This outstanding full-color guide teaches you how to apply design principles to the creation of on-screen interactive media-- primarily Web sites and, to a lesser extent, CD-ROMs and floppy-disk presentations. The authors first provide an overview of what you need to consider when creating a Web site or any other multimedia project. They discuss production methods and teach you how to define your purpose and audience; decide on your project's organization, content, and navigation; and assemble, test, and market your final product. Next they delineate the various interface elements you need to consider, such as buttons, backgrounds, typography, animation, images, video, and audio, and they discuss the trends in each area, such as the decreasing popularity of beveled buttons and the increasing popularity of 3-D graphics, interactive help, and user feedback. The following chapter is devoted to teaching you five basic tenets of good design, including clarity, consistency, and contrast. The following chapters show you successful Web sites and CD-ROMs in the areas of marketing, entertainment, education and training, publishing, portfolios and presentations, and sales. These case studies show lots of graphical elements along with explanations of why certain approaches work and others do not.
There's very little emphasis on the tools you need to accomplish the design of your site or CD-ROM. But, where such information is relevant, the authors mention the Windows and Macintosh products designers used to create a special graphic or effect, or products frequently used in general, such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash. Unlike other books in the Wow! series, the focus here is not on software how-to tips but on design tips, so just about anyone--whether beginning designer, creative director, production manager, or marketing professional, for example--can learn what's important in planning, designing, finalizing, and updating good sites and CDs. One thing that's consistent with the series: each topic is addressed in one or two pages, so you get a quick glimpse into each topic and therefore an easy way to browse to find whatever might interest you. The included hybrid CD-ROM comes with demonstration versions of WYSIWYG and standard HTML editors and full versions of Netscape Communicator 4, Internet Explorer 4, Macromedia Shockwave and Flash, RealPlayer, and GIF and other Web utilities. --Kathleen Caster
