A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web by Mark Boulton

Published on 7^th May 2009 in Book reviews, Websites.

When Mark Boulton published A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web as a PDF book earlier this year, I was intrigued, but not convinced enough to buy it. As convenient as e-books are, to me they’re no match for the reading experience a proper paper book offers. So when he announced a limited print run of 1500 copies, I placed my order as soon as possible.

Designing for the Web is somewhat of an anomaly when compared to other web design books. Instead of focussing on a single aspect like typography, CSS or PHP, it aims to cover a much broader spectrum of topics. Each of the book’s five sections – Getting Started, Research, Typography, Colour and Layout – provides an introduction to its subject, but is by no means extensive.

I’ve read quite a bit about the final three parts of the book, so I can’t say I learnt much new, but the first two were particularly interesting. In Getting Started, Boulton analyses the pros and cons of working in an agency, an in-house department and as a freelance designer. He also goes into detail describing the process of moving from full-time employment to becoming a freelancer, including a timescale which I found particularly interesting. For any web designers considering working for themselves, the tips and advice here are probably worth the price of the book alone.

The Research & Ideas section is also intriguing, covering how you move from a simple brief to something you can work with. The process of actually coming up with ideas is also examined and Boulton describes a couple of concepts I haven’t heard of before. I’ve never really thought of where I get inspiration for my work, so this part of the book was particularly interesting.

As you’d expect from an author with a background in graphic design and typography, Designing for the Web looks fantastic. The entire book is in full colour and the paper itself is of a very high quality. At £29, it’s fairly pricey, but it certainly feels the part.

I do have a couple of reservations though. First of all, I can’t help but think that the main text is slightly too small to read comfortably. Each page has a huge amount of white space, which is good, but at the same time I think it could have been better used to make the text more legible. I also spotted half a dozen typos and a number of inconsistent spellings. Perhaps I’m being pedantic and should cut the book some slack for being self-published, but as someone who edits articles on a regular basis, it struck me as a little sloppy.

That said, Designing for the Web is a worthwhile read and an excellent starting place for anyone interested in web design. It doesn’t cover any of its subjects in huge detail, but this isn’t really its aim. It provides an introduction into the most important concepts of good design on the web and is a solid launch pad from which to learn about each in greater detail. Experienced web designers might not learn much new apart from in the first two sections, but for those new to the field, Designing for the Web is worth a look.