HTML5 For Web Designers: A Reference Guide For Non-Book Learners

A few months back, I ordered HTML5 For Web Designers, by Jeremy Keith, published by A Book Apart.  This short yet immensely valuable guide is a must-read for anybody working in the web industry.

And by “anybody”, I don’t just mean those who collect design/dev education books and learn their craft by hammering through chapter after chapter.  I’m recommending this book to those who don’t do that.  Those like myself who much prefer to learn by doing, by googling, by watching and learning from others.  This book is the reference guide for those who don’t use reference guides.

That’s the concept behind A Book Apart.  As Jeffrey Zeldman states at the end of his forward:

Its goal—one it will share with every title in the forthcoming A Book Apart catalog—is to shed clear light on a tricky subject, and do it fast, so you can get back to work.

I’ve just pre-ordered my copy of the second A Book Apart title, CSS3 For Web Designers.  I plan to own them all.

It’s incomplete, in a good way.

The HTML5 language is far from complete and the book very much reflects the “work-in-progress” nature of the technology.  Kieth does a great job of banging through only the most important and relevant topics, while filling us in when something may be subject to change in the future, or currently in it’s infancy.  For instance:

The plan is for browsers to implement native color pickers like the ones in just about every other application on your computer.  So far, no browsers have done this but when they do, it will be, like, totally awesome.

His tone is hilarious by the way.  “Dry” would be the wrong word to describe this book.

The book walks a fine line between offering in-depth knowledge on the workings of HTML5, while sparing us the unnecessary nitty-gritty details that don’t concern us in our day-to-day projects.  Kieth frequently highlights relevant facts from web and browser history, while not boring us with every event in history.

Its well-targeted at professional web designers.  It doesn’t waste time teaching us the basics.  It correctly assumes that if you’re reading this book, you’ve been coding with XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript for years.  You simply need to know what HTML5 brings in terms of changes to our workflow, new capabilities, and browser compatibility.  And this book delivers.

Opinionated

The book is far from other educational/reference books that state only the technical facts and leave opinions up to you.  Kieth, a rockstar master web developer, offers his personal opinions in almost every chapter.  Take this paragraph for instance:

I can see why the autofocus attribute has been added to HTML5—It’s paving a cowpath—but I worry about the usability of this pattern, be it scripted or native.  This feature could be helpful, but it could just as easily be infuriating.  Please think long and hard before implementing this pattern.

Useful

Today, I have one book lying next to me on my desk.  HTML5 For Web Designers is the perfect quick-reference guide when I’m coding a new project.  At less than 85 pages long, it’s easy to flip it open and find the nugget you’re looking for in 20 seconds or less—without using the index.

So if you read only one web design book this year (or ever), pick up HTML5 For Web Designers.  Also be sure to check out The Big Web Show episode #2 where Jeffrey Zeldman and Dan Benjamin interview Jeremy Kieth about the book.