A Book Apart

Series · 41

books · 2010-2022

By Preston So, Dan Cederholm, Yesenia Perez-Cruz, and more

Books in series

HTML5 for Web Designers

2010

Book by Jeremy Keith

CSS3 For Web Designers

2010

From advanced selectors to generated content to the triumphant return of web fonts, and from gradients, shadows, and rounded corners to full-blown animations, CSS3 is a universe of creative possibilities. No one can better guide you through these galaxies than world-renowned designer, author, and CSS superstar Dan Cederholm. Learn what works, how it works, and how to work around browsers where it doesn’t work.

The Elements of Content Strategy

2011

Content strategy is the web’s hottest new thing. But where did it come from? And why does it matter? And what does the content renaissance mean for you? This brief guide explores content strategy’s roots, and quickly and expertly demonstrates not only how it’s done, but how you can do it well. A compelling read for both experienced content strategists and those making the transition from other fields.

Responsive Web Design

2011

From mobile browsers to netbooks and tablets, users are visiting your sites from an increasing array of devices and browsers. Are your designs ready? Learn how to think beyond the desktop and craft beautiful designs that anticipate and respond to your users’ needs. Ethan Marcotte will explore CSS techniques and design principles, including fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries, demonstrating how you can deliver a quality experience to your users no matter how large (or small) their display.

Designing for Emotion

2011

Make your users fall in love with your site via the precepts packed into this brief, charming book by MailChimp user experience design lead Aarron Walter. From classic psychology to case studies, highbrow concepts to common sense, Designing for Emotion demonstrates accessible strategies and memorable methods to help you make a human connection through design.

Mobile First

2011

Our industry’s long wait for the complete, strategic guide to mobile web design is finally over. Former Yahoo! design architect and co-creator of Bagcheck Luke Wroblewski knows more about mobile experience than the rest of us, and packs all he knows into this entertaining, to-the-point guidebook. Its data-driven strategies and battle tested techniques will make you a master of mobile—and improve your non-mobile design, too!

Design Is a Job

2012

The first edition of this book taught you how to sell design, draw up contracts, work with clients, and navigate the business of design. And, yeah, that’s all still (mostly) there. But design has changed, and this book has changed with it. In this second edition, Mike Monteiro not only covers how to be a working designer, but also how to take care of yourself, deal with toxic workplaces, and learn to operate in a community rather than as individual practitioners. If you are interested in using design as a tool for good, building a more sustainable and equitable society, creating workplaces where everyone is treated with respect, and doing all of these things while still making a living, this book is for you.

Content Strategy for Mobile

2012

You don’t get to decide which platform or device your customers use to access your content: they do. Mobile isn’t just smartphones, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you are on the move. It’s a proliferation of devices, platforms, and screensizes—from the tiniest “dumb” phones to the desktop web. How can you be sure that your content will work everywhere, all the time? Karen McGrane will teach you everything you need to get your content onto mobile devices (and more). You’ll first gather data to help you make the case for a mobile strategy, then learn how to publish flexibly to multiple channels. Along the way, you'll get valuable advice on adapting your workflow to a world of emerging devices, platforms, screen sizes, and resolutions. And all in the less time than it takes you to fly from New York to Chicago.

Just Enough Research

2013

Design research is a hard slog that takes years to learn and time away from the real work of design, right? Wrong. Good research is about asking more and better questions, and thinking critically about the answers. It’s something every member of your team can and should do, and which everyone can learn, quickly. And done well, it will save you time by reducing unknowns and making sure you're building the right thing, in the best possible way. In Just Enough Research, co-founder of Mule Design Erika Hall distills her experience into a brief cookbook of research methods. Learn how to discover your competitive advantages, spot your own blind spots and biases, identify small changes with huge potential impact, and why you should never, ever hold a focus group. You'll be on the path to good research in less time than you can plan your next pitch.

#10

Sass for Web Designers

2013

Let’s face it: CSS is hard. Our stylesheets are more complex than they used to be, and we’re bending the spec to do as much as it can. Can Sass help? A reluctant convert to Sass, Dan Cederholm tells how he came around to the popular CSS pre-processor, and shares just what you need to take better control of your stylesheets (all the while working the way you always have). From getting started to advanced techniques, Dan will help you level up your stylesheets and get back to work in no time.

#11

On Web Typography

2014

Achieving a thorough grasp of typography can take a lifetime, but moving beyond the basics is within your reach right now. In this book, we’ll learn how to look at typefaces with a discerning eye, different approaches to typographic planning, how typography impacts the act of reading, and how to choose and combine appropriate typefaces from an aesthetic and technical point of view. Through an understanding of our design tools and how they relate to the web as a medium, we can empower ourselves to use type in meaningful and powerful ways. This book will be released Summer 2012.

