This unusual book is by well-known designer Roger Black, and design is the focus. There is a lot of wisdom here, stressing the importance of good design. Clean, functional Web pages with content on every page are the recommended recipe.
May 11, 1998
Black's design principles are very sound, if a bit dogmatic at times. Put content on every page. Keep things simple. Use white space effectively. Focus on readability and don't get caught up in the latest design fad.
Web Sites That Work suffers from a split personality. It can't seem to decide whether it's a design book, a biography of Roger Black, or a coffee-table gallery of his works, or...
No less than 14 pictures of the pensive Black are featured, and the book is peppered with quips and quotes from various design experts, including Black himself. In fact, Black often quotes himself. Perhaps, like Gandalf, Black is in the habit of choosing the wisest person present to speak to. It's a bit odd, but, okay.
There is some good material, and some sound design principles to be learned here, but it is a bit of a strange book. Black doesn't practice what he preaches. For example, like most designers, he advises against setting type in all caps, but the whole cover of the book is set in all caps. He advises not to skimp on quality, but the book is so cheaply bound that it fell apart before I had finished it (and I'm a fast reader).
The avant-garde layout calls for lots of white space, and blank splash pages of red and black abound, so the text is really not much longer than a long magazine article. An interesting book, but if you're looking for Web-building smarts, you'll find better bargains for 45 clams. Creating Killer Web Sites is far meatier. Check out some other Web design books, too.
