Robert Ford, creator of the Favourite Website Awards (FWA) and companion website, has teamed with Julius Wiedermann, author of a series of Taschen books on notable websites, together in this work.
The content is basically FWA award-winning websites from 2000 to the present. There are over 200 websites identified with one to three image captures from the site, as well as the following information: agency, designed by, developed by, software, awards, and launched. This is the heart of the book.
The book is attractively designed and presented, and in itself is an excellent example of graphic print design. In terms of look, feel, and content, it is most like a coffee table book.
The table of contents is:
Interface & Design
Marketing & Communication
Technology & Programming
Technical Advice
Content/Content Management
E-Commerce
Websites are distributed among the chapters to illustrate chapter content. But, please do not come away with the understanding that these are dealt with in any particular depth, technical or otherwise. Instead, use the chapter introductions and Dos and Don'ts as a guide to current best practice. Much, however, is common sense, obvious, or well-known practice.
This is a designer's guide, and it does represent a wide variety of styles and nationalities.
But, it is also, almost exclusively, a guide to elaborate Flash sites usually with large corporate budgets behind them. According to my count -- 98% of the sites cited use Flash occasionally to exclusively for presenting content.
So, to an audience of high end Flash designers, the book will identify peers and their award-winning work.
But, is this of value to the humble web designer, working with Dreamweaver for small business websites? I'd say that it is.
This book is a visual delight. It brings together top creative talent with the new technology of the web and shows the result. It is a continually thought-provoking work for creative design. We all can benefit from that.
And, the future of the web is more interactivity. With Adobe Flex/Air and Microsoft Silverlight, the range of tools for a rich desktop experience expands. This book identifies the kinds of user interaction we will provide in future years.