Most designers avoid learning about the web or taking on web projects because they feel "I already have to know about Adobe software, and layout, fonts, and color theory. If I have to know about one more thing, then that job isn't for me." But in a market where millions of designers are all competing for the same slice of the pie, knowing a little bit extra goes a long way.

Whether a designer hands off the production to a developer or does it themself, the truth of the matter remains: somebody will have to do the backend production.

Unfortunately, too many graphic designers fear the production and programming work (the backend). Instinctively, they consider who will need to take on the difficult task of doing the backend programming. Then they think about what limitations that process may put on their creative direction. They may also feel like the whole endeavor is out of their league. In the end, the designer will give up on the idea of taking on said project because he or she cannot tackle the project or they may not want to hand over production to somebody else.

Designing for digital devices is iterative: it may require repeated and frequent steps.

Having to learn a new process or adapting your existing one to include new methods poses its own challenges. Electronic media has its own final production process with checkpoints and in addition to visual design, include implementation, testing, documentation, launch, and maintenance. And ultimately, a job may never end in the way that designers are used to. Making sure the Content Management System is up to date, delivering client support and maintenance, and revising plug-ins or images to meet new technological tools may require a constant stream of revisions and improvements.

Having grown up with technology, I recognize the value of constantly learning new tools. After all, when the computers arrived at my high school and university, they didn't always have classes to teach us. We mostly had to learn on our own. I wrote my newest book "The Graphic Designer's Electronic-Media Manual" to help designers down the path of learning about design fundamentals as they apply to the web on desktop, tablet, and other mobile devices. It's not a technical manual, per se, so it won't show you the ins and outs of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. I don't champion any one way to solve a problem or piece of software to use, so you won't see me boasting that "Flash Is King!"

All in all, the book is a visual resource, intended to show designers how many of the fundamentals they already know apply to the web: layout, color, typography, image, and pattern, among others. I hope the book will be a first step for those who want to design websites, but don't know where to start.