#12

You're My Favorite Client

2014

Whether you’re a designer or not, you make design decisions every day. Successful design projects require equal participation from both the client and the designer. Yet, the design process remains a mystery to the very people who buy it. Design is not sausage. You’ll enjoy it even more the better you understand how it’s made! Once again, Mike Monteiro demystifies the design process and helps you prepare for your role. Well-informed clients make for smoother projects, that are run more effectively and ultimately cost less. Ensure you’re asking the right questions, getting the right answers, and working with the right people—and you’ll have the confidence to hire people who will challenge you to make your product the best it can be.

#13

Responsible Responsive Design

2014

Responsive design has immeasurably improved multi-device, multi-browser visual layout—but it’s only the first step in building responsively. Learn how to turn a critical eye on your designs as you develop for new contexts (what does mobile really mean?) and screen features, speedy and lagging networks, and truly global audiences. Serve the right content across platforms, and tune for performance. Scott Jehl tackles those topics and more, ensuring that the sites and apps you build today last far into the future.

#14

Designing for Touch

2015

Touch introduces physicality to designs that were once strictly virtual, and puts forth a new test: How does this design feel in the hand? Josh Clark guides you through the touchscreen frontier. Learn about ergonomic demands (and rules of thumb), layout and sizing for all gadgets, an emerging gestural toolkit, and tactics to speed up interactions and keep gestures discoverable. Get the know-how to design for interfaces that let you touch—stretch, crumple, drag, flick—information itself. It’s in your hands.

#15

Responsive Design

Patterns & Principles

2015

As responsive design evolves, we have a critical need to think about design challenges beyond mobile, tablet, and desktop. When properly designed and planned, design patterns—small, reusable modules—help your responsive layout reach more devices (and people) than ever before. Ethan Marcotte shows you just how that’s done, focusing on responsive navigation systems, resizing and adapting images, managing advertising in a responsive context, and broader principles for designing more flexible, device-independent layouts.

#16

Going Responsive

2015

Responsive design is more than the technical; it’s a new way of communicating and working that affects every person on your team. Karen McGrane draws on data and stories from real-world teams to show you why going responsive is just good business sense—and how to set up your project (from concept to launch) for total success. Learn how to plan and scope work, collaborate in a responsive context, evaluate content, handle browser support and testing, and measure performance outcomes. No matter your role or project, go responsive with confidence.

#17

Git for Humans

2016

"Git’s model of version control makes it indispensable for collaborating on digital projects of all stripes. Get situated with Git as David Demaree guides you through the command-line workflow, the nuances of repositories and branches, the elements of a solid commit message, and more. Pick up common version-tracking tasks, along with advice on trickier scenarios. You’ll learn how to put Git to work for you—and work better with your team." - Mandy Brown

#18

Design for Real Life

2016

You can’t always predict who will use your products, or what emotional state they’ll be in when they do. But by identifying stress cases and designing with compassion, you’ll create experiences that support more of your users, more of the time. Join Sara Wachter-Boettcher and Eric Meyer as they turn examples from more than a dozen sites and services into a set of principles you can apply right now. Whether you’re a designer, developer, content strategist, or anyone who creates user experiences, you’ll gain the practical knowledge to test where your designs might fail (before you ship!), vet new features or interactions against more realistic scenarios, and build a business case for making decisions through a lens of kindness. You can’t know every user, but you can develop inclusive practices that support a wider range of people. This book will show you how.

#19

Practical SVG

2016

Harness the power and possibilities of crisp, performance-efficient SVG with Chris Coyier. From software basics to build tools to optimization, you’ll learn techniques for a solid workflow. Go deeper: create icon systems, explore sizing and animation, and understand when and how to implement fallbacks. Get your images up to speed and look sharp!

#20

JavaScript For Web Designers

2016

If staring down JavaScript leaves you unsteady, take heart. Mat Marquis is at your side, offering a detailed yet approachable tour around this essential language. Make your way through plenty of practical examples, as you pick up syntax rules, the fundamentals of scripting, and how to handle data types and loops. You’ll emerge clear-eyed and confident—and ready to get to work.

#21

Demystifying Public Speaking

2016

Don’t think public speaking is for you? It is—whether you’re bracing for a conference talk or a team meeting. Lara Hogan helps you identify your fears and face them, so you can make your way to the stage (big or small). Get clear, practical advice through every step, from choosing a topic and creating a presentation, to gathering and distilling feedback, to event-day prep. You’ll feel confident and equipped to step into the spotlight.

