This book provides an understanding of the principles of artistic design as they relate to the web, followed by the application of those design principles using Adobe® Dreamweaver and resulting in the ability to create effective websites. Tailored to users of either CS3, CS4, or the latest version of Dreamweaver, CS5, each chapter is comprised of three sections: new concepts; "reinforcing your knowledge" through projects and exercises; and a "build your own website" section designed to offer the reader the opportunity to build their own website using the concepts from each chapter. By the end of the book, the reader will have their very own website!
The book starts with an introduction to the principles of design unique to the web, and then progresses to the incorporation of those principles into Adobe Dreamweaver for aesthetically pleasing web design. In fact, several chapters of this four-color, heavily illustrated text are devoted to web design from an artist's perspective.
The author discusses understanding the psychological influence of colors, web typography and the voice of type, the principles of design as they relate to the web, and how to maximize the potential of the graphic programs the readers are already familiar with to create effective graphics, creative navigation, and more. This text brings the reader through the design stage from initial concept to graphic preparation, followed by the importing of graphics or whole pages into Dreamweaver for building the site and uploading it to the Internet. Although no programming knowledge is required, a chapter on HTML and other web programming fundamentals is included. A CD-ROM with images, sample web pages, and more accompanies the book. An instructor's resource kit is available upon adoption as a text.