Reviewed by: The Blind Monkey

I often get questions about how to get started in Web design and development, and more importantly, how to do it well. Obviously, these questions aren’t from colleagues, who know that I don’t actually have a clue… but that’s another story. Today I’d like to tell you about one of the few books I’ve found that does a fantastic job of teaching how to blend artistry and functionality. And because it focuses on HTML, it wasn’t out of date before it hit the stands. In fact, it’s been almost a year since it was published and it still has more relevant content than most of the stuff you’ll see on Webmonkey or DevEdge.

Penned by Ardith Ibanez and Natalie Zee, these designers have created some of the sharpest sites on the Net, with Web content and design for Macromedia, Visa, Sony Pictures Entertainment, PhotoDisc, MGM, and more.

Now most HTML books focus on guidance that presents only the most basic dev topics in the driest, coldest language possible. This is most likely due to the fact that techies usually write these books — and that nowadays real designers tend to look down their noses at simple HTML. But HTML Artistry is hands-on Web design guide that step-by-step illustrates all aspects of HTML design, from the simple table layout to full animation with Dynamic HTML. Case studies and inspirational design models will teach you a variety of design principles and how to apply them to your site design. It also does an exceptional job of discussing cross-browser issues and discrepancies, along with alternative means of dealing with each.

Here are some of the great topics you’ll take on:

Designing Intuitive Navigation
Adding Sophistication and Interactivity with HTML and JavaScript
Pushing Your Design with Dynamic HTML
Cascading Style Sheets: Typography Made Simple
Creating the Animations of Your Dreams

These pieces are all fantastic, but my favorite thing about this book is the support. It has a companion Web site where you can download all the code from the book as well as step-by-step tutorials. Tutorials that cover typography, interactivity, navigation, animation, color, and graphics. It’s like getting one-on-one instruction from some of the most talented designers in the business. Now I’d send you to the URL, but to get to the cool stuff, you’ve got to have a password that comes from the book.

So check it out for yourself! It’s got 5 STAR Reviews from everyone who’s visited it on Amazon.com… and more importantly, from the Blind Monkey as well. =)

Paperback - 286 Pages (May 1998) Hayden Books; ISBN: 1568304544 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.67 x 10.00 x 8.06