#22

Practical Design Discovery

2017

Design discovery is crucial to a project’s success—unite your team in an approach toward a common goal. Explore the role of discovery in product design, how to use and structure your favorite techniques for success, and how to synthesize and document what you learn. With Dan Brown’s flexible framework for planning and practicing discovery activities, you’ll set every design endeavor on the right path.

#23

Accessibility for Everyone

2017

A guide for the accessibility landscape: understand disability and impairment challenges; get a handle on important laws and guidelines; and learn how to plan for, evaluate, and test accessible design. Tools and techniques like clear copywriting, well-structured IA, meaningful HTML, and thoughtful design, to create a solid set of best practices

#24

The New CSS Layout

2017

CSS Grid Layout will transform the way the you design and develop for the web—and Rachel Andrew will change the way you grok the spec. Learn to use Grid Layout within a system that includes existing methods to perform the tasks they were designed for—and take advantage of this pivotal moment in the evolution of layout.

#25

Conversational Design

2018

How do we make digital systems feel less robotic and more real? Whether you work with interface or visual design, front-end technology, or content design, learn why conversation is the best model for creating device-independent, human-centered systems. Research and information design expert Erika Hall explains what makes an interaction truly conversational and how to get more comfortable using language in design. From understanding the human interface, to effectively using the power of personality, to getting it all done, you’ll find out how the art of communication can elevate technology.

#26

Going Offline

2018

Boldly take your website where it’s never gone before: offline. Jeremy Keith introduces you to service workers (and the code behind them) to show you the latest strategies in offline pages. Learn the ins and outs of fetching and caching, enhance your website’s performance, and create an ideal offline experience for every user, no matter their connection.

#27

Flexible Typesetting

2018

For the first time in hundreds of years, because of the web, the role of the typographer has changed. We no longer decide; we suggest. We no longer simply choose typefaces, font sizes, line spacing, and margins; we prepare and instruct text to make those choices for itself. In this book, Tim Brown illuminates the complex, beautiful world of typesetting—arguably the most important part of typography because it forms the backbone of the reading experience—and shows us how to parry the inevitable pressures that arise when we can no longer predict how, and where, our text will be read.

#28

Progressive Web Apps

2018

Progressive web apps represent the next big digital opportunity: they look and feel like native apps, they work offline, and they’re available to anyone—no app store required. But with that freedom and flexibility come challenging questions about how to create the most value for your users (and your bottom line). Jason Grigsby answers the what, why, and how of progressive web apps, from making the case in your organization to reaching your users in bold, new ways. Build your audience, increase revenue, and widen the web’s reach—all with the power of progressive web apps.

#29

Everyday Information Architecture

2019

The design of information on the web changes the way people find, understand, and use that information—for better or for worse. Lisa Maria Martin shows you how to leverage the principles and practices of information architecture in order to craft more thoughtful and effective digital spaces. Learn how to analyze your site’s content and structure, build clear and consistent taxonomies, and develop more strategic sitemaps. Because when we’re intentional about how we organize web content, we create better experiences for everyone.

#30

Resilient Management

2019

Finding your bearings as a manager can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to fake it to make it, and you don’t have to go it alone. Lara Hogan shares her recipe for supporting and leading a tech team—from developing your mentoring and coaching skills, to getting comfortable with having difficult conversations, to boosting trust among teammates—while staying grounded along the way.

#31

Expressive Design Systems

2019

Good design systems can help you create digital products with efficiency and consistency. But great design systems will support and strengthen your team’s creativity at the same time. In Expressive Design Systems, Yesenia Perez-Cruz shows you how to build useful, dependable systems that not only maintain harmony across your products, but also flex to accommodate inspiration and experimentation. Learn to communicate your brand, collaborate across teams—and do so much more than standardize components.

#32

Cross-Cultural Design

2020

The internet is connecting more people in more places than ever before—and yet many of us still design with only wealthy, Western audiences in mind. In truth, our users extend well beyond those borders, and bring a dazzling variety of languages, perspectives, and expectations about the web with them. With utmost timeliness, Senongo Akpem shares a clear and accessible methodology for designing across cultures: from performing socially conscious research, to building culturally responsive experiences, to developing meaningful internationalization and localization approaches. Expand your craft, and your mindset—and start creating a richer experience for everyone on the web, regardless of location, language, or identity.

#33

Design for Cognitive Bias

2020

We humans are messy, illogical creatures who like to imagine we’re in control—but we blithely let our biases lead us astray. In Design for Cognitive Bias, David Dylan Thomas lays bare the irrational forces that shape our everyday decisions and, inevitably, inform the experiences we craft. Once we grasp the logic powering these forces, we stand a fighting chance of confronting them, tempering them, and even harnessing them for good. Come along on a whirlwind tour of the cognitive biases that encroach on our lives and our work, and learn to start designing more consciously.

