Digital Media Design: Hypergraphics

This book might not be that much of interest to experienced web developers and designers, however, this book is great for people who have an interest in the web, but have limited knowledge how websites function and are created. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to embark a career that involves more indepth knowledge of the web and websites, but without the heavy "techie jargon". It could be very useful to train up Marketing and Sales staff, as well as entry level employees of a company involved in the web. It was published some time ago, but I still refer to it today for ideas.

"Hypergraphics" is basically divided in two parts. The first is a collection of the usual web design "tricks", such as using tables for layout, 1-pixel transparent GIFs, frames, the web-safe palette, etc. You can find these in dozens of other books, and in themselves they are not worth the price of this book. But the second part is more interesting: eleven web sites are analysed and dissected, in a deep and meaningful way that I haven't seen anywhere else. About ten pages are dedicated to each site, discussing navigation, structure, design, construction issues and so on. The selection of site is also very good from a designers (not just "web designers"!) standpoint; names such as Metadesign occurr often. Overall, if you need a "howto" book I would not really recommend this one; however it is a very good analysis of eleven top-notch sites. The book has also a nice design in itself. So if you already know the technological side of web authoring and want to focus more on the design aspects, this book is not bad, even if it is pricey, considering that the first half talks about things that you probably already know.

Most web design books are either superficial portfolio books or aesthetically challenged how-to-do-it manuals. Hypergraphics presents a lucid theory about web-page design and the interactivity of the cohesive website. The sites selected for thoughtful analysis are both well-designed and communicatively effective.

This is a professional book, written for an audience with some visual sophistication and understanding of design. Unlike many of the how-to books on web site design, this one does not assume you were born yesterday and need to know how to get cool quick. McKelvey has written (and designed) a well thought out presentation on designing for the web today, broadly and effectively covering the major issues we all face: site structure, page layout, type, and color. The text is brief and clear, the examples are well chosen and beautifully presented. Form follows function, each book page makes sense. The analysis of how pages and web sites are put together is insightful, his examples well chosen. Only the title of the book is a puzzle, an attempt to coin a new term? When I think of "hypergraphics" I think of obnoxious animated GIFs, not the web sites McKelvery has chosen to explain.