Reviews (42)

This is the book you need, stop looking...
Im a college student, ive taken multiple classes that were supposed to "teach" us software via textbooks and this is by far the easiest book to follow. I have no formal experience with the software, i just bought it recently because this is the last year i will be able to take advantage of a student discount on software, and i thought it would come in handy... ive burned thru the first 1/2 of the book in 3 nites, prolly 2 hours a nite.. Its not tedious at all, very straight forward and color illustrated step by step... They give you the keyboard shortcuts, as well as the pull down menu commands upfront, and it guides you through the things you will actually use without alot of b.s. i will be ordering the rest of the series on adobe software to learn the rest of the web bundle, probably the best $45 ive spent on textbooks yet.

Well organized and easy to understand
I've tried learning photoshop many times before, but each book I read made me loose interest. This book is fun, and arranged in a way so that lessons are neither too long nor too short.

Get Deke McClelland's instruction books instead
Adobe's instruction book are: very basic, and . . . boring.Get Deke's books--you'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Adobe Photoshop (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    5. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Other Applications    9. Desktop Publishing    10. Desktop Publishing - General    11. Interactive & Multimedia    12. Microcomputer Graphics    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    14. Photoshop   

Reviews (5)

I didn't miss a class!
One hopes that the publisher of an application would make the best author for it,and while that is not always the case, this one did not disappoint.This book assumes no prior knowledge and walks the reader meticulously through all the features of Acrobat Standard and Professional for both Windows and OS X.
Very nice book
It is a comprehensive step by step book. I liked the fact that it also included alternative instructions for the instances when a Mac would have different commands.

Good book, but not at all if you prepare for the exam
The book was overall a good book with all what you need to know about Adobe Acrobat. I am preparing for the exam and the book does not cover 75% of the test. Unfortunately Adobe did not think of this and decided to make it very hard for us. Microsoft on the other hand has many books that cover the topics for their exams. Wish Adobe would learn that one thing from them.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Desktop Publishing    4. Electronic Publishing    5. File conversion (Computer science)    6. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    7. Interactive & Multimedia    8. Microcomputer Text Processing Software    9. Portable document software    10. Word Processing - General    11. Computer Software Packages    12. Computers / Desktop Publishing / General   

Reviews (64)

Great web design book
This book is an analisys from a designer's point of view of the cssZenGarden.com project, which is a beautiful project on itself.
Css is not only about limits
As the web developer in our company I often hear our graphical designers asking me what IS possible with CSS. Well this book gives you a good idea. It is not really about learning CSS but at least it gives a good idea about all the possibilities. Each time I get stuck in the limits of CSS, I get back to this book.....

MUCH More Design than CSS
If you are a programmer that knows nothing about graphic design, this book is pretty nice.It is about 70% focused on how to do graphic design, and about %30 about CSS.Otherwise, if you want to learn CSS this isnt the best book.
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Subjects:  1. Cascading style sheets    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Web sites    10. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    11. Internet   

Reviews (9)

Adobe Illustrator CS2 Classroom in a Book
What is it about the Classroom in a Book series that I devour like ice cream in the middle of August in Texas? It has to do with the richness of the presentation, the simplicity of design and the total coverage of material that you don't get in the box with the CD, or more importantly buy direct online and dont have a manual.
Great
I got exactly what I ordered in a very timely manner.thank you

A quick guide to Illustrator
In a few words what are the capabilities to the package, with a nice companion of labs and examples. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

Reviews (12)

