Tutorials for Web Designers

Site Planning

Layout

Information Architecture Tutorial, by John Shiple Information architecture is the science of figuring out what you want your site to do and then constructing a blueprint before you dive in and put the thing together. It's more important than you might think, and John Shiple, aka Squishy, tells you why.

The Foundations of Web Design , by Jeffrey Veen He gives advice about navigating the places where art and technology collide, and offers his Ten Commandments of good design (well, OK, there's only three): speed, simplicity, and clarity. Veen's conclusion looks at the things we all take for granted. You might think links, multimedia, and navigation are design basics - but Jeffrey says "not so."

Introduction to Web Design, by Selena Sol Introduction to Web Design is a three half-day course designed by Selena Sol.

Navigation

Navigation 101, by Charlie Morris No matter how good a site looks, or how much useful information it offers, if it doesn't have a sensible navigation scheme, it will confuse visitors and chase them away. A simple, understandable navigation scheme can increase your number of page impressions, boost return visits, and improve your conversion rate. It's a critical aspect of site design that has a direct effect on the bottom line.

Graphical Design

Web Graphics

Photoshop Crash Course, by Jim Frew Adobe Photoshop is the Ginsu knife of graphics programs - it does everything from creating Web graphics to tweaking photos to putting the head of your favorite actor on the body of a porn star.

Introduction to Web Design with Adobe Photoshop, by Selena Sol and Kenji Tachibana Adobe Photoshop is hands down, the most popular program for creating and modifying images for the web. Even those who don't have Photoshop can download the tryout version from Adobe and follow much of this tutorial.

Image Editing 101, by Jim Frew Unless you're designing for Lynx, sooner or later you'll have to produce some images for your site. You'll want to get the maximum amount of message across with minimum K-size, and the first way to reduce K-size is to edit your photos. Does the photo tell your story? No? Get rid of it. Does it tell the same story as another image? Get rid of it. Do you really need three images, or can you do the job with one? Edit, edit, edit.

Scanning 101, by Jim Frew Although the specifics of getting the best results from your scanner vary depending on what hardware you're using, there are a few general tips that can help you out. Let's explore these tips, shall we?

Multimedia

Animation

Animation Tutorial, by Anna McMillan and Emily Hobson In these modern days, Web animators may not have to spend 17 hours hand painting cells to make Dopey wink, but bandwidth, platform, and browser issues make animation for the Web its own special hell. Anna and Emily have navigated many circles of this hell, and they make animation ... well, if not easy, then easier.

Intro to Flash 4 Tutorial, by Michael Kay So you want to add snappy interactivity and animations to your Web pages, but don't want to create huge "click-here-and-go-get-a-sandwich" files? Flash may be the technology for you.

Advanced Flash 4 Tutorial, by Michael Kay So you've mastered Michael's Intro to Flash 4 tutorial, and now you're hungering for more Flash know-how? Fear not — Michael is here to take you to the next level. In this two-part tutorial, you'll learn the ins and outs of morphing graphics, creating super fancy animated buttons, whipping up your very own pulldown menu, importing and modifying sound, and more.

Audio

MP3 Package, by Adam Powell MP3 is changing the face of music. Unsigned artists are using the audio format to distribute their music, bootleggers are (according to some) ruining the music industry, the music industry is hustling to get their own audio formats out the door, and the rest of us are making mixes and streaming our own broadcasts.

Introduction to MIDI, by Adam Powell Our audio expert explains why MIDI is a perfect protocol for the Web.

Video

Video Broadcasting 101, by Wendy Owen So you want to be the George Lucas of the Web. You've decided you're going to pioneer full-motion live video broadcasting on the Internet, complete with zooms, pans, and dazzling special effects. The problem is, you don't have a budget, and your only equipment is a digital video-editing program and your little sister's Hi-8 camera that she used for last year's history project. It's time to ditch your fantasy of online video fame and think about what you can realistically achieve.

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