Top web design books

Web design books made from dead trees, eh? Things from the past! Haven’t you heard we’ve got that spangly new internet thing now?

But when you’ve been glued to a screen all day, it can be great to sit back in a comfy chair, armed with a beverage of your choice and a fantastic web design book that can educate and illuminate.

Additionally, the finest examples provide advice and insight in a manner that few single-shot website articles can compete with. (Handily, for those who get the shakes when away from a screen for more than two minutes, many web design books are now also available in digital – hurrah!)

We asked leading designers, developers and web industry folk to reveal their favourite web design books. The resulting selection is a collection of the very best insight into cutting-edge design and development techniques, inspirational texts, and beautiful volumes to admire. SPOILER ALERT: Responsive web design features quite prominently.

> Adaptive Web Design <

Gustafson’s web design book helps you understand the history, mechanisms and practical application of progressive enhancement. Jeffrey Zeldman, Happy Cog founder, heartily recommends the book: “Coined by Steven Champeon of the Web Standards Project in the early 2000s, ‘progressive enhancement’ is the key idea behind standards-based web design. Both a method and a philosophy, it yields experiences that are accessible to all. Through mastery of progressive enhancement, we stop designing for browsers and start designing for people. No one has done a better, clearer, or more thorough job of illuminating progressive enhancement in all its richness than Aaron Gustafson … nor is anyone likely to.”






> A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web <

Boulton’s well-known in the web community for his work with layout, and this no-nonsense guide teaches techniques for designing sites using the principles of strong graphic design. Balancing practical tips and inspirational insight, he explores typography, colour and layout from a web design perspective.

“This is a great introductory book that covers design fundamentals, rather than code, tools and techniques,” says developer and author Oliver Studholme.







> Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure <

The premise behind this book is that everything we know about solving problems is wrong, and we should instead learn to rapidly experiment and adapt. Although not directly related to the web industry, Adapt’s general themes are beneficial to all, thinks social software consultant and writer Suw Charman-Anderson: “Harford provides examples of how trial and error can be a more effective way to solve complex problems, and how trials can be structured to produce the best results. Illustrated with examples such as the development of the Spitfire, and the financial crisis, Harford explores what environments encourage innovation and how that innovation can then be adopted and expanded.”






> CSS3 for Web Designers <

Cederholm’s book aims to show how CSS3 is a “universe of creative possibilities”, providing insight into web fonts, advanced selectors and the many visual enhancements the technology can bring to web pages.


Eric Meyer, An Event Apart partner and co-founder, says: “With Dan you know you’re getting great visual design with a fun theme, wrapped around great technical information. This book delivers big time.” Meyer also recommends Jeremy Keith’s HTML5 for Web Designers as a companion volume, saying it will “get you up to speed with HTML5 in no time”.





> DOM Scripting <

It’s increasingly common for websites to be rich in functionality provided by JavaScript. Keith’s book is intended to offer designers – rather than programmers – a guiding hand, showing them how to add stylish, usable enhancements to websites. Author and speaker Jonathan Snook told us: “Jeremy Keith’s book has been out for a while now but I still believe that it provides a great foundation for anybody wanting to get into JavaScript development.”








> Grid Systems in Graphic Design <

Web layout is becoming increasingly complex, and although it’s moving away from print-oriented fixed canvases, print-like grids and a strong sense of typography are required now more than ever. “Grid Systems is my number one go-to book for practical advice on typographic hierarchy and grid systems beyond the web,” says web designer and front-end developer Dan Eden. “Every page is chock-a-block with examples and reasoning for decisions made, and while the book presents a strong focus on print design, you’ll find huge crossovers into the digital realm.”








> JavaScript Patterns < 

Although libraries such as jQuery provide the means to work with JavaScript without really knowing a great deal about the language, savvy web developers delve deeper. Developer Remy Sharp says “everyone should have read Douglas Crockford’s Good Parts by now,” and he considers “JavaScript Patterns an excellent next step towards writing better JavaScript”. Along with boasting plenty of hands-on examples, the book also tells you what to avoid, so you don’t hamstring your own creations.









> Responsive Web Design < 

Marcotte’s book assists you in catering for mobile browsers, tablets, netbooks and also massive widescreen displays, creating sites that anticipate and respond to your users’ needs. The book details techniques and principles behind fluid grids, flexible images and media queries. “Just like web standards, responsive design isn’t something you should sit on the fence about, until being asked by a client. Instead, good designers and developers should be thinking responsively about every new project that comes their way,” explains Andy Budd, Clearleft managing director. “So if you haven’t jumped on the responsive-design freight train yet, do so now, with this book to guide you, before you get left behind.”