A good book to learn on
I've had to learn InDesign for a couple freelance projects, and I felt this book was concise and a wonderful reference guide.The fact it is not just drowning in text on each page (ahem...Peachpit Press) made it easier to skim and find what you need in a short amount of time.
Very useful and user friendly
The Classroom in a Book for Adobe InDesign.cs2 was well organized and easy to use.
New full color edition is a great way to learn
I have been learning Adobe's applications via their Classroom In A Book series. I find there is just nothing better out there.After all it is the official training program from Adobe written by Adobe experts - what else is there to say! The book itself is made of quality paper and is beautifully layed out. They give text and graphics ample space on each page, nothing is cramped and everything is arranged in a logical order. The instructions are precise and given in small enough steps with lots of graphics and pictures along the way so you won't get lost. In fact, each chapter is easy and interesting to follow and it helps that the projects are beautifully designed layouts. You'll create magazine pages, newsletter pages, a restaurant menu, a CD insert etc. that you look forward to finish and that will leave you inspired. Some chapters encourage you to also "Explore On Your Own" and each chapter features a review and answers section to test your aquired knowledge. Maybe you have to revisit some of the earlier chapters because you may have forgotten some details once you've been plugging away for a while, but that simply speaks for the volume you will have to absorb since InDesign is afterall a complex application. Having said that, everybody should feel very confident to use and further explore InDesign upon completion of the book. It includes a CD with 15 lessons and Quicktime tutorial movies.
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Subjects:  1. Adobe InDesign    2. Adobe InDesign (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    4. Computers    5. Computers - Desktop Publishing    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Typography    10. Computers / Desktop Publishing / General    11. Desktop publishing software   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (12)

Finally, an excellent book!
This is by far the best book I have ever bought on Dreamweaver. I am a self-learner, and I have about ten books at all levels on Dreamweaver, starting from "dummies" to "beyond". In this book, the author goes through the laborious tasks of explaining the basic concepts first, and then follows these up with one or more step-by-step tutorial. He also provides a host of appropriate tips and "notes" such as "Power Users' Clinic", "Up to Speed", etc. that are very useful to a self-learner like myself. The videos are simply outstanding.I wish that there were more videos. I assume that the author will continue writing such books. How about a Flash 8 book, David?
All that you need
~
Nice program
I haven't gotten very far into the book, but I can already tell that this manual is very comprehensive.It is simple to use and explains everything thoroughly.I noticed that even though I did free shipping, the book arrived well before the approximate arrival date it gave me, which was nice.I would reccomend this book for anyone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authoring programs    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Web site development    10. Web sites    11. Computer / Internet    12. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    13. Dreamweaver, HTML, Web site building, Web site authoring, Web page design, Web site creation, CSS, Flash, Cascading Style Sheets, DHTML    14. Internet    15. Web publishing   

Reviews (13)

Dreamweaver 8 and Nac OS X
Good book, walks you right through each step of the way. Examples are good. Slight problem with the Mac OS X instructions, but workable. A good understanding of your computer system and operating system is suggested to help with some of the exercises.

Effective, but needs a little tweaking....
Dreamweaver is a deceptively simple-appearing program, but is incredibly powerful and complex "under the hood". Thus, future users will need exceptionally well-prepared materials to learn it well.
Great book for starters
Before I picked up this book, I had no experience with dreamweaver whatsoever, and basic html skills (I can read html and know what it is.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computers    4. Desktop Publishing    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    8. Internet   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (28)

XVII vs 17 - Names Matter
You know how much it helps to choose nice names for the variables in your programs - yes you will have seen some of these patterns before, but having the nice names to think with can be like Roman vs Decimal numerals - XVII or 17, there's a difference.Searching for [ Tidwell Interfaces ] you can find the author's site, which has free excerpts. Amazon lacks an "online excerpts available" pattern, is this good business or not, hmm.

collection of interface design patterns
this is not a "how to design interfaces" book - more of a "here is what has worked in the past when people designed interfaces". it's great for inspiration, as its examples range across web apps, desktop apps, mobile devices and others.

Clearly written, thoughtful content
I enjoyed this book for two reasons:
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Desktop Publishing - General    5. Programming - Software Development    6. Software engineering    7. User Interfaces    8. User interfaces (Computer systems)    9. Computers / Languages / Programming    10. Computers / Programming / Software Development    11. Computers / User Interfaces    12. Computers/User Interfaces    13. General Theory of Computing    14. Human-computer interaction   

Reviews (10)

Teach Yourself, YES! You Can Do It!
I took a Jr. College Class on Final Cut Pro 5 and this was the textbook.The teacher would lecture for an hour and the rest of the time, we worked through the lessons in the book.At the end of the class, we were all able to produce our own short videos.This book is very step-by-step and to be honest, I think that I got more out of going through the lessons than listening to the teacher.I suggest Rick Young's "The Focal Easy Guide to Final Cut Pro 5 for new users and professionals" as a companion book.They both say the same thing, but in different ways.The lessons took me a little longer than the time indicated in each lesson frontpiece, but I sure learned a whole lot about making movies and FCP!

