Publisher David Dwyer Associate Publisher Al Valvano Executive Editor Karen Whitehouse Acquisitions Editor Michael Nolan Technical Editor Steve Champeon Development Editor Victoria Elzey[r]
(1)By Jeffrey Zeldman
201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46290
Taking Your Talent to the
Web
(2)Taking Your Talent to the Web:
A Guide for the Transitioning Designer Copyright 2001 by New Riders Publishing
All rights reserved No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means—electronic, mechani-cal, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without written permission from the publisher No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and au-thor assume no responsibility for errors or omissions Neither is any li-ability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein
International Standard Book Number: 0-7357-1073-2 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-111152 Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: May 2001
05 04 03 02 01
Interpretation of the printing code: The rightmost double-digit number is the year of the book’s printing; the rightmost single-digit number is the number of the book’s printing For example, the printing code 01-1 shows that the first printing of the book occurred in 20001-1
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized New Riders Publish-ing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trade-mark or service trade-mark
Warning and Disclaimer
(3)Contents at a Glance
Introduction
Part I WHY: Understanding the Web
Chapter Splash Screen
Chapter Designing for the Medium 13
Chapter Where Am I? Navigation &Interface 69
Part II WHO: People, Parts, and Processes
Chapter How This Web Thing Got Started 111
Chapter The Obligatory Glossary 123
Chapter What Is a Web Designer, Anyway? 135
Chapter Riding the Project Life Cycle 147
Part III HOW: Talent Applied (Tools &Techniques)
Chapter HTML, the Building Blocks of Life Itself 175
Chapter Visual Tools 209
Chapter 10 Style Sheets for Designers 253
Chapter 11 The Joy of JavaScript 285
Chapter 12 Beyond Text/Pictures 327
Chapter 13 Never Can Say Goodbye 387
(4)Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part I WHY: Understanding the Web 3
1 Splash Screen 5
Meet the Medium
Expanding Horizons
Working the Net…Without a Net
Smash Your Altars 11
2 Designing for the Medium 13
Breath Mint? Or Candy Mint? 14
Where’s the Map? 19
Mars and Venus 20
Web Physics: Action and Interaction 20
Different Purposes, Different Methodologies 23
Web Agnosticism 23
Open Standards—They’re Not Just for Geeks Anymore 27 Point #1: The Web Is Platform-Agnostic 27 Point #2: The Web Is Device-Independent 29 Point #3: The Web Is Held Together by Standards 29
The 18-Month Pregnancy 31
Chocolatey Web Goodness 32
’Tis a Gift to Be Simple 32
Democracy, What a Concept 32
Instant Karma 34
The Whole World in Your Hands 35
Just Do It: The Web as Human Activity 35
The Viewer Rules 36
Multimedia: All Talking! All Dancing! 37
The Server Knows 38
It’s the Bandwidth, Stupid 41
Web Pages Have No Secrets 42
The Web Is for Everyone! 44
(5)It’s Still the Bandwidth, Stupid 45
Swap text and code for images 46
Trim those image files 46
Do more with less 47
Prune redundancy 47
Cache as Cache Can 49
Much Ado About 5K 50
Screening Room 51
Liquid Design 51
Color My Web 55
Thousands Weep 57
Gamma Gamma Hey! 59
Typography 62
The 97% Solution 62
Points of Distinction 63
Year 2000—Browsers to the Rescue 64
Touch Factor 65
Appropriate Graphic Design 65 Accessibility, the Hidden Shame
of the Web 65
User Knowledge 67
3 Where Am I? Navigation & Interface 69
What Color Is Your Concept? 70 Business as (Cruel and) Usual 71 The Rise of the Interface Department 72
Form and Function 74
Copycats and Pseudo-Scientists 77
Chaos and Clarity 78
A Design Koan: Interfaces Are a Means too Often Mistaken for an End 80 Universal Body Copy and Other Fictions 80 Interface as Architecture 81 Ten (Okay, Three) Points of Light 82
Be Easily Learned 82
Remain Consistent 82
Continually Provide Feedback 84
GUI, GUI, Chewy, Chewy 84
It’s the Browser, Stupid 85
(6)Solutions from experts you know and trust.
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