#34

Sustainable Web Design

2020

The internet may be digital, but it carries a very physical cost. From image files to colors to coding languages to servers, the choices we make in our web work can eat up electricity and spit out carbon—and as the internet grows, so does the cost to the environment. But there’s hope: small, thoughtful changes in design and development can reduce the damage, while also making the web more resilient in the face of a changing climate. In Sustainable Web Design, Tom Greenwood offers a practical path to faster, more carbon-efficient websites that are not only better for the planet, but better for our users.

#35

Better Onboarding

2021

When users try your product for the first time, what keeps them coming back? Onboarding can make the difference between abandoned accounts and devoted use-if we design it as a holistic, ongoing process. Krystal Higgins demonstrates how the best onboarding experiences guide people as they interact, helping them follow their own path to success. Gain practical strategies and techniques for designing effective guidance, whether you're working through a redesign, launching new features, rolling out service updates, or welcoming back returning users. Set aside the tutorials, manuals, and intrusive instructions of the past, and learn how to use guided interaction to help users find their way-and get value out of every step. THIS BOOK

#36

Voice Content and Usability

2021

Interfaces have long been visual affairs, with content confined to the text and images behind our screens. But that’s changing. Humans have started talking to interfaces—and interfaces are talking back. Now we need to ensure those interfaces can converse effectively, thoughtfully, and naturally. Preston So introduces us to the exciting new frontier of voice content design, and the questions that designers, content strategists, and engineers need to answer in order to build richly structured, inclusive communication with the powerful medium of voice.

#37

Design for Safety

2021

“How will our product hurt people?” As web workers, we don’t often ask this question—but we should. Too often, we design for idealized circumstances, even though our users bring a range of complicated personal dynamics to every interaction. When we fail to explicitly design for vulnerable users, we unintentionally prioritize their abusers. Eva PenzeyMoog explains how even the most well-intentioned design can be weaponized for interpersonal harm. Through poignant, all-too-common examples, Eva demonstrates how to identify a design’s potential for abuse, how to avoid and mitigate the damage, and how to bake safety into every step of the design process. We can’t build good digital products unless we recognize that our users’ safety, and lives, are at stake.

#38

SEO For Everyone

2021

As the web has matured, so have search engines, algorithms, and marketing practices meant to attract pageviews. Modern SEO isn’t about delivering traffic for traffic’s sake—it’s about helping real people find the right information, at the right time, and in the right place. In this practical, illuminating book, Rebekah Baggs and Chris Corak make the case that SEO plays a central role not just in search rankings, but in delivering an excellent user experience. After all, most interactions don’t begin on our carefully crafted homepages, but on a list of search results—and only by connecting our efforts in content, design, development, and search optimization can we create a truly human-centered web that supports users throughout their entire journey.

#39

Responsible JavaScript

2021

JavaScript plays a powerful role in creating rich interactive experiences. But its power comes at a cost: longer load times, sluggish pages, and inaccessible content. The more we rely on client-side rendering, the more likely we are to exclude visitors with older devices, slower connections, or those who have disabled JavaScript altogether. If we want people to fully experience the sites we have worked so hard to craft, then we must be judicious in our use of JavaScript. In thoughtful detail, Jeremy Wagner shows how JavaScript can be used to progressively enhance server-side functionality, while improving speed and access for more visitors. By centering user needs every step of the way—from toolchains to metrics to testing—we can all contribute to a more inclusive, accessible, and resilient web.

#41

Leading Content Design

2022

Content design teams need the right conditions to thrive—but when they’re hampered by bottlenecks or putting out fires, it’s hard for them to do their best work, secure support, and grow strategically. Enter content operations. With smart, operational approaches, Rachel McConnell helps you identify and remove the barriers to strong, effective content work. You’ll learn how to create common standards, improve collaboration, iron out wrinkles in the design process, and build advocacy—so you can lead your team with impact.

#42

Inclusive Design Communities

2022

What does it mean to be a member of a community? And how do we ensure that our communities—from classrooms to workplaces to meetups—are welcoming to all who want to be a part of them? Sameera Kapila answers those questions and more by examining how our identities intersect with our design practices. Whether you’re a student, educator, practicing designer, manager, recruiter, mentor, or organizer, you’ll learn to notice subconscious bias, interrogate your values, and actively create welcoming spaces for all. Inclusive Design Communities will empower you to build the design industry you want to see—the one we all deserve.

