I consider myself a print designer. But, over the past couple of years, website design has grown to account for almost 50% of my business' revenue. So, I guess it may be time to change the way I see myself. During that transition, I learned that web work demands a different approach. Sure, print and web design share a lot of stuff. Typography, images, concept and layout among other things. The difference lies in how people use it. Print tends to be static. As such, folks often take their time mulling over the material. The web is a load more dynamic. People want and expect ease-of-use, instant information, intuitive navigation and aesthetics with functionality.

If you're like me, you've found that many of the rules you were taught in art school don't all together apply to the web. That's where Ilise Benun's new book, Designing Websites://For Every Audience comes in real handy. This little tome is jam-packed with great info about usability, form, function and resources. It's found a comfy home on the table next to my Mac. You've all seen design books out there that promise the world, but don't teach you anything you can use in real life. You've likely shelled out your fair of moolah only to be disappointed. Designing Websites://For Every Audience delivers the goods and is worth every penny (or currency du jour).

Ilise starts off by addressing usability — what it is and why it's important. The nice thing is her approach. It's not a boring dictate of rules, but more of a discussion with comments from real-world designers and usability experts. The pages that follow contain a wealth of great information about what works and what doesn't along with all the whys. She writes about research and audience profiling, understanding memory, audience demographics and more. Perhaps the biggest point she makes is that the audience isn't just faceless "users," they're people. They're your mother, father, siblings, neighbors and co-workers. We need to see the audience as such and not simply nebulous "clicks" and stats on our site logs.

Beyond that, she distills web audiences down into six groups: learners; shoppers; connection seekers; transactors; business browsers and fun seekers. I found this very valuable in understanding what folks want and need during their visits to sites.

The chapters begin with a typical audience profile that features their demographic, web habits, preferences and pet peeves. When you get into a site design, it can be easy to stray from the path if you're not careful. These profiles are a great way to keep you on the straight and narrow. They also serve as a good start when developing a typical audience profile for your web projects.

Each audience group section contains case studies that go into great detail about the hows and whys of the design. For instance, the "Learners" section covers a wide span of topics: The Organization; The Site; The Users and Their Goals; Goals of the Redesign; Navigation and Typography. The words come straight from the horses' mouths — the client, the designer/developer and the audience. No guessing games here. The information is presented in a clear, digestible manner from the people in-the-know.

Ilise sums up with featured site URLs and a page of additional resources that include web sites, books, organizations, forums and blogs, magazines and a list of the design and consulting firms featured within the book. All in all, a very thorough job.

My suggestion? Fire up your browser and swing on over to Amazon or crank up the engine and cruise to your local bookseller. This one's a mandatory addition to any web designer's library. Good beat. Easy to dance to. I give it a 9 out 10.


Buy it now at Amazon
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158180301X

Ilise is also the author of "Self Promotion Online"
Download a sample chapter or buy the book here:
www.selfpromotiononline.com

Don't forget to swing over to her site for some Quick Online Marketing Tips:
www.artofselfpromotion.com/tips.html

And, if you just can't get your marketing done, maybe you need a Marketing Mentor. Get more info here:
www.artofselfpromotion.com/marketingmentor.html

Ilise can be reached at:
PO Box 23 Hoboken NJ 07030
(201) 653-0783
(201) 222-2494 fax

Her site is located at:
www.artofselfpromotion.com