Review: Digital Design: Concepts and Technical Guide: Foundations of Web Design

Digital Design cover This is another piece of the Macromedia Education Curriculum from Thomson Course Technology. Digital Design: Concepts and Technical Guide: Foundations of Web Design is a student text, providing the activity guides for the projects outlined in the Digital Design Curriculum Guide: Foundations of Web Design. This text focuses on Fireworks MX 2004, Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Flash MX 2004.

This is a one year course. In addition to this student guide, there is a binder for the instructor with extra projects, resources on CD, and a review pack data CD. It could be taught at the college level in an overview course, but it is really aimed at high school students.

Based on the work I have done in Texas preparing a curriculum for teachers who were seeking technology certification in the public schools to teach the classes this book was written to serve, I can tell you that almost everything a Texas teacher is required by state law to include in the course is provided here. The list of teachers contributing to the project seems to be Washington based, so I’m assuming that other states require approximately the same curriculum.

The book covers foundation concepts such as copyright law, storyboarding, and scanning. It provides interesting projects in Fireworks, Dreamweaver and Flash and combines the three in projects. Instructions are brief, basic and to the point. Illustrations and screen shots are black and white. It would be very helpful if the teacher had experience using all three of these software applications so as to be able to fill in the gaps and answer the inevitable questions that the book doesn’t cover. Some information may be available in the teacher’s materials, but I only received review copies of the student’s book, so I’m just guessing that adequate background and additional information is provided to the instructor.

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