Welcome to another review from P2L on Total Training DVD products. Tonight I'm going to tell you about a pretty sweet product for you Adobe software using webmasters called Total Training for Website Design – Extreme Website Makeover. Be sure to check out the final part of this review, where I'll tell you how you can win a copy of this package by mouthing off on P2L!

This is another beautifully narrated course series presented by the talented John Ulliman, an Adobe Professional and a multimedia designer since 1985. I've already gone through his entire Flash courseware so I can honestly say you don't get sick of hearing his voice. He speaks clearly and keeps you engaged in to the lesson so you can actually learn something instead of trying to deal with an annoying presenter.

First off, let me just mention that this isn't really a tutorial for the hardcore coders… this isn't a specialized PHP/XHTML type course. This is a dsigner based look at using many of Adobe's fantastic design tools to create and update websites. The courses cover the use of the following:

– Macromedia Studio 8 (Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash)
– Adobe CS 2

The primary function of the entire package is to teach us how to work with a client to update their website and go from ancient to in-style! It's the ultimate guide to extreme makeovers, and while some of the examples used may seem over the top, I can honestly say that I have seen real-live versions come up time and time again. So this is an ideal package for any of you junior webdesigners looking to get in to the Freelance market. Not only will you learn how to evaluate and improve old designs, but you will learn how to work effectively and quickly. This is important when you become a freelancer because you're often bidding at bottom dollar, so you really have to make the most of your time unless you fancy working for $3 an hour.

Let's have a look at how this package breaks down, plus you can score some free sample downloads by using the sample links located on the left of the product page.

Disc 1

1. Lesson 1: Introduction & Project Background (10:08 min)
2. Lesson 2: Creating a Company Logo with Illustrator® (24:52 min)
3. Lesson 3: Website Layout using Photoshop® (48:56 min)
4. Lesson 4: Making Slices with Fireworks® (46:50 min)
5. Lesson 5: Creating a Dreamweaver® Site (32:00 min)
6. Lesson 6: Cascading Style Sheets (46:19)
7. Lesson 7: Main Navigation Systems (47:19 min)
8. Lesson 8: DHTML Layers, Interactivity & Forms (51:42 min)

Disc 2

1. Lesson 1: ADVANCED GALLERY PAGES (67:58 min)
2. Lesson 2: FLASH® ELEMENTS & FLASH VIDEO (26:32 min)
3. Lesson 3: MAKING FLASH® SLIDESHOWS (59:35 min)
4. Lesson 4: CREATING A FLASH® BANNER AD (49:38 min)
5. Lesson 5: MAKING A MINI FLASH® SITE (73:36 min)
6. Lesson 6: SITE TESTING & PUBLISHING (36:32 min)
7. Lesson 7: WORKGROUP INTEGRATION USING CONTRIBUTE™ (20:47 min)
8. Lesson 8: INCORPORATING PRINT MATERIALS (30:07 min)

As always, the Total Training lessons play within a fantastic player interface that lets you jump around from lesson to lesson and skip to various sections. It's a snap to control the video, jump around to sections you want to re-review, or just skim through the entire course to look for key areas you want to focus on.

From a personal standpoint, I really enjoyed the second DVD, which focused on Flash based design and interactivity, which has always been my passion. The massive "Making a Mini Flash Site" was really cool and is an absolute MUST for anyone that wants to get in to making PROPER Flash based sites.

So once again, Total Training shows us why they are one of the top producers of self-learning interactive courseware for dozens of design and webmaster related products and I highly recommend you check out this awesome DVD package! To purchase your own set, check out the Total Training website for details!

How To Win!

Want to win your own free copy of Total Training for Website Design – Extreme Website Makeover? Well all you have to do it mouth off and win! Post feedback on any tutorial from now until Friday May 25th and