Design books

Get on the fast track to creating your own Web site
Want to create a compelling Web site for a home business, family, or fun? Whether you're a student, aspiring designer, or entrepreneur, you can -- with Dreamweaver(r) and this easy-to-follow guide. Gain solid skills as you go from station to station in a series of clear-cut tutorials that cover site planning, registering a domain, formatting, and more. The last stop? Put your new site online and go live! Start your journey today on The L Line.
* Define your goals and create a site plan
* Learn the best ways to combine HTML and Cascading Style Sheets
* Use layers, create forms, and make the site interactive
* Master Web standards and the latest search engine optimization techniques
All aboard for valuable online extras
Visit The L Line Web site at www.wiley.com/go/thelline for valuable online supplementary materials:
* Test bank with challenging review questions
* PowerPoint slides with chapter outlines
* Images and Web page files from the book
* Practice exam answers
* A CSS reference guide
Along The L Line
* Complete tutorial coverage with step-by-step instruction
* Ample illustrations and examples
* Real-world case studies, applications, and hints for avoiding pitfalls
* Practice exams that let you evaluate your progress

As a web designer or developer, you know how powerful DOM scripting is for enhancing web pages and applications, adding dynamic functionality and improving the user experience. You've got a reasonable understanding of JavaScript and the DOM, but now you want to take your skills further. This book is all you need to do soit shows you how to add essential functionality to your web pages, such as on the fly layout and style changes, interface personalization, maps and search using APIs, visual effects using JavaScript libraries, and much more.

• Includes a quick recap of the basics, for reference purposes.
• Packed with real world JavaScript solutions from beginning to end
• Written by "Beginning Google Maps" author Jeffrey Sambells, and includes a case study by JavaScript guru Aaron Gustafson.

What you'll learn

• A quick recap of the HTML and CSS DOM, methods, and events.
• Shows you the basics of how to add dynamic effects and respond to user actions to your web sites using CSS and JavaScript.
• Introduces Ajax to the mix, showing you how to use it, and when not to use it.
• Learn best practices (such as graceful degredation) and productivity improvement via code reuse (libraries and APIs)
• Create Mashups using search, photo and mapping APIs.
• Build better, more dynamic user experiences using libraries such as Prototype and Scriptaculous.

Who is this book for? This book is for intermediate to advanced web designers and developers who already have a reasonable to good knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

In this book you'll learn how to:

• Create dynamic websites with design and usability in mind, as well as functionality
• Understand how PHP scripts work, giving you confidence to adapt them to your own needs
• Bring online forms to life, check required fields, and ensure user input is safe to process
• Upload files and automatically create thumbnails from larger images
• Manage website content with a searchable database

You want to make your websites more dynamic by adding a feedback form, creating a private area where members can upload images that are automatically resized, or perhaps storing all your content in a database. The problem is, you're not a programmer and the thought of writing code sends a chill up your spine. Or maybe you've dabbled a bit in PHP and MySQL, but you can't get past baby steps. If this describes you, then you've just found the right book. PHP and the MySQL database are deservedly the most popular combination for creating dynamic websites. They're free, easy to use, and provided by many web hosting companies in their standard packages. Unfortunately, most PHP books either expect you to be an expert already or force you to go through endless exercises of little practical value. In contrast, this book gives you real value right away through a series of practical examples that you can incorporate directly into your sites, optimizing performance and adding functionality such as file uploading, email feedback forms, image galleries, content management systems, and much more. Each solution is created with not only functionality in mind, but also visual design. But this book doesn't just provide a collection of ready-made scripts: each PHP Solution builds on what's gone before, teaching you the basics of PHP and database design quickly and painlessly. By the end of the book, you'll have the confidence to start writing your own scripts or—if you prefer to leave that task to othersto adapt existing scripts to your own requirements. Right from the start, you're shown how easy it is to protect your sites by adopting secure coding practices. The book has been written with an eye on forward and backward compatibilityrecommending the latest PHP 5 techniques, but providing alternative solutions for servers still running PHP 4.3. All database examples demonstrate how to use the original MySQL extension, MySQL Improved, or the PHP Data Objects (PDO) introduced in PHP 5.1, letting you choose the most suitable option for your setup. Summary of Contents:

• Chapter 1: What Is PHPAnd Why Should I Care?
• Chapter 2: Getting Ready to Work with PHP
• Chapter 3: How to Write PHP Scripts
• Chapter 4: Lightening Your Workload with Includes
• Chapter 5: Bringing Forms to Life
• Chapter 6: Uploading Files
• Chapter 7: Using PHP to Manage Files
• Chapter 8: Generating Thumbnail Images
• Chapter 9: Pages That Remember: Simple Login and Multipage Forms
• Chapter 10: Setting Up MySQL and phpMyAdmin
• Chapter 11: Getting Started with a Database
• Chapter 12: Creating a Dynamic Online Gallery
• Chapter 13: Managing Content
• Chapter 14: Solutions to Common PHP/MySQL Problems
• Chapter 15: Keeping Intruders at Bay

So you have a great concept and all the fancy digital tools you could possibly require—what's stopping you from creating beautiful pages? Namely the training to pull all of these elements together into a cohesive design that effectively communicates your message. Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help.

In The Non-Designer's Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you'll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap—which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.

This is a conceptually rich book that teaches web design skills and offers practical guidance within a coherent framework of information-design principles and hypertext theory. With a very clear yet trim writing style and over 150 illustrations, this book offers a broad range of discussion items. An emphasis on intellectually challenging questions call for review and synthesis, problem solving, and the focused examination of Websites. A set of 30 "Quick Start" design principles enables readers to begin working on a project. Explanation of copyright issues include public domain content, fair use, and related issues. Emphasis on usability testing and other forms of evaluation teach the importance of involving users in the design process and help plan and conduct basic usability tests. For those interested in multimedia and web design.

