several web design and CSS books, but this one is my favorite.
Rating: - Very Good For Web Developers Without a Design Background
Many of my Web development students come in with a basic understanding of Web languages or programming languages, but little experience with actual design. Even those who are artists often are not familiar with the principles of design, or are unsure as to how those might best translate to the new medium of the Web. I give this book a 5-star rating because it is so instantly applicable to those who need to baby-step towards better design sense and practices. Web developers, get past your ego and ... Read More
- Become An Artist
- Useful but not thorough
