The Principles of Beautiful Web Design
Product Description
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 webdesign 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
I’m a regular visitor to sitepoint. I do enjoy Jason Beard’s writings. However, after finishing this book I find myself not one whit smarter and actually feel dumber for having spent the $ on it. Seriously, anything this elementary should be billed as so. I learned nothing.
Rating: 1 / 5
Book was delivered in condition advertised and arrived promptly as promised. Would buy from seller again
Rating: 4 / 5
Good book. It explains some designs ideas and techniques in a very simple way.
Rating: 4 / 5
Beaird’s book is very well written and a great help in understanding what make a beautiful website. Given how many truly bad websites are out there more designers need to read this book.
Before setting up the website for Snappy Sayings: wit & wisdom from the world’s greatest minds I read Beaird’s book and two or three others. I found his the most helpful. Now that my website is up I am going back to “The Principles of Beautiful Web Design” to improve what I have. His design ideas even helped me with the layout and design of Snappy Sayings: wit & wisdom from the world’s greatest minds. I wonder if he knew he was also helping make book designs more beautiful?
There is so much in this book that web designer who are from the techie side can easily use. Years of design school and experience in an easy to understand and use format is what makes this such a great book.
Rating: 5 / 5
Alas, I’m about halfway through and, to be honest, I’m a bit bored. Colorful pages, but it’s theory and, I dunno, not enough practical bits. Perhaps it is hard to present design theory so as to make it fascinating.
Anyway, hopefully the second half will be better.
Try to find some excerpts online to see if it’s your thing.
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Update 2007-12-29
The second half was better. I learned of a couple of good sites for free stock photos (sxc.hu and Morguefile), introductory information on the power of PhotoShop, and a brief intro to the classification of type (fonts).
(I’m a computer programmer.)
Rating: 3 / 5