Rating: 
Summary: MTIV: Probably not worth the retail price!
Review: I don't know, maybe it's just me.. but I wasn't all that inspired by this book. I'm more of a programmer than a designer, but I don't think that's the only reason why I didn't get this book. MTIV is a book that focuses on client relations, places to go for motivation/inspiration, and basically just outlines what Hillman Curtis does when he goes to develop a site. The client releations stuff is decent, but the bottom line is making sure you are kind of flexible, and reminding the client that your time is money and that some small changes he might want done will end up costing him more. It's about common sense things that some might take for granted, and what others might not. I would hate to give the book any more than 3 stars since I did not come away from with that much. His artwork was nice, but it wasn't like he was going to teach me how to do any of his cool designs. I don't know, its just one of those books that might be good coffee table book, or maybe its more of just a bury yourself in the corner of Borders and skim for the hour it will take to read it.
Rating:
Summary: MTIV: Probably not worth the retail price!
Review: I don't know, maybe it's just me.. but I wasn't all that inspired by this book. I'm more of a programmer than a designer, but I don't think that's the only reason why I didn't get this book. MTIV is a book that focuses on client relations, places to go for motivation/inspiration, and basically just outlines what Hillman Curtis does when he goes to develop a site. The client releations stuff is decent, but the bottom line is making sure you are kind of flexible, and reminding the client that your time is money and that some small changes he might want done will end up costing him more. It's about common sense things that some might take for granted, and what others might not. I would hate to give the book any more than 3 stars since I did not come away from with that much. His artwork was nice, but it wasn't like he was going to teach me how to do any of his cool designs. I don't know, its just one of those books that might be good coffee table book, or maybe its more of just a bury yourself in the corner of Borders and skim for the hour it will take to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: What the other guy said... But shorter...
Review: I got this book the other night. Having seen Hilmann speak at several events I had been anticipating the arrival for some time. I wasn't disappointed.The goals set out at the beginning of the book are admirably achieved, taking you on a journey through your own mind on the way. Probably the most well written book on the elusive subject of new media processes, inspiration and project management (in the literal sense). I totally recommend this book for anyone who has ever considered what and why we do the things we do in this strange business we call Interactive design. A serious book for professionals.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: I just got this book last night and I've read 75% of it already. I'm a graphic design student and we learn how to make pretty things but we don't learn why we should. This book is a great explanation on why you should be using bells and whistles.
Rating:
Summary: Once Again A 5 Star Book From Hillman
Review: I was lucky enough to have a friend get a copy of this book for me and have it signed by Hillman Curtis just 4 days ago. I've already read it once, and plan on reading it more than one more time. Similar to Hillman's first book (Flash Web Design), MTIV discusses business practice, how to conduct yourself in meetings, the philosophy of design, etc. Also, similar to the first book, MTIV has a section devoted to "learning," but not as step-by-step as the first book. A number of well known designers contribute at the end of this book short sections on different areas of design: typeography, XML, HTML, print, and much more. I highly recommend this book not only to both beginners and advanced Web Designers but also "non designers" who want a good resource on business practices, helping clients, and developing solutions that don't just "look cool" but also deliver functionality and answers.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not as good as I expected.
Review: I was quite disappointed after reading this book, the Process part at the very beginning was pretty good but when it comes to Inspiration and Practice, I felt that it was just a waste of money and time. I thought Hillman can do better that that?
Rating:
Summary: a must have for any design library
Review: if you find yourself in a design rut lately, pick up this book! not only did this book inspire me, it reminded me of why i chose to be an interactive designer in the first place. i always love reading how other designers get their doses of inspiration, and this book not only helps you go "behind the scenes" of a talented designer, but it also focuses in on key design principles from different design mediums such as print, motion graphics and video. it's definitely motivated me to start working on motion graphics projects again!
Rating: 
Summary: "Process" Alone Worth the Cost of the Book.
Review: In the dim dark early days of the Web a then unknown author combined personal anecdote, design insights, HTML code, layout tips and website samples into a unique book that became a bestseller over the course of two printings. That book was David Siegel's Creating Killer Web Sites, and Hillman Curtis' MTIV is an admirable successor to the first Web bestseller. MTIV does not contain quite the same mix of stuff as its predecessor, and that's a good thing, as the Web and our understanding of it has changed since Siegel's time. Foremost is the fact that Flash has now assumed an importance that plain vanilla HTML once held. Curtis the Flasher of Renown.
