Good Geek Books |
Cascading
Style Sheets: The Definitive Reference (2nd Ed).
(http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/books/css-tdg/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Eric
A. Meyer |
| ISBN: |
0-596-00525-3 |
| Date: |
2004 |
| Publisher: |
O'Reilly |
| Comments: |
Just like it says: The definitive reference. |
Designing
Web Usability
(http://www.useit.com/jakob/webusability/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Jakob
Nielsen |
| ISBN: |
1-56205-810-X |
| Date: |
2000 |
| Publisher: |
New
Riders |
| Comments: |
Jakob Nielsen is considered the "Father
of Web Usability." Designers hate this guy with a burning passion,
but he makes a lot of sense (which is probably why they hate him. He
also advocates structure and rules). I highly recommend this book for
people who want to design truly usable Web sites. You don't have to
follow all of his suggestions (I think a truly "Nielsen-compliant" Web
site is pretty ugly), but you really need to think about the issues
he raises. |
Designing
with Web Standards
(http://www.zeldman.com/dwws/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Jeffrey
Zeldman |
| ISBN: |
0-73571-201-8 |
| Date: |
2003 |
| Publisher: |
New
Riders |
| Comments: |
This is a really good book for designing modern
Web sites that follow standards with a future, are accessible, attractive
and robust. |
The
Design of Everyday Things
(http://www.jnd.org/books.html#DOET) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Don
Norman |
| ISBN: |
0-46506-710-7 |
| Date: |
2002 (Re-issue) |
| Publisher: |
Basic
Books |
| Comments: |
This is the best design book I have ever read.
Period. It has changed the way I view the world. It doesn't actually
have that much to do with Web sites, but the basics of design transcend
all mediums. |
Don't
Make Me Think!
(http://www.sensible.com/buythebook.html) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Steve
Krug |
| ISBN: |
0-78972-310-7 |
| Date: |
2000 |
| Publisher: |
New
Riders |
| Comments: |
This is a wonderful book for designing Web
navigation! It is extremely easy to read, and makes tremendous sense. |
Envisioning
Information
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961392118/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Edward
Tufte |
| ISBN: |
0-96139-211-8 |
| Date: |
1990 |
| Publisher: |
Graphics
Press |
| Comments: |
Tufte is world-famous for his expertise on
designing and demonstrating ways for us to display and interpret complex
information. Most of his stuff is absolutely wonderful, and will give
you a "brain hernia." I picked this book, because it would
be a crime to talk about designing Web sites without mentioning him.
This is his most design-centered book. |
Eric
Meyer on CSS
(http://www.ericmeyeroncss.com/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Eric
A. Meyer |
| ISBN: |
0-73571-245-X |
| Date: |
2003 |
| Publisher: |
New
Riders |
| Comments: |
An excellent way to learn CSS. Eric Meyer has
created a project-based book that walks you through making your sites
CSS-studly. He has written lots of other stuff as well, but this is
an excellent place to begin. |
Home
Page Usability
(http://www.useit.com/homepageusability/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Jakob
Nielsen and Marie
Tahir |
| ISBN: |
0-73571-102-X |
| Date: |
2001 |
| Publisher: |
New
Riders |
| Comments: |
This is an excellent book for reviewing your
Home Page. This is the most important page on your site, and it needs
a lot of attention. |
HTML & XHTML –The
Complete Reference
(http://www.htmlref.com/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Thomas
Powell |
| ISBN: |
0-07222-942-X |
| Date: |
2003 |
| Publisher: |
Osborne |
| Comments: |
This is a very useful reference book on modern
HTML and XHTML. I find it eminently readable
and quite useful. It is a HUGE book. There is a wonderful
Web site that goes with
it, and is a full reference on its own. |
HTML & XHTML:
The Definitive Guide (5th Ed).