Excelent, comprehensive, straightforward
Very powerful hands-on learning tool when combined with the enclosed DVD. Covers all the functions of Final Cut Pro and allows you to neatly learn hands-on.
Certification book

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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Desktop Publishing    5. Data processing    6. Desktop Publishing - General    7. Digital video    8. Editing    9. Interactive & Multimedia    10. Macintosh (Computer)    11. Programming    12. Techniques - Digital    13. Video tapes    14. Computers / Interactive Media    15. Image processing: video   

Reviews (25)

All illustrations are Black & White !
I have just received my copy. I have not read it yet, just looked
Brilliant
This was a great purchase and has helped me a lot since i purchased it.

A powerful tutorial for a powerful program
The Adobe Creative Team consistently produces the most powerful tutorials for Adobe products, and their manual for Adobe Photoshop CS is no exception. They are always well organized with clearly explained, excellent, and practical excercises.
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Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Desktop Publishing    8. Desktop Publishing - General    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    11. Photoshop   

Editorial Review

It's important for anyone who creates Web sites--even those who rely on powerful editors like Dreamweaver or GoLive--to know HTML. The World Wide Web Consortium rewrote HTML as a subset of XML (dubbing it "XHTML 1.0") and the allowable code will eventually be stricter. Tags that are being phased out are labeled "deprecated"--current browsers can still handle them, but if you want your site to keep up with future browsers, not to mention conform to accessibility requirements, you will want to get on top of XHTML.Read more

Reviews (513)

Far and away the best book for everyone!
This is simply the best HTML and CSS book.It has basically everything you need to know, with easy-to-find, easy-to-understand, and concise descriptions.It it not "web for dummies," rather, it is a very sophisticated and realistic approach to HTML and CSS, without a lot of hype or self-promotion.If you want to hear people wax poetical about the "EM" unit, you can get the book by Lie & Bos, but I think Castro's book is far more useful.She gives links to many web sites to help with more advanced stuff (Javascript, etc.), which is nice, but the book itself is incredibly comprehensive.And the layout of the book is a model for all instructional texts.A winner!

For Reference or for learning
Elizabeth Castro has been writing Visual Quickstart Guides to HTML and web design in an easy to understand manner. Now she provides resources for those who would be interested in web design that will create sites that are usable for years to come. Since I first picked up the fourth edition of this book, I have been hooked on the series, because its explanations are written on a level for the average person. The organization allows the reader to move at their own pace and easily refer back to topics that they want to refresh.
Coding
This book was a real help to me when I first became addicted to coding. The pictures are quite helpful, or at least more helpful than long explanations, and Elizabeth Castro is a fabulous writer. I learned so much that I went on to learn many other programming and coding languages with ease. You don't need to have any experience to use this book, it explains everything. Visual QuickStart Guide's are the best type in the market, cheap and easy to understand. So if you are itching to learn another computer language, I suggest checking them out! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cascading style sheets    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. HTML (Document markup language)    7. Internet - Web Site Design    8. Programming Languages - HTML    9. XHTML (Document markup language)    10. Computers / Programming Languages / HTML, SGML, VRML, XML    11. HTML   

Reviews (29)

The essential tome
Yep.This is it. The War and Peace of dslr photography. This baby is absolutely jammed with useful tips and guidelines. If you can't walk the photographer walk after reading it, at least you'll be able to talk the talk. There are even some unexpected bonuses like little snippets of the history of photography and exactly which giants' shoulders we are standing on when we snap away today. Unless you're already an absolute dslr master, this would be a wise investment.

