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A friend of mine is a very competent graphic designer who wants to expand their skills and get into web design (just the visual design, no coding). While some skills certainly transfer over, web design also has its own specific disciplines that a print designer may not be familiar with (user experience/interaction design, web accessibility, differences in formats etc.).

So what would you recommend as the best books/web sites/other resources for a graphic designer looking to get into web design? General introductory resources would be excellent, but if there's anything out there specifically covering graphic designers looking to transfer their skills over that would be fantastic.

Thanks.

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If your friend is really serious about getting into web design then they should be prepared to learn some code: not programming, per se, but HTML/CSS markup. You must understand forms especially.

Sites I would recommend: http://tutsplus.com/ http://membership.thinkvitamin.com/library/ http://www.lynda.com/

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  • I agree, although they have expressed a complete lack of interest in anything code related... which begs the question of whether or not they'd be able to tackle web design seriously.
    – Jack Sleight
    Commented Apr 26, 2011 at 22:48
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I'd also recommend looking into UI/UX side of things w/ regards to the web or any online development. I know a lot of designers who came from a print background and found working within the confines of a website to be challenging for a while. B/c it's interactive, a lot of thought has to be given to the psychology of using the app, and not just making it look pretty.

I liked "Don't Make Me Think" personally for a good overview of some of the concepts.

D.

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  • Good idea, I've already lent him my copy of Don't Make Me Think, excellent book!
    – Jack Sleight
    Commented Apr 26, 2011 at 22:46
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Whilst I expect most graphic designers will know the book already:

Josef Müller-Brockmann. Grid Systems in Graphic Design. Niggli: 1996. ISBN 3721201450

This is also a great resource for understanding and developing structured visual design for browser-based layout.

For a great introduction (and more) on how to look at ways to present information:

http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_ei

And read as many of the wide range of books on the psychology of user-interface and experience design, including:

http://www.useit.com/prioritizing/

from Jakob Nielsen and Hoa Loranger.

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