What is a web designer? By definition it is anyone who is responsible for the look and feel of a website. It does not matter if the site is the storefront for a multimillion dollar conglomeration or where you post pictures of your family. If you created it, you are a web designer.
Sexy Web Design is meant to be an easy to follow guide that will show you the secrets on how to build better, more sexy web interfaces from scratch. The goal is that even if you are short on design skills, this book will help you build your own stunning websites in no time. The book is 172 pages in length and is divided into six chapters.
Chapter 1, "Interfaces are Sexy," begins by explaining that web design goes beyond making things look pretty; it is about making them work. Making them work means that you must allow a person to interact with the interface and accomplish a goal. This chapter looks at the parts of an interface, how they interact with the user, and what it means to produce a website that is interesting.
Chapter 2, "Research," looks at what a brief is. A brief is the design detail that the client gives you to build the website. It is what the client expects. If you want to be successful, it had better not be brief. Here you will learn how to get from the client the information that matters most. You will look at brand consistency, inspiration, and how to look outside the web for creative ideas.
Chapter 3, "Structure," examines what it takes to put together your design. You will now work with paper and pencil to draw some loose sketches. You want to start thinking about how certain parts of the site will work. You will also learn of the importance of wireframing your site to get a better look at overall layout of the page.
Chapter 4, "Navigation and Interaction," will now look at how the main navigation works and what kind of enhancements that can be built into the user interface to improve the browsing experience. You will also look at how you should deal with navigating back to the home page. You will learn about working with clouds, tool tips, forms, e-commerce, and working with audio/visual content.
Article comments
1 - Rob
As a student studying web, advertising and multimedia design I found this article very useful to me and I also believe that anyone who plans to become a professional web designer needs to research on latest web design trends, etc. Also since I notice that the market is quite saturated with web designers we have to figure out what we can offer to the consumers uniquely and try and distinguish ourselves from the rest of the market in a positive sense.
2 - Zoltan H
Just finished a review of this book too. It's a good book if your not looking for a PhotoShop tutorial. The section on structure is very good, esp. wireframing.