With the struggling US economy, many businesses have had to implement steps to curb expenses and pinch pennies. One of the first areas to feel these cutbacks is the web site design and development group. Employees have been asked to fill roles previously held by other employees due to staff reductions. At the same time, these remaining employees are expected to execute robust and efficient mechanisms for their corporate web sites on a tight or non-existent budget. Developers and designers are looking for shortcut tools to get there. It's all about getting more bang for the buck. Web design on a Shoestring is the tool these web site developers and designers need. It reveals all sorts of free or inexpensive resources that are available but unknown. More specifically, Carrie Bickner shows you how any individual can do the things a team of web professionals are often brought in to do. Learn how to create a pennywise plan so that you avoid being nickled and dimed to death later. Find out the best ways to test your web sites efficiencies and functionalities. Understand the most effective content management systems, and the commercial products to use or avoid - all with no dollars being spent.

* This value-priced guide by one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women on the Web delivers 250 solutions, workarounds, tips, and annoyance-busters that Web designers won't find anywhere else
* Offers 500 pages of insider techniques to improve workflow and efficiency, save development time and money, and increase search engine rankings and site traffic, whether designers want to enhance an existing Web site or build a state-of-the-art site from scratch
* Covers topics such as HTML, XHTML, CSS, graphics and multimedia, cell phone and PDA accessibility, content development, tools, usability, information architecture, globalization, and site redesign
* Molly Holzschlag is a steering committee member of the Web Standards Project (WaSP) and spokesperson for the World Organization of Webmasters, as well as a frequent lecturer at industry conferences and the author of twenty-five previous books

This comprehensive introductory book provides step-by-step instruction and in-depth explanation on three of today?s most widely used Web design and development programs: Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, Adobe Flash CS4, and Adobe Fireworks CS4. Readers gain practical experience with the software as they work through end-of-chapter learning projects and step-by-step tutorials. An integration chapter demonstrates how to move from one application to the other while creating a Dreamweaver Web site that incorporates both Flash and Fireworks files. Full-color illustrations and a user-friendly design combine to create a solid learning experience that reveals how to master the latest features of these popular applications.

People are beginning to demand a higher standard of user experience (UX) quality from the software systems they use in their business and personal lives, and companies are looking to UX to help drive business value and increase brand strength. Effective UI provides a complete roadmap to building groundbreaking software centered on UX quality, including how to generate management support, employing product management strategies proven to deliver greater success, and how to manage the design, engineering, staffing, and business considerations that must be centered on the user's needs and working effectively in tandem all throughout the project.
With a focus on UX, software can exceed expectations by:

• Accounting for how people work with, think about, and consume information.
• Establishing richer means of collaboration and communication
• Reducing frustration by streamlining complex tasks and creating more intuitive processes.
• Generating more engaging and interactive experiences between consumers and businesses, or between businesspeople and their information systems.
• Powerfully differentiating products, services, and brands to create a competitive advantage.

For business and product managers trying to get innovative products funded and successfully built, for software professionals struggling to advance the cause of better UX, and for anyone else who needs to effectively advocate for and deliver on the promise of higher quality software, Effective UI is a comprehensive, valuable resource.

If you want to add more power and functionality to your Web sites, add some database applications like a powerful shopping cart or a fun quiz game. Such applications make your site more dynamic, allow you to gather information, and provide customized experiences for your visitors.

Creating Database Web Applications with PHP and ASP teaches beginning and intermediate designers the fundamentals of creating complex Web applications. By covering both open source (PHP/MySQL) and proprietary tools (Microsoft ASP and Access), readers gain insight to the strengths and weaknesses of each. In addition, they learn how to work with both sets of tools and determine which works best for their projects. Practical examples, including a shopping cart and quiz show, are used to teach the basic concepts behind creating and testing database code. Every example is also provided in both PHP and ASP for easy comparison and use. With the knowledge and experience gained here, beginners will learn the fundamental concepts behind these two technologies, while more experienced developers will learn which technology works best for their specific needs. Exercises, questions, and projects are included with each chapter.

Whom this book is for:
* Students learning how to create databases for Web applications (some knowledge of HTML and JavaScript is assumed)
* Beginner or intermediate Web designers who want to learn how to add database applications to their sites using either PHP or ASP tools

Topic Highlights:
* Basic Web technologies (HTML and JavaScript)
* Client-side versus server-side programming
* Database design and planning
* SQL fundamentals
* Form handling
* Passing information using query strings
* Cookies and session variables
* Validating user input using regular expressions

On the CD!
* Code Samples
- Contains all the code for examples in the book
* Projects
- Contains all the code for the projects and applications in the book, including a shopping cart, quiz show, and state capital game
* Images
- Contains color versions of all the images in the book by chapter for easy reference

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
PC: The PHP and ASP files can be created using any ASCII/TEXT editor, such as NotePad on any Windows System. To create an Access database you need Microsoft Access. The files must be run on a computer that has a Web server such as IIS. Appendix A shows you how to set up IIS, MySQL, and PHP on a Windows XP Professional system. The files have been tested in the following 3 environments: a remote server running Windows NT, Apache, MySQL, and PHP; a local computer running Windows 98, Personal Web Server, MySQL, and PHP; and a local computer running Windows XP Professional, IIS, MySQL, and PHP.