As many will know, if you follow my tweets, I’m a little busy this week. So this is a bit of a short post, at least in writing, if not content. I’ve been asked many times for my recommended reading list for student web designers, so here is the first part.
Best online learning sites
The Sitepoint
www.sitepoint.com
The forums and articles are a great resource for up to the minute resources. Sitepoint also sell some easy to read books on almost the whole syllabus for the would be web designer or developer.
Learanble.com
www.learnable.com
Sitepoints online learning site has some good online courses for catching up on CSS3 and HTML 5. I particuarly like their Getting started course on Blogging.
W3C School
www.w3schools.com
Backed by the people who make the web standards, it is a little traditional in approach, but has some good primers on HTML and CSS. A very approachable and straightforward site.
Lynda.com
www.lynda.com
Some really good video tutorials for almost every software package you could wish for. Can’t find the 30 day trial anymore, but prices start at $25. If you get the chance watch: Pitching Projects and Products to Executives. Authors: Dane Howard and Richard Koci Hernandez. Just finished watching it and is wonderfully minimal in its filming.
YouTube
www.youtube.com
Be careful here, the videos cover every subject, but some are of questionable quality.
Twitter
Twitter.com
A lot of experienced web designers are on twitter, so it is a great place to make connections and get advice.
Journal style sites that do great articles on web design
A List Apart
www.alistapart.com
A List Apart has been running a while and publishes some really thoughtful articles that will interest even the most experienced web designer. I’ve been reading it for about 5 years and it never fails to make me think. As they put it:
“For people who make websites … A List Apart Magazine (ISSN: 1534-0295) explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.”
Boxes and Arrows
www.boxesandarrows.com
Another great site if you want to stretch your knowledge on the theory side of the arena. Very much peer written for the design industry with a heavy emphasis on the practice of design.
Useit.com
www.useit.com
Jacob Neilson’s website concentrating on usability and the web, along with intranets and mobile devices. Hate him or love him, he does make some good points about the lack of usability that cutting edge design sometimes suffers from. That said, he may be mellowing, as he has started to admit that things are improving in some areas.
Blogs on Web Design
www.dailyblogtips.com/top-25-web-design-blogs
For more sites this is still a useful list even if not this year.
Books
Where possible I have included the author’s website. If you don’t get all the books there are often great free resources on the websites.
Web design ideas
I have a few books for inspiration which are basically pages and pages of website design examples.
The Web Designer’s Idea Book, Volume 2 by Patrick McNeil
From Amazon
A good book but also check out his website. www.designmeltdown.com for some great examples.
Web Design Index
www.webdesignindex.org
From Amazon
There are now about ten of these. Maybe a little bit artier than the previous book in the list.
Web Design Theory
Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman.
www.zeldman.com
From Amazon
If you stick to the web standard
Don’t Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
www.sensible.com
From Amazon
This is a really short book so should be readable in a couple of evenings. Well written and easy to digest. Wish more web designers had read it though.
Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning by Dan M. Brown
communicatingdesign.com
From Amazon
Some interesting ideas on how to develop your ideas and plan your websites more effectively. Good to get standard practices when working across a team.
Web Redesign 2.0: Workflow That Works by Kelly Goto (Author), Emily Cotler (Author)
www.web-redesign.com
From Amazon
Web redesign 2.0 offers methods for web redesign workflow management. It discusses logistical constraints and how to effectively analyze feature requirements to reach the company’s goals. Worth reading, as these guy know what they are talking about and can help you avoid some of the usual pitfalls.
The Design of Sites: Patterns For Creating Winning Web Sites by Douglas K. Van Duyne, James A. Landay, Jason I. Hong
www.designofsites.com
From Amazon
The Design of Sites is a very thorough and sensible book on the topic of customer-centered designs. It discusses formulas that lead to powerful web designs. Design patterns can help you design sites that are easy to use because they follow structures we use accross the whole web. Reinventing the wheel can sometimes loose you customers.
HTML, CSS and Fonts
Stunning CSS3: A Project-Based Guide to the Latest in CSS (Voices That Matter) by Zoe Mickley Gillenwater
zomigi.com
From Amazon
Fluid Web Typography by Jason Cranford Teague
www.jasonspeaking.com
From Amazon
Only partly through both of these but heard both speak at CSS Summit.
Social Media
The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
www.davidmeermanscott.com/books.htm
From amazon
Easy read for social media and online marketing, now in third edition. Puts social media into perspective with real business situations.
SEO
The Art of SEO by Eric Enge
From amazon
It is a classic even if a lot of new books have come out since.
Good Conferences (mainly UK based)
Usability Week 2011 – Nielsen Norman Group
www.nngroup.com/events/
A little pricey unfortunately. See if they are coming to a city near you.
New Adventures in web design
2012.newadventuresconf.com/
The conference is now sold out, although Heart Internet have a competition to win two tickets. They do still have places on their workshops.
Enviroment for Humans
environmentsforhumans.com
These conferences are totally online so you need a good broadband connection, and in some areas of the world, staying power to deal with the timezone. I really enjoyed the CSS Summit and I’m signed up for the UX Web Summit on the 28 September 2011.
Over to you
Anyway that should keep you busy for a while. Let me know if you know of other good additions for the list.
