Rating: 
Summary: Are you sure you really want to buy this book ...?
Review: First off, it's a decent book. It's full of great ideas, theteaching methodology works and, of course, it's beautifully designed-- that's the whole point, really.There is, however, a lot to gripe about. This book was pretty obviously rushed to press (No surprise there; at two years old, it's already something of a relic); there are clues to this throughout. The most obvious of them is the "Chapter 8" footer that you find running through Chapters 1 & 5; yes, they split up Chapter 8, but they forgot to rewrite its footers. Those last-minute reshufflings might account for why you've got some impossibly indecipherable code as early as Chapter 2 (The authors say at the outset that their objective in each chapter is to build on what they've covered so far; no joy there). Every page has got at least one thing wrong with it -- murky graphics, graphics as many as five pages late, irrelevant graphics subbed in for the real McCoy -- never mind the bad grammar. And then, of course, there is the title: "HTML Artistry". There is at least as much JavaScript in this book as there is HTML. My copy I managed to pick up cheap in an amazon.com auction. Would I have paid full price not knowing what I know now? No, thankfully. If you yourself aren't sure whether or not you want to then why not check out its accompanying website first. You like what you see ...?
Rating: 
Summary: This book is for the "business" types, not hard core techies
Review: I develop the design and the basics of multiple web sites and farm out the high-end coding issues to a dedicated systems group. This book helped me to put a second generation design together for my sites that not only gets the info out there, but does it in a way that is efficient and appealing to my users.
Rating: 
Summary: never realized a book like this can be so useful!
Review: I first saw this book at a school library (and to date, I don't own the book but check it out whenever I need it =P). Its title caught my attention: "HTML Artistry: More than code" I thought to myself, "wtf??? Artistry??? More than code???? Is this supposed to be a HTML/web design book??" Turns out it is...I flipped thru it...hey there are like color images on every single page! Now when do you see that? And hey, it actually shows web sites, not some loser hello world crap! So I thought, what the heck, maybe I should take a look at this. I'm glad I did... This book is NOT about coding! That you can find on numerous webpages! This book is about getting the actual design and appeal for your web site, trying to help you get past that "web designer's block"--that hard time you have in figuring out which layout works best for your site. It uses real world examples to show you how you can implement a navigation bar, whether text links or graphics links are better for your needs, etc. How a rollover menu works and how to implement it (this is the few places where there is _some_ code, but it's in straightforward Javascript). This book is great to make your site have lasting appeal... The reason I didn't give it a 5 star however is...it's old...2 years is a long time for the web. I wished it talked more about the newer navigation systems popularly in use now (e.g. pop-up javascript menus...) But this book is EXCELLENT, a must-read for anybody wanting to make a serious website!
Rating:
Summary: never realized a book like this can be so useful!
Review: I first saw this book at a school library (and to date, I don't own the book but check it out whenever I need it =P). Its title caught my attention: "HTML Artistry: More than code" I thought to myself, "wtf??? Artistry??? More than code???? Is this supposed to be a HTML/web design book??" Turns out it is...I flipped thru it...hey there are like color images on every single page! Now when do you see that? And hey, it actually shows web sites, not some loser hello world crap! So I thought, what the heck, maybe I should take a look at this. I'm glad I did... This book is NOT about coding! That you can find on numerous webpages! This book is about getting the actual design and appeal for your web site, trying to help you get past that "web designer's block"--that hard time you have in figuring out which layout works best for your site. It uses real world examples to show you how you can implement a navigation bar, whether text links or graphics links are better for your needs, etc. How a rollover menu works and how to implement it (this is the few places where there is _some_ code, but it's in straightforward Javascript). This book is great to make your site have lasting appeal... The reason I didn't give it a 5 star however is...it's old...2 years is a long time for the web. I wished it talked more about the newer navigation systems popularly in use now (e.g. pop-up javascript menus...) But this book is EXCELLENT, a must-read for anybody wanting to make a serious website!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Web Designing Book I Ever See!
Review: I had a time when I sat at a bookstore trying to get the best web design book but I couldnn't found one. A few days later, I went to another bookstore and I saw this book. When I saw its cover, I already know that it is wrote by somebody who is very experience designers. Then I tried to find out who are the authors and I found there is 'a famous Akimbo Design's desinger'. I know much about Akimbo. I know that they are great, so I bought this book. At home, I read over this book and I found it rich in html knowledge no matter in html 4.0 or javascript. Then I started to use this book as my reference in web design until now (I brought this book about 6 months ago). Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Designer in perennial transition
Review: I went into the bookstore looking for...well, I wasn't exactly sure what, but it turned out to be this. It fit the niche I was looking for to a T. In between design inspiration and coding. I disagree with other reviewers (even though they're all positive!) who imply that this book isn't good for learning code. True that is not its main intent (to shove code down your throat), but presented in this volume is exactly the way I like to learn code (html, cgi, javascript, etc.)--little snippet examples tied to actual applications, examples from which I can extrapolate or that I can use as a foundation for looking further into a given technique if I choose to. I do agree with those who say the main intent here is to keep you in mind of the bigger picture: dreaming up intriguing and appropriate ways of creating a dynamic and "alive" interface for your site. The fact that the design of the book is every bit as pleasing as the design and functionality of the sites covered in it just adds to the impact. And their own companion site is a really dynamite tool, the icing on the cake. And then of course the tone and humor of the copy from Ms. Ibanez and Ms. Zee also helps to keep a potentially dry subject interesting. It's hard to read though...you want to put the book down and go design some cool sites quick! I'm definitely looking forward to Volume 2 due out in April 2001.
Rating:
Summary: A Welcome Relief for Experienced Web Developers
Review: Thank God this book is NOT for the person who trashed the text in the earlier review. There is a glut of books for the beginner--books that really make me laugh when the covers scream "start designing web pages in a weekend!". This book is for those of us that have a background in design, that are paid professionals who are searching for fresh ideas from colleagues, and not "design gurus" who promise web success. For the beginners to web design: get a Dummies book, and then pick up a few books on Dreamweaver and Photoshop, and a few months later pick up this book. Your appreciation of the text will be far different than if this is your sole resource on coding HTML.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for all of us designing websites
Review: The authors have striked a nice balance between usefulness and inspiration. The book is both a showcase of various web designers' works and interviews with them about web design, typography, getting inspiration, being creative, etc, and the book also offers detailed explanations about some nice design and HTML techniques that you can apply on your webpages. I first thought i would just read it and then it would sit on the shelf. But i was wrong. Even though i have several HTML reference books right next to this one on the shelf, i keep getting back to HTML Artistry, because it is well-written, nicely illustrated and so easy to understand and apply the techniques. A nice book for those just beginning to build webpages, and an inspiration for experienced designers! I enjoy using it very much!
Rating:
Summary: For beginners to intermidiate....
Review: This book I think was well done for beginners to intermidiate. It gives ample source code for you to try things out as well as critiques on many sites pointing out what is good and isnt. It also gives you a good background on imaging on the web pointing out what techniques and formats are good and which ones you should steer clear of. The authors have done quite a lot of work in the web and graphic design industry and it shows with this book.
Rating:
Summary: an inspiring hands-on guide
Review: This book is rich with graphics, case studies, and examples and showed me creative ideas on employing basic methods (tables, frames, layers) to create complicating layouts. A must for all levels of web designers. (Do note that the quality declines slightly in the 2nd portion of the book)
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