Read Building Web Sites All-in-One For Dummies® for Free Online Page B
Authors: Claudia Snell
addition to understanding how to use color, fonts, and images to support your content and how to use layout effectively, you need to know some basics in a variety of graphics programs, including these three:
⢠Adobe Photoshop CS4: This is a great tool for doing practically everything you need to do with Web graphics. Photoshop is the industry standard for working with graphics. With Photoshop, you can work with photos and create supporting graphics (such as banners and buttons) and any other graphics you need. If you want to pursue a professional career in design, you need Photoshop skills. See Book III, Chapter 4 for a brief introduction to the Photoshop CS4 interface and Tools panel.
⢠Fireworks: Use this Web graphics creation tool to manipulate photos and create other graphics. Its strength is in being tightly integrated with Dreamweaver and Flash. (You can launch Fireworks easily from within either program via a handy icon.) Fireworks also has great optimization tools and a helpful and easy-to-use batch-processing tool (which is good for resizing a large number of photos at once, among other things).
⢠Adobe Illustrator: With Illustrator, you can create and edit vector graphics. A vector graphic is one that is made up of mathematical information defining points and lines that make up shapes. A discussion of bitmap versus vector graphics is in Book III, Chapter 4. Vectors are great for building graphics with hard lines, such as logos.
⢠Note: You have to convert vectors into bitmaps to use them on a Web site. Photoshop and Fireworks are primarily bitmap editing programs; bitmaps are the choice for photographs. Figure 2-2 shows a vector graphic (on the left) and a bitmap graphic side by side. Notice the jagged edges created by pixilation in the bitmap.
Information about how to create, use, and prepare graphics for use on a site is included in Book IV.
Figure 2-2: A vector graphic (left) and a bitmap graphic (right).
Developing content
Good Web writing skills are essential for creating a successful Web site because a site without good content isnât useful to anyone. Whoever creates the siteâs content â whether you or a partner â must understand how people use Web sites and why they go to the site in the first place.
Good writing skills also come in handy when youâre preparing presentations and proposals. Almost all projects require some degree of writing skill for preparing contracts, proposals, scope documents, and other communications. Short paragraphs and bullet points help readers find what they need quickly.
Considering basic computer and Internet skills
Not that we want to state the obvious, but you need some computer skills if you are going to design Web sites.
⢠Word processing: Whether youâre using Microsoft Office, iWork (Mac only), or another word-processing program, the ability to prepare documents efficiently ensures that you can prepare contracts and proposals and keep track of the business side of things.
⢠E-mail/IM (instant messaging): Communicating with clients is important for your success. With e-mail and instant messenger, staying in contact with clients has never been easier.
⢠Browsers: Having some familiarity with and testing your site on the popular Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox) ensures that the site will work no matter how visitors are viewing it.
⢠Windows/Macintosh platforms: Developing skills on both Macintosh and Windows computers broadens your range and eases testing of your Web pages on both platforms. Professional Web designers work to make their sites function under a wide range of conditions. Book III has more details about things you need to look for and how to deal with platform issues.
Incorporating multimedia in your project
If you plan to work with Flash, audio, or video, you need some multimedia skills. You have a choice of many types of multimedia, and what you use depends
⢠Adobe Photoshop CS4: This is a great tool for doing practically everything you need to do with Web graphics. Photoshop is the industry standard for working with graphics. With Photoshop, you can work with photos and create supporting graphics (such as banners and buttons) and any other graphics you need. If you want to pursue a professional career in design, you need Photoshop skills. See Book III, Chapter 4 for a brief introduction to the Photoshop CS4 interface and Tools panel.
⢠Fireworks: Use this Web graphics creation tool to manipulate photos and create other graphics. Its strength is in being tightly integrated with Dreamweaver and Flash. (You can launch Fireworks easily from within either program via a handy icon.) Fireworks also has great optimization tools and a helpful and easy-to-use batch-processing tool (which is good for resizing a large number of photos at once, among other things).
⢠Adobe Illustrator: With Illustrator, you can create and edit vector graphics. A vector graphic is one that is made up of mathematical information defining points and lines that make up shapes. A discussion of bitmap versus vector graphics is in Book III, Chapter 4. Vectors are great for building graphics with hard lines, such as logos.
⢠Note: You have to convert vectors into bitmaps to use them on a Web site. Photoshop and Fireworks are primarily bitmap editing programs; bitmaps are the choice for photographs. Figure 2-2 shows a vector graphic (on the left) and a bitmap graphic side by side. Notice the jagged edges created by pixilation in the bitmap.
Information about how to create, use, and prepare graphics for use on a site is included in Book IV.
Figure 2-2: A vector graphic (left) and a bitmap graphic (right).
Developing content
Good Web writing skills are essential for creating a successful Web site because a site without good content isnât useful to anyone. Whoever creates the siteâs content â whether you or a partner â must understand how people use Web sites and why they go to the site in the first place.
Good writing skills also come in handy when youâre preparing presentations and proposals. Almost all projects require some degree of writing skill for preparing contracts, proposals, scope documents, and other communications. Short paragraphs and bullet points help readers find what they need quickly.
Considering basic computer and Internet skills
Not that we want to state the obvious, but you need some computer skills if you are going to design Web sites.
⢠Word processing: Whether youâre using Microsoft Office, iWork (Mac only), or another word-processing program, the ability to prepare documents efficiently ensures that you can prepare contracts and proposals and keep track of the business side of things.
⢠E-mail/IM (instant messaging): Communicating with clients is important for your success. With e-mail and instant messenger, staying in contact with clients has never been easier.
⢠Browsers: Having some familiarity with and testing your site on the popular Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox) ensures that the site will work no matter how visitors are viewing it.
⢠Windows/Macintosh platforms: Developing skills on both Macintosh and Windows computers broadens your range and eases testing of your Web pages on both platforms. Professional Web designers work to make their sites function under a wide range of conditions. Book III has more details about things you need to look for and how to deal with platform issues.
Incorporating multimedia in your project
If you plan to work with Flash, audio, or video, you need some multimedia skills. You have a choice of many types of multimedia, and what you use depends
Similar Books
The Trojan Princess
JJ Hilton
Tunnels 04, Closer
Roderick Gordon, Brian Williams
The Mandie Collection
Lois Gladys Leppard
The Voyage Out
Virginia Woolf
Escape to Witch Mountain
Alexander Key
Last Exit to Brooklyn
Hubert Selby Jr.
Deadly Rich
Edward Stewart
Football Frenzy
Alex Ko
Marco and the Devil's Bargain
Carla Kelly