Integrated Web Design: Building the New Breed of Designer & Developer
September 27, 2002
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Integrated Web Design steps the designer through the process of
integrating technical and design practices in order to deepen
their understanding of the how and whys of technology both inside
and outside the realm of web design. With this deeper
understanding, web site builders will be able to apply more
integrated design practices to their everyday work.
From New Riders.
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From publisher:
At last, there's a book that shows web developers and web designers how to work together!
- Molly Holzschlag is renowned throughout the web design and development community.
- While a web builder with weak design skills or a web designer with inadequate technical knowledge has been able to get by in the past, the increased demand for web usability makes the coordination between creative and technical sensibilities critical to web site survival.
- While conceptual in its approach, the book draws on pragmatic examples within and without the web design community to help you directly apply its precepts.
This book begins by discussing artistic and technical concepts in web design separately, and then merges them together both conceptually and through examples. The goal is to step the designer through the process of integrating technical and design practices in order to deeper their understanding of the how and whys of technology both inside and outside the realm of web design. With this deeper understanding, web site builders will be able to apply more integrated design practices to their everyday work. Molly's web site is an extension of the book, offering samples to those who've heard of the book but haven't bought it, plus visual examples and exercises demonstrating the concepts in the book.
Chapter 2: The Basis of Integrated Thinking on the Web
When you dive in for your morning swim, climb the stairs to wake your child,
or walk to the corner store for a cold drink on a hot day, your body is responding
to complex commands and impulses to get these tasks done. The human brain oversees
these day-to-day activities; most of the time, we don't think about how
complex the process is. A great example is driving—the process becomes
rote. We don't think about it overtly, but the truth is, our brains perform
complex biochemical and behavioral procedures involving learning, information
processing, and memory to accomplish even the most seemingly mundane tasks.
Web designers and developers are challenged in a way that very few learners
and thinkers are challenged. Not only is the complexity of the subjects that
we study a concern, but the rate at which we must absorb that information and
put it into practice seems unprecedented. We also have to manage the doing as
well as the thinking: the hands-on creation of technology and design for web
sites. All of these acts demand knowledge that is both broad and wide, and we
must access that knowledge as quickly and as painlessly as going to the corner
store for that cold beer.
As we seek to become more effective web designers and developers, our brains
similarly must manage the complex process of learning, processing information,
and rapidly storing that information into memory.
I'm of the mind-set that we can all become better at what we do by first
giving ourselves credit for the interest in and fascination with a field whose
very essence demands that its professionals think technologically and artistically.
Then, to grow in our work, we must identify our strengths, be honest regarding
our weaknesses, and push ourselves to find ways to improve our skills to achieve
innovation.
Information Processing and Human Learning - Page 2
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