Although the Web is loaded with great, free information about Web-specific graphics issues, it's quite handy to have a reference in the form of a book on your desk so you don't have to go surf/searching all over the Web to get the answer to something. <designing web graphics.2> is just such a reference - and a thorough one as well.
May 29, 1998
For a book that covers the subject so well and completely I'm more than willing to overlook it's few flaws: over cutesy typography and slight Mac-centric point of view. I guess the idea of including < and > in the title is to let people know at a glance that, even though "Web" is in the title, the book is about Web stuff. Actually when I saw that and the cute lower case title I assumed it was a low-level book written by a beginner for beginners. But then I saw the author was Lynda Weinman and I realised this was the second version of a very fine Web graphics book. I eagerly opened it and was pleased to find it is well written and delivers the goods.
Although I'm not much of a ponytail, I frequently find the graphics sections of Web books have little in them I don't already know. Just flipping through this one made me a little queasy as I got the familiar feeling that Web development is moving extremely fast and my knowledge is like that of a gnat about to be swatted buzzing noisily around annoyed Web graphics gurus. Lynda Weinman I bow down to you - I am not worthy. Thank you for writing this book. I met Linda once at Borders in Ann Arbor while touting my own book HTML in Action. We were on a panel of "Internet Experts". I learned from her then and I learn from her every time I use her book to look up the answer to some perplexing graphics question.
The parts I find most useful are the chapters covering low-bandwidth graphics, hexadecimal color and browser-safe color. The chapter on scanning is also a place I go for help. She covers the multimedia aspects of Web development and Web-specific design issues quite well. I guess I do have another nit though: I tend to use books like this as a reference tool and keep them hanging around near my desk. I wish she had put more of the vital info into appendices where I could get to it more directly.
If you are new to Web development or if your ponytail is long and grey, this is a fine investment.