Best D-SLR Guidebook
There aren't too many good D-SLR guidebooks out there -- and most of them appear to be written by this author.I checked out his "Quick Snap Guide to D-SLRs" and it was very good, but too basic for me.The same could be said for Busch's "Digital SLR Cameras and Photography for Dummies" although it did go into more detail.This book was just right, with lots of in-depth material about using digital SLRs, as well as tips and techniques I could apply right away.This author also has more advanced books on D-SLRs, and I will probably check them out after I've had a chance to learn everything in this book.

Very Concise
I recently got into D-SLR Photography and needed to get up to speed. This was the "manual" that did it for me. Good read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Desktop Publishing    4. Desktop Publishing - General    5. Interactive & Multimedia    6. Techniques - Digital    7. Computers / Interactive Media    8. Multimedia   

Editorial Review

Usability design is one of the most important--yet often least attractive--tasks for a Web developer. In Read more

Reviews (298)

A must read for anyone involved in website creation
An infinitely quotable book which takes you through the fundaments of designing websites that customers will find easy to use.Easy to use websites of course being successful websites.
The Title Says It All
I've read a lot on usability, and this is the single-best source I've seen. Every site designer and developer has to read this book. In fact, everyone on the decision food chain in your organization at least needs to be aware of what Krug teaches us. I will forever use usability testing often and early in the process now. Remember, it doesn't matter how cool your application or website is--if people can't use it, they will get frustrated and leave. Please--give us all a better experience!

definitely not a waste of paper :-)
This is a wise book, intentionaly kept small to be qucikly digestible. Very cleanly and simply the author describes where are the problems customers/users encounter while browsing the web, and how web contents designers should avoid making users think (more than absolutely necessary) while trying to do something on one's pages (look for/report/buy/pay/etc). The best book I have read in years.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computer Books: Web Publishing    4. Computer Networks    5. Computers    6. Design    7. Desktop Publishing    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Web site development    10. Web sites    11. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    12. Internet   

Reviews (16)

Amazing!!!!
With this book i figured out in two days of owning it what i had been trying to figure out since i started tryin to learn the program some time ago. it is an amazing tool that covers everything you need to know to creat great illustrations. i thank my professor for insisting so much, this book is THE Book. Buy it! don't thinktwice.

Insprirational
If you are new to Adobe Illustrator (AI), this is probably not the best book to get started with. Also, IMO the chapters are introduced somewhat randomly. In spite of this, the book has many fine examples of great artwork produced with AI, and for an advanced beginner the book has been a welcome addon to several others I have purchased. I really like the author's writing and teaching style. I'm glad I got this book and recommend it to others.

Classic
One reason I love this book is that it is geared toward more advanced techniques and intermediate users rather than absolute beginners. There are plenty of books written for beginners but there are not many books such as WOW! Book that focuses on teaching beyond the basic skills.
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Subjects:  1. Adobe Illustrator (Computer file)    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Desktop Publishing    9. Desktop Publishing - General    10. Microcomputer Graphics    11. Computer graphics software    12. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Reviews (10)

Couldn't Be Any Easier!
Just wanted to say that I bought this book with no prior experience with Flash or Studio 8. I found the various modules of Studio 8 confusing so I decided to concentrate on just one and that being Flash 8. Hands on Training is the way to go. Gonzalez made learning the program easy. However, after going through the book, remember that you have to do your part too. Practice! Practice! Practice! Just reading the book or any book for that matter and then putting it on the shelf won't do you any good. Very happy with this book and will buy more HOT titles in the future.

Great for a beginner like me...
I had thumbed through several Flash 8 books in the local bookstore before deciding on this one. What drew me to it was that the examples progress from the basics into an end-result project. You can eliminate chapters if need be with no bearing on the final project as the necessary example files are provided on the disc for each chapter.
A good way to get a strong Flash foundation
A good way to get a good foundation in Flash
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Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Flash    4. Computers    5. Computers - Desktop Publishing    6. Desktop Publishing - General    7. Computers / Computer Animation    8. Image processing    9. Multimedia   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Desktop Publishing    8. Desktop Publishing - General    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    10. Photoshop   

Editorial Review

Creating Web sites is easy. Creating sites that truly meet the needs and expectations of the wide range of online users is quite another story. In Read more

Reviews (232)

Very nice book
this is a very good book about web usability and its not a complex kind of book, you start reading it and u dont want to stop it untill you finish it!

Not quite what I expected..
As an avid read of Mr.Nielsen's blog and his website, I figured this book would comprise the "Bible of Web Design".Unfortunately, I was a bit let down.
Simple IS usually better
Please people don't design incredibly complex sites with over the top graphics that take an hour(feels like) to download even on broadband! I encounter this everyday and can't imagine what it must be like for those on dial-up, which is still most of the internet user base. Designers like to design and justify their high paying jobs by these crazy sites that simply drive me nuts. I recently tried looking for sunglasses on the Ray Ban site and Holy [...]! What a pain in the [...]! I finally went to a small reseller site where I could actually see the glasses quickly and make a purchase. The Ray Ban site I'm sure cost a fortune and is pretty but NOT user friendly. Web site designers need to remember that these sites are for people to find products and services, not to win design contests. My ex is a graphic designer(excuse me...User Interface Experience) for a very well know company and I know how they think. The more elaborate the better, we can charge clients more! KISS ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    3. Computer Networks    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Electronic publishing    7. Internet - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Networking - General    10. User interfaces (Computer syst    11. User interfaces (Computer systems)    12. Web sites    13. World Wide Web    14. Computer graphics software    15. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    16. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Reviews (7)

Good Choice for the CSS beginner and up
This book is a well written introduction into the world of css and pinpoints key concepts of css.It's by far one of the most readable texts that I have picked up out of all the technical books I've read in my few years of being alive.The book lacks a little in having some references to an example on a previous page while the reference to it is one to pages after the example.This discrepency is understood though since it is hard to keep everything together and not spill out onto other pages when planning the layout of a book. Overall this is a good book on css, and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to start into css.

Good book but irritating typos
I would have given this book atleast 4 stars if it weren't for the misleading typos! here's a few - Chapter 6 Pg 127 refers to Figure 6.2 (which doesn't exist!) instead of Figure 6.3; Chatper 10 Pg 228 the example "H1 {color: #ff000 }" is plain wrong (needs a extra zero at the end) and will not work.
Great resouce for new to css
ritten by the authors of CSS, at first I found it a bit heavy in dialogue and backgrounds. Not until you open the book to the index does one actually realize the wealth of information in the book. Do not expect this book to show examples of the next great page, but as a resource in trouble shooting it helped explain alot of questions I either was too lazy to look up in Dreamweaver Help or couldnt find the right type of answer elsewhere. My level is pretty much entry intermediate, but with this book, it took me a bit higher. I am getting rid of my introductory CSS books and using this one as my main go to guide.
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Subjects:  1. Cascading style sheets    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computer graphics    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Design    7. Desktop Publishing    8. Desktop Publishing - General    9. Internet - Web Site Design    10. Programming Languages - HTML    11. Web sites    12. Computers / Programming Languages / HTML, SGML, VRML, XML    13. Internet   

Reviews (176)

Required Reading for all text workers
As the subject says, I'd consider this book required reading for everyone trying to express ideas in text. For example: I'm a professional software developer and have yet to get into a situation where I'd have to design a poster or similar thing,and yet, the principles Robin Williams explains in this book also apply in the context of software development as far as the layout of our source code is concerned. Design is everywhere, so you might as well learn the basics of it.

NonDesigners and Designers get fueled
This is an extremely helpful book for anyone of any history in design.Back-to-the-basics design by an author that keeps it simple.Has a huge typography section, as well as some humor (a rare find in these type of books), and a lot of learning without the struggle.Buy it, read it, and add it to your library.
book review
This book was very helpful in my computer graphic class. I learned alot about alignment and proximity. I recommend this book to all beginner graphic students ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Desktop Publishing    4. Design - Book    5. Desktop Publishing    6. Desktop Publishing - General    7. Electronic Publishing    8. Graphic arts    9. Graphic design (Typography)    10. Handbooks, manuals, etc    11. Layout (Printing)    12. Typography    13. Computer Programming    14. Computers / Desktop Publishing / General   

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Desktop Publishing    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. Electronic Publishing    7. Computer graphics software    8. Computers / Interactive Media