Chapter 5 Links and Resources: Advanced Web Design

1. Darrell Sano, Designing Large-Scale Web Sites: A Visual Design Methodology (John Wiley and Sons, 1996). The major benefit of this book is that it focuses on the design of the entire site as opposed to simply designing individual, disconnected pages. Despite the title, the book is also useful if you are building medium-sized or even small sites.

2. David Siegal, Creating Killer Web Sites: The Art of Third-Generation Site Design (Indianapolis, IN: Hayden Books, 1997; go to http://www.killersites.com). This design book for the Web, lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed, is targeted at designers but is accessible to just about anyone interested in creating stunning Web pages.

3. Lynda Weinman, Deconstructing Web Graphics (New Riders, 1996). A behind-the-scenes look at how some of the best Web sites today are created. The author worked with designers to create a walk-through of how top Web sites were created.

4. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (Hartley and Marks, 1997). Bringhurst writes about designing with the correct typeface; striving for rhythm, proportion and harmony; choosing and combining type; designing pages; using section heads, subheads, footnotes and tables; applying kerning and other type adjustments to improve legibility; and adding special characters, including punctuation and diacritical marks. Packed with useful information and written in a clear, flowing style. Despite its professional focus, it is perfect for those approaching typography for the first time.

5. Edward Johnston [1872–1944] at http://www.umich.edu/~umsoais/ejweb/ is a Web site devoted to the life and work of Edward Johnston, calligrapher and designer of the London Underground typeface. Modern calligraphy begins with Johnston, who was able to emulate the skill of late medieval professional scribes and could write in a variety of hands. However, his work is of interest not just to calligraphers, but to anyone involved in designing with type or translating text to the Web. This University of Michigan Web site is worth a visit, not just for its rich ideas on design, but also for the site's own rich design. See especially "The Qualities of Good Writing" at http://www.umich.edu/~umsoais/ejweb/goodwriting.html.

6. Type and Typography at http://bsuvc.bsu.edu/prn/type.html contains information and ideas for Web site design. The creators of the site argue that good typographical design is as critical on the Web as in traditional print media. "Typography is very similar whether delivered on paper or on a computer screen. The most significant difference at present is the fact that when we consider the World Wide Web, we must design in such a way that the result will remain attractive regardless of the user's choice of operating system, browser, window size, font, set of installed fonts, graphics hardware, or any of the many other variables involved."

7. Type Books: For the Well-Read Typographer at http://www.typebooks.org/ is the online version of Type Books, which is published six times per year. This Web site is especially useful if you are looking for up-to-date reviews of current books on typography. Type Books has extensive reviews and a top-ten rating list that makes this Web site like having a typography expert on call.

8. Jerry Isdale, What Is Virtual Reality? A Homebrew Introduction and Information Resource List, at http://www.cms.dmu.ac.uk/People/cph/VR/whatisvr.html, offers a lengthy but readable introduction to virtual reality. The site also has an extensive collection of links to Web sites as well as Internet sources and print resources with more information on virtual reality.

9. Steven E. Brenner and Edwin Aoki, Introduction to CGI/PERL: Getting Started with Web Scripts (New York: M and T Books, 1996). Nice, short book with an emphasis on guiding the novice through the basics of setting up Perl scripts.

10. Selena Sol's Public Domain Script Archive and Resource Library at http://www.extropia.com/ mainly documents the CGI work that Selena Sol and Gunther Birznieks have done so that other programmers can learn from their example. The site includes working examples of Perl scripts, as well as the text of the code and helpful FAQs and directions on how to set up the scripts for your Web site. See also Selena Sol and Gunther Birznieks, Instant Web Scripts with CGI Perl (New York: M and T Books, 1996.