We're excited to announce that the latest Pixel Perfect Precision Handbook is available to download now (PDF, iBook). With over 40 pages of fresh content, as well as updates to what was already there, we've made the third generation of the handbook bigger, better, and more beautiful. So, what's new?
Branding and Retina Images
At first glance the most obvious change is our new branding — with bold typography and lively colours it's so much more us…two. We've also updated everything to Retina resolution, meaning even crisper detail in the imagery.
Design and Development
We're all too aware that some projects get designed up front and then "thrown over the fence" to a development team, the two sides unaware of each other's existence for the most part — a classic waterfall way of working. Here at ustwo though, our developers are as much a part of a product's formation as the designers – accordingly, they are brought in right from the start and their input is desired throughout all phases of the project. This completely new chapter includes much of what we've learned in bridging this gap between the two disciplines, including advice on how to get both sides working together more effectively, plus design techniques to ease the transition from pixels to code.
More Pixel Perfect Principles
There are now more of the fundamental Pixel Perfect Principles, including Users, Motion, and Prototyping.
More Accessibility
We've added guidance on Error Prevention, particularly relevant to mobile due to the size restrictions placed on the input methods. Some of the content for this chapter has also been reorganised to fit together more logically: for example there is now a section on Copy, pulling in some previous advice from other sections and highlighting its vital role in usability.
And of course, more Photoshop
Since the last release of the handbook we've seen Adobe bring out their Creative Cloud update, which includes some major new features for interface designers: Live Shape Properties, Linked Smart Objects, and the super-useful Generator have all found a place in the latest handbook.
Don't forget to follow @pppustwo for the latest design tips and tricks as well. Enjoy!
One last thing…
There's also now a Japanese version of PPP 2 available. The translation was handled by our friends over at Concent, and it looks fantastic — we're so pleased to see the content in another language, opening up the world of pixel precision to even more designers out there. Head on over to the Labs section of the Concent site to download.
