Book Bites

AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple
Industrial Design Group
By Paul Kunkel
Photos by Rick English
GRAPHIS
http://www.graphis.com
ISBN 1-888-001-25-9, 288 pages
$49.95 U.S.

UNIQUE FEATURES: Outstanding photographs, background and information on the history of Apple products; from the Apple I up through the 20th Anniversary Macintosh, including PowerBooks, printers, even the Apple microphones.

WRITING STYLE: Extremely comprehensive, easy to read and easy to follow.

OVERALL LOOK AND FEEL: Although a softcover book, it has the look and feel of a higher priced hard cover coffee table book.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:
Be aware that although the book is not cheap, it gives Apple/Mac-ophiles a very thorough background and history of the Apple line, from start to present, and includes some that have never seen the light of day other then in conceptional drawings or mockups. Mr. Kunkel has been thorough in his research, including design code names (e.g., Elsie, Stingray, Capriccio, Fridge), the Design Team, introduction date and awards. Mr. English’s photographs are outstanding and present the computer as something more then a machine.

If you’re really a Mac enthusiast and have been wondering what to get yourself as a present, check out Apple Design. I’m sure you’ll want to buy it after you see it for yourself. I know that there won’t be a book out on PC Design anytime soon.
Redesigning Print for the Web
By Dr. Mario R. Garcia
HAYDEN BOOKS
http://www.hayden.com
ISBN 1-56830-343-2, 240 pages
$45.00 U.S., $63.95 Canada,
£39.95 U.K.

GRAPHICS AND SCREENSHOTS: Packed with tons of each, all very well done.

WRITING STYLE: Extremely thorough, and easy to read.

OVERALL LOOK AND FEEL: A well thought out and presented reference work.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:
When I first heard the title of the book, I thought “Hey, might have some good info.” I was right.

Dr. Garcia has packed his book with explanations, examples and reasoning to explain how to display and present information on the Web. If you are an old hand at doing newsletters and the like and are finally upgrading your handiwork for presentation on the Web, this might be a good book for you to take a look at to get some ideas you can use to bring your work up to speed.

Dr. Garcia starts with the basics of how people read on the Web versus how they read a newspaper and walks you up to how to present your information in a manner online that people will find interesting and attractive to the eye and mind. The chapters are short, but he utilizes screen shots and graphics to bring you up to speed quickly, the same thing he is trying to get you to do online.

So, if you’re new to the Web and Web pages, or if you’ve been thinking of making some changes to your own Web site, take a peek at this book. You may find some very interesting ideas.
Learn Photoshop 4.0 in 14 days
By D. Bront Davis, Steven Mulder,
and Carla Rose
Hayden Books
http://www.hayden.com
ISBN 1-56830-403-x, 464 pages plus
CD-ROM disk
$39.99 U.S., $56.95 Canada,
£37.50 U.K.

UNIQUE FEATURES: The use of “NOTES” to bring important items to your attention. Well thought out book that walks you through each day, step by step, and shows you how to work with Photoshop in an enjoyable way.

GRAPHICS AND SCREENSHOTS: Plenty of each to walk you through your learning process and to show you exactly what the authors are talking about.

OVERALL LOOK AND FEEL: Very well done book, easy to read and follow through each day’s lessons.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:
The authors have found a very good way of teaching the reader how to use Photoshop without scaring them away or talking over their heads. Even though the book is cross-platform, it very easily describes the tasks and skills that are to be learned and walks you through it.

Starting with the basics of Photoshop on Day 1, you are guided very deftly through the use of Tools, Painting and Drawing, Color, Levels and Curves, Layers and Paths, Repairs and Fixes, Filters and Printing, to name just some of the points/skills that you will read and learn by the end of your two-week journey. The accompanying CD-ROM has all the files that you’ll need to work your way through the tutorials.

So, if you want to take your time, not rush, and learn how to do it right, check out Teach Yourself Photoshop in 14 Days.