Introduction
Thank you for picking up this book! We are truly experiencing an interesting step in the evolution of SharePoint. For the first time since SharePoint was invented, Microsoft is embracing the idea that creating beautiful and engaging SharePoint sites should be within reach of anyone from business users to developers, and of course, traditional web designers. With the creation of new features such as the Design Manager and composed looks, Microsoft has lowered the barriers to creating branding in SharePoint.
This book is intended to explain the beginner features but also to provide knowledge of the underlying SharePoint branding technology so that you can build a complete solution for branding your SharePoint site, whether it is an internal intranet site or a public-facing Internet site. Making the SharePoint user interface look good requires a designer that is comfortable with design theory and traditional web technologies, as well as having the ability to deal with topics traditionally handled by developers.
Not everyone who picks up this book is looking to become the next Picasso of SharePoint. For these readers, the first two sections of the book are dedicated to understanding just enough about SharePoint branding to plan, create, and apply custom designs to their sites. After you become comfortable with the basics of SharePoint branding, the second two sections ...