Offline Resources II: More Books
by Heather ChampI've had the opportunity in the last couple of days to curl up with a couple of books and reacquaint myself with the joys of offline reading. Though I wish I could admit that I've been enamored with some scholarly or classic tome, I've been feasting on recently published science fiction. There is something wonderful about a book. Yes, I do have a tendency to print out online information rather than reading it on my computer screen, but bright white laser printed pages are not the same as a bound book.
In November I mentioned a few design/interface/information architecture books that would be great additions to a designer's library. I've been adding titles, fleshing out the preliminary list to include in a resource handout for my Internet World hands-on workshop. It is definitely not the definitive list of what one must have on one's bookshelf, but I've found a number of them to be invaluable in solving or understanding the ever-increasing complexity of new media. I've listed them alphabetically by author.
Information Design/Architecture
The Art of Human-Computer Interface DesignDesign
ed. Brenda Laurel, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1990
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Scott McLoud, Harper Perennial, 1994
Designing Business: Multiple Media, Multiple Disciplines
Clement Mok, Adobe Press, 1996
The Design of Everyday Things
D.A. Norman, New York: Basic Books, 1988.
TOG on Interface
Bruce "TOG" Tognassini, Apple Computer, Inc.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Edward Tufte, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1983
Envisioning Information
Edward Tufte, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1990
Graphic Design Cookbook: Mix & Match Recipes for Faster, Better LayoutsAdvent Calendars
Leonard Koren & R. Wippo Meckler
Designer's Guide to Color (5 volumes)
Kawade Shobo Shinsha & others, Chronicle Books 1984-1991
Creating Killer Websites
David Seigel, Hayden Books, 1996
Web Concept & Design
Crystal Waters, New Riders, 1996
Designing Web Graphics
Lynda Weinman, New Riders, 1996
Deconstructing Web Graphics
Lynda Weinman, New Riders, 1996
Additionally, design books found in the graphics section of your local bookseller can provide possible seeds from which great creative ideas can sprout.Anthologies of print design are still by far the best. I'm rather suspect of the new media design books that I've seen as they are typically very dated by the time of their publication--to take a comment made in a client meeting earlier this year, "that's so six months ago." I inwardly gasped at this utterance, but in some ways it seems to be the epitome of where "Web design" is at the moment. I recently acquired two design anthologies: High Flyers, a collection of dance club flyers, and High Tek, a miscellaneous design collection.
In November I had written about advent calendars as an opportunity both to stretch the design gray cells and ensure a stint of repeat traffic to a site. Meta Design created a wonderful advent calendar which myself and my office mates returned to on a daily basis. The Shockwave treats were very interesting, and it's worth a visit to play with the Bing "White Christmas" installment that occurred early in the month. There is a great sense of humor throughout the different days, though Santa swinging back and forth apparently hanging from a tree branch may be considered by some to be rather un-festive.
