Books on website design
I’ve written five books on website design which have been read by thousands of web designers worldwide and have been described as “essential reading,” “career changing,” and “industry defining.”
“Andy Clarke’s ‘Art Direction for the Web’ is an amazing book that provides inspiration for better web design, and practical tips on how to implement good design using modern CSS. Andy does a masterful job of showing the rich history of art direction and inspires us to tell stories the same way through web design. I’m excited to start implementing what I learned in this book.”
Tim Woodruff. Goodreads
Standout Designs for the Web
With millions upon millions of digital products and websites vying for peoples’ attention, custom, and loyalty, why do so many look so similar? Why, wherever you are, whichever industry, whatever topic, are websites so obviously cast from the same mould? In this forthcoming book, you’ll learn why standing out matters and how to use inspiration from other media to make your designs stand out.
Coming 2024–25
Art Direction for the Web
Smashing Magazine 2019.
ISBN: 9-78-3-945749-76-0. 344 pages.
DRM-free ePUB, Kindle, PDF.
Modern web technologies have made it possible for us to implement print-style designs, and the web’s now full of tutorials on how to use them. But the most important question is not “how” we can use these techniques to improve designs for the web, but “when” and “why?” Based on my experience, plus the expertise of art directors and designers I interviewed. I explore the work of influential art directors to understand it and learn how to apply that knowledge to the web.
“Real-world and fictional layouts highlight key points and are fantastic examples of what the web can be with great art direction. The author goes a step further by jumping right into key CSS properties and methods that make print-type/traditional layouts possible for the web.”
Ian Welling. Goodreads
Hardboiled Web Design
Fifth Anniversary Edition
Smashing Magazine 2015.
ISBN: 978-3-945749-37-1. 441 pages.
DRM-free ePUB, Kindle, PDF.
Frustrated by how designers were being held back by the notion that their designs should look the same in even the least capable browsers, I wrote Hardboiled Web Design in 2010. It was incredibly well received, so in 2015 I updated its content for an all new Hardboiled Web Design: Fifth Anniversary Edition.
“This book is one of the best in modern day web development. Hardboiled Web Design isn’t about making your website pretty or pixel perfect, but about making it stand the test of time while using tomorrow’s standards today. ”
Tri Ahmad Irfan. Goodreads
Hardboiled Web Design
Five Simple Steps 2010.
ISBN: 978-1907828003. 420 pages.
Frustrated by how designers were being held back by the notion that their designs should look the same in even the least capable browsers.
“As usual, Andy provides not just trend-setting theories but the practical examples that will make any designer perform just as they should in the age of empowered web technologies. Awesome stuff.”
Jason Hando. Goodreads
No longer available.
Reviews on Goodreads.
Transcending CSS Revisited
Stuff & Nonsense Ltd. 2019.
ISBN 978-1-9162534-0-7.
DRM-free ePUB, Kindle, PDF.
I felt it was time to revisit Transcending CSS to examine the approaches we took and the tools we used at the start of the web standards revolution. In Transcending CSS Revisited, I’ve also added a commentary where I explain what’s changed since the original book and how we should work today.
“I’ve read other reviews of this book that describe it as career-changing and that really was true in my case. I’ve spent the past four months reading anything and everything I can about CSS because the doors that Andy Clarke opens in Transcending CSS are just too cool to close.”
Chris. Goodreads
Transcending CSS (original)
New Riders Press 2006.
ISBN-10: 0321410971. ISBN-13: 978-0321410979
I wrote Transcending CSS, my first full-length book, in 2006, because I wanted to explain the possibilities of CSS and HTML in ways which would appeal to creative web professionals. I had no idea about the impact this book would have on my career and the careers of many other people. It was translated into eight languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, and Korean.
“This book will be quoted and hoarded by web designers. It has gained worldwide recognition by being translated into eight different languages, possibly making it one of the top, if not the most, read web design book to date. If you’re a web designer, not reading this book is not an option.”
Charles. Goodreads
No longer available.
Reviews on Goodreads.
Inspired Designs magazine series
Smashing Magazine commissioned me to write a series of articles covering topics including colour, layout, and typography, which teach designers how to look outside the web for inspiration. These are now available in magazine format and each issue comes complete with a beautifully designed PDF and example code.
№ 1. Avaunt Magazine
Explains how to design and implement skinny columns using meaningful markup and efficient CSS.
Buy issue £3.99№ 2. Pressing Matters
Expand your repertoire of layouts by combining more than one grid into a compound grid.
Buy issue £3.99№ 3. Ernest Journal
How to use frameworks to create layouts as engaging as in the well-known Ernest Journal.
Buy issue £3.99№ 4. Alexey Brodovitch
How scattering images will fill your designs with movement. Learn how to mirror pictures and text, and how to carve text into shapes using CSS Shapes.
Buy issue £3.99№ 5. Bea Feitler
How to emphasise scale and maintain its contrast on even the smallest screens. Make confident colour choices and use pattern and texture to add depth.
Buy issue £3.99№ 6. Neville Brody
How to use blend modes to add depth and vertical text for impact. How to use clipping paths to bring in character and energy.
Buy issue £3.99№ 7. Otto Storch
How to do more with CSS shapes, how to make text look delicious, and how to use mirroring and symmetry to create inspiring designs.
Buy issue £3.99№ 8. Herb Lubalin
How to use pre-formatted text for precise formatting, and how to use SVG text, fills, and strokes for intricate typographic designs.
Buy issue £3.99№ 10. Giovanni Pintori
How to use colour to attract attention and how a minimal colour palette can act as a guide. How lines and shapes add structure and style.
Buy issue £3.99№ 11. Emmett McBain
McBain designed almost 75 record covers by the time he was 24. How his work can inspire what we design for the web.
Buy issue £3.99№ 12. Bradbury Thompson
How to combine graphic and typographical elements with innovative layouts to create stunning designs for the web.
Buy issue £3.99