(http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/html5/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Chuck
Musciano and Bill
Kennedy |
| ISBN: |
0-59600-382-X |
| Date: |
2002 |
| Publisher: |
O'Reilly |
| Comments: |
This is not edge-of-the-seat reading. It is
a reference book. However, it is an excellent reference book, and a
book, that, in my opinion, every Web designer should have next to their
computer. |
JavaScript:
The Definitive Guide (4th Ed).
(http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/jscript4/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
David
Flanagan |
| ISBN: |
0-59600-048-0 |
| Date: |
2001 |
| Publisher: |
O'Reilly |
| Comments: |
JavaScript is a HUGE subject. This is a big
fat reference book that you should really have on hand if you want to
get the most from this powerful language. |
Outside
Lies Magic
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802775632) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
John
R. Stilgoe |
| ISBN: |
0-80277-563-2 |
| Date: |
1999 |
| Publisher: |
Walker & Company |
| Comments: |
You should get out more. This is an ecclectic
and wonderful book that encourages us to get out and
PAY ATTENTION. |
The
Simplicity Shift
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/052152749X/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Scott
Jenson |
| ISBN: |
0-52152-749-X |
| Date: |
2002 |
| Publisher: |
Cambridge
University Press |
| Comments: |
This is an excellent book that is aimed at
corporations wishing to improve the usability and simplicity of their
products. It talks about ways to prioritize features and product design
to maximize usability and simplicity. It is a short read, and well worth
it. |
The
Timeless Way of Building
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195024028) |
| Type: |
Hardcover Book on Architecture (The kind that
involves bricks). |
| Author: |
Christopher
Alexander |
| ISBN: |
0-19502-402-8 |
| Date: |
1979 |
| Publisher: |
Oxford
Press |
| Comments: |
In this book, Christopher Alexander introduces
the concept of Design Patterns.
This is probably one of the most important concepts ever introduced
to computer science. Pretty amazing, when you consider that this is
a building architecture book. I mention it here, not because of Design
Patterns, per se, but rather, because of the extremely practical and
commonsense discussions on the way we should approach human-centered
design. |
Understanding
Accessibility (Downloads a PDF Document)
(http://www.hisoftware.com/uaen/ua.pdf) |
| Type: |
Downloadable PDF Book |
| Author: |
Robert
B. Yonaitis |
| ISBN: |
1-93061-603-1 |
| Date: |
2002 |
| Publisher: |
Hi
Software |
| Comments: |
The Web accessibility industry actually is
quite a generous one, and they do try to help Web designers achieve
true accessibility. This online book is an example. |
User
Interface Design for Programmers (Printed Edition)
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1893115941/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Joel
Spolsky |
| ISBN: |
1-89311-594-1 |
| Date: |
2001 |
| Publisher: |
Apress |
| Comments: |
A book on developing effective and accessible
user interface. It is aimed at all types of programmers,
and is not just a Web book. It is well written and
practical. |
Web
Pages that Suck
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078212187X) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book |
| Author: |
Vincent
Flanders and Michael
Willis |
| ISBN: |
0-78212-187-X |
| Date: |
1998 |
| Publisher: |
Sybex |
| Comments: |
This is not a nice book. It makes fun of bad
Web sites. However, this is an excellent book. I have
learned a great deal from this book. One of the authors maintains a
Web site by the same name. |
Web Style Guide (2nd Ed).
(Open
the Amazon Book Reference)
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0300088981/)
(Open
the Book in Web Site Form)
(http://www.webstyleguide.com/) |
| Type: |
Trade Paperback Book and Web Site |
| Author: |
Patrick
J. Lynch and Sarah
Horton |
| ISBN: |
0-30008-898-1 |
| Date: |
2002 |
| Publisher: |
Yale
University Press |
| Comments: |
This is a very good book about Web site design.
It talks about creating tasteful, accessible and useful Web sites. Even
though the entire text is available online, I would recommend buying
the book anyway. It isn't big, it isn't too expensive and it isn't very
long. |