Hillman Curtis is one of the best and most famous Flashers on the planet. He is the Flash designer who first started using the term motion graphics for what he was doing in the early days of Flash, and he is the first Flash author I've read who emphasizes story, story, story as the motivation and prime mover of what he does. In fact he is possibly the first well-known and well-respected designer who has had the guts to come out and say such a thing. In a rerun of the legend of the blind men and the elephant, people have perceived the Web as they want to, based on personal interests. Hence technologists seeing it as a technology problem, IT (IS, for North American readers) specialists see it as an IT solution, programmers assuming it is a programming exercise, traditional graphic designers seeing websites as a collection of pages like those in a book, and corporate marketing communications types treating websites as online brochures. They are all partially right. Websites can be some or all of these things, but the Web itself is about communication and storytelling. In its short history few people have perceived this fact, and even fewer have pointed it out in public. Bravo Hillman. Putting It Into Perspective.
Put it all into perspective, place the web and the Internet up there alongside all the other new communications technologies that came before them, consider what they're all there for and it becomes dead obvious - storytelling. Myths, legends, cave paintings, the written word, telegraph, telephone, radio and TV, and the digital media - they exist for the transmission of tales. MTIV reminds us of that fact and more. Its subtitle is Process, Inspiration and Practice. In the Inspiration section Curtis shares some of the works by artists works in non-digital media that inspire him, and in Process he explains the practices that have made his firm such a success - Listen, Unite, Theme, Concept, Eat The Audience (you have to read to understand it), Filter and Justify. What he shares in Process is enough to justify the cost of the book. In Practice Curtis hands the story over to some guest experts for the telling, and they include Steve Krug on usability, Jeff Southard on XML, The Rooster Design Group (the book's designers) on print, Leatrice Eiseman on color, and Ellen Shapiro on grids. All good stuff and worthy, but I have more of the same in many other books. Let's Improve The Naming Of The Parts.
I like that Curtis calls himself a New Media Designer and to what he does as New Media Design. Paradoxically, although New Media Designer is as ambiguous as competing terms like Multimedia Designer, Interactive Designer, or plain old Digital Designer, the former is more open and allows for endless possibilities. The Web itself keeps changing. Digital technology continues to evolve. The roles that New Media Designers take on will continue to mutate. Hillman Curtis himself has designed for other media including print, directed and designed video projects, and created all kinds of marketing and advertising products, as well as the things you'd expect an innovative Flash expert to have done, all under the name New Media Designer. I think we should all follow Curtis' lead, and be done with inventing new titles for what we do. New Media Designer is good enough for me. So are Hillman Curtis' processes as a designer, and I will be adding his personal inspirations to my own...
Rating:
Summary: Simply... inspiring
Review: Let me tell you why I bought this book: I'm a self-taught designer, and I do what Mr. Curtis does - New Media Design. I create web sites, Flash, multimedia, video, and more through my company Wicked Penguin. I've bought many books on software and technical aspects- ColdFusion, Flash, XML, etc. However, what all those books lacked was one simple word: INSPIRATION. Yes, they told you what buttons to push, what code to type, etc. But what is all that worth if you don't have great ideas and a good way of getting them across to people? That's where this book comes in. First off, it's great to know you're not alone when it comes to having difficulty finding that right idea. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but finding a GOOD idea is no easy feat. This book encourages you to find ideas anywhere, whether it's in movies, print, old posters, etc. As long as you arrive where you need to be, it doesn't matter how you get there. Secondly, as a designer who went to art school, I've never been schooled in business practices - the art of the deal, so-to-speak. While I feel I'm adept at the design part, it's the interaction with the client that's always been somewhat of a challenge for me. This book opens doors to new ways of approaching clients, particularly by stressing a "you're all in this together" theme. Mr. Curtis' style of writing is excellent. He presents an idea, delivers a related anecdote or story, and then brings it home. It's a blend of theory and practical experience that can immediately make you see what he's talking about. This book is not for those who want a nuts-and-bolts instruction on Flash programming, or web design. This is - in its essence - a philosophy book. If you're looking for in-depth line-by-line breakdowns of SQL database queries, walk away. As I said, I've bought tons of web and media design books. This is the only one that ever made me go "WOW".
Rating:
Summary: simply amazing!
Review: Once again Hillman has given us something to think about. His passion for design and beauty really shines through. Expresses thoughts which we aren't aware of. This book is exactly what it purports to be. - "making the invisible, visible"
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