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"... uses typographic and visual layout principles to describe a page in two dimensions. Third-generation site designers carefully specify the position and relationships of all elements on the page, retaining fine control of the layout. Third-generation sites use metaphor and visual theme to entice and guide, creating a whole experience for surfers from the first splash screen to the exit."
This is not your mother's book on document tagging and setting up an http server. David Siegel, who approaches the World Wide Web as a medium for artistic expression from the viewpoint of a typographer and graphic designer, has little patience with HTML in its present form. In fact, his main approach to creating a web site is to mock up the pages in Adobe Photoshop, then draw from a hefty toolbox of GIF/JPEG tricks and HTML tweaks until he can exactly reproduce the look he got in the Photoshop documents.
Although I have been creating and administering web sites for a couple of years now, reading this sophisticated, challenging book was a real consciousness-raising experience. The book itself is beautifully designed, if a bit busy visually, and contains countless useful concepts and techniques that you can put to use immediately. The discussions of color cubes, palettes, animated GIFs, and PDF files are particularly unique and valuable.
The book is supported by a dedicated Web site, http://www.killersites.com, which contains examples from the book, supplementary materials, and links to award-winning "third-generation" sites elsewhere.
-- Ray Duncan
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Explanation of ERCB rating scale: No stars = unacceptable, 1 Star = marginal, 2 Stars = average, 3 Stars = above average, 4 Stars = exceptional.