Authors

A designer, author, speaker, husband and father living in Salem, Massachusetts. Dan is the Founder and Principal of SimpleBits, LLC, a tiny web design studio. A recognized expert in the field of standards-based web design, Dan has worked with YouTube, Microsoft, Google, MTV, ESPN, Electronic Arts, Blogger, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, and others. With each new project, comes an opportunity to minimize markup and embrace the flexibility of CSS. Dan is co-founder and designer of Dribbble, a vibrant community for sharing screenshots of your work. Previously, he co-founded and designed Cork’d, the first social network for wine aficionados which was later acquired by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Jason Santa Maria is the founder and principal of Mighty, a Brooklyn-based design studio. He is creative director of Typekit, a faculty member in the MFA Interaction Design program at SVA, former vice president of AIGA/NY, co-founder of A Book Apart, founder of Typedia, a shared encyclopedia of typefaces online, and creative director for A List Apart, a magazine for people who make websites. He’s worked for clients such as AIGA, Microsoft, Housing Works, Miramax Films, The New York Stock Exchange, PBS, The United Nations, and WordPress focusing on designing websites that maintain a balance of beauty and usability. He discusses design on his award-winning website.

Mike Monteiro

Author · 5 books

Some say the clothes make the man. Others say it’s opinions. Co-founder of Mule, Mike likes to have a bet both ways. His 2012 book, Design is a Job, was a love letter to hard work, self-awareness, and the importance of a good tailor. Mike cultivates his reputation around being serious about design, human rights, a damn fine joke, and the Phillies. His philosophy of supportive antagonism helps Mule create great internal and external projects. He has given talks about the responsibility of designers in client relationships at conferences such as CreativeMornings, TYPO, and An Event Apart. Mike received his BA in Fine Art from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and his MFA in Graphic Design from University of Texas, Austin.

LukeW is an internationally recognized digital product leader who has designed or contributed to software used by more than 700 million people worldwide. Luke was Co-founder and Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Bagcheck which was acquired by Twitter Inc. just nine months after being launched publicly. Prior to this, Luke was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Benchmark Capital and the Chief Design Architect (VP) at Yahoo! Inc. where he worked on product alignment and forward-thinking integrated customer experiences on the Web, mobile, TV, and beyond. Luke is the author of the book Mobile First, two already popular Web design books (Web Form Design & Site-Seeing: A Visual Approach to Web Usability) and many articles about digital product design and strategy. He is also a consistently top-rated speaker at conferences and companies around the world, and a Co-founder and former Board member of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA).

David Dylan Thomas

Author · 1 books

David Dylan Thomas has given presentations on the intersection of design, bias, and social justice at TEDNYC, SXSW Interactive, Confab, LavaCon, UX Copenhagen, Artifact, and the Wharton Web Conference. His work combines more than ten years of content strategy experience in entertainment, healthcare, publishing, finance, and retail with a deep understanding of bias cultivated by researching and producing over a hundred episodes of The Cognitive Bias Podcast. Learn more about his talks and ideas at daviddylanthomas.com.

Eric A. Meyer has been working with the Web since late 1993 and is an internationally recognized expert on the subjects of HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). He is the principal consultant for Complex Spiral Consulting and lives in Cleveland, Ohio, which is a much nicer city than you've been led to believe. A graduate of and former Webmaster for Case Western Reserve University and an alumnus of the same fraternity chapter to which Donald Knuth once belonged, Eric coordinated the authoring and creation of the W3C's CSS Test Suite and has recently been acting as List Chaperone of the highly active css-discuss mailing list. Author of "Eric Meyer on CSS" (New Riders), "Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide" (O'Reilly & Associates), "CSS2.0 Programmer's Reference" (Osborne/McGraw-Hill), and the fairly well-known CSS Browser Compatibility Charts, Eric speaks at a variety of conferences on the subject of standards, CSS use, and Web design. For nine years, he was the host of "Your Father's Oldsmobile," a weekly Big Band-era radio show heard on WRUW 91.1-FM in Cleveland. When not otherwise busy, Eric is usually bothering his wife Kat in some fashion.

Sameera Kapila

Author · 1 books

Sameera Kapila is a product designer, speaker, and author based in Austin, TX. Her career experience includes advertising, startups, private and public design education, DEI initiatives, executive leadership, advisory boards, consulting, and product design and development. These different experiences inform her writing and speaking.

Ethan Marcotte is a veteran web designer, speaker, and author. He’s perhaps best known for responsive web design, helping the industry discover a new way of designing for the ever-changing Web. His most recent book is You Deserve a Tech Union .