January 21, 1997 The Gospel According To Lynda

Hallelujah! Gif Girl had been in the shadow of darkness. Her images dithered. Never before had she seen her Web site on a PC. She thought a safe palette was a well built wooden packing crate. But (trumpets, please) Lynda changed all that. Yes, even a superhero like Gif Girl needs someone to look up to. Lynda Weinman changes the way we think about Web design. That's why her books should be a part of every Web designer's library. In fact, they should be our bible...

THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Designing Web Graphics
How to Prepare Images and Media for the Web
by Lynda Weinman
New Riders, 1996, US$50.00

In the time frame of the Internet, a book published early last year is old news. But Designing Web Graphics is still a must read for anyone interested in learning about creating graphics for the Web. It includes such classic themes as "Browser Hell" and "Color Palette Hell." Lynda speaks our language and confirms our suspicions that Web design is unpredictable, occasionally exasperating, and often rewarding.

An excellent resource for beginners in particular, the book covers the basics of graphics creation, including Lynda's magnum opus, the "Safe Palette," which explains how to create cross-platform graphics, plus touches on sound and video. Also, keep your eyes peeled... Designing Web Graphics 2 is coming out soon.

THE NEW TESTAMENT:
Deconstructing Web Graphics
Web Design Case Studies and Tutorials
by Lynda Weinman
New Riders, 1996, US$50.00

Everyone knows that one of the best ways to learn how to do great Web design is to sneak a peak at other people's work. That's the premise of Lynda's second book, Deconstructing Web Graphics. Lynda profiles 11 innovative Web sites and picks the brains of the designers and programmers who made it happen. These parables of design prowess allow beginners and experienced Web designers alike to delve into the secret worlds of some of the best Web design minds today.

How did Razorfish create their shockwave movie for Typographic? How does the Discovery Online Web design team brainstorm interface ideas? And why is the Hot Hot Hot online catalog so much faster than other equally graphics-intensive sites? Deconstructing Web Graphics has all the answers, plus lots of other tricks.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION:
Coloring Web Graphics
The Definitive Resource for Color on the Web
by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin
New Riders, 1996, US$50.00

OK, Gif Girl reads a lot of books about Web design. Most have a helpful hint here and there and are worthy of a single read-through. Coloring Web Graphics is the first book Gif Girl's read in a long time that drastically altered the way she works and thinks about Web design. It has a great explanation of the complexities of digital color, and especially color for the Web.

Lucky for us, Lynda and Bruce have sat up nights figuring out all of the following headaches for us. This invaluable volume includes:

• The Safe Palette expanded. Hybrid swatches expand the safe palette potential exponentially. In other words, if you were frustrated, as Gif Girl was, by the limitations of the original Safe Palette, these new hybrid swatches expand your options! Hurrah!
• Safe Color Groupings. Gif Girl has spent countless hours trying to choose background color, text, link and vlink combinations that are legible and visually appealing...No More! Coloring Web Graphics provides 148 pages of color combos. Whew!

Information about Lynda Weinman and her books is available at her Web site, Lynda's Homegurrlpage. Lynda will soon release a new book with her brother Bill Weinman called Creative Web Design, which will provide a step-by-step guide to first-time Web page builders. Gif Girl will be sure to write up a summary as soon as she gets her hands on a copy. Until then, she'll keep preachin' the saving powers of Lynda!

Gif Girl, when she isn't out saving the world from dithered graphics and illegible Web pages, helps keep Tripod's pages running fast and furious.

Send your comments, ideas, suggestions, and of course, your solutions for saving the world from bad Web page design, to [email protected]. She'd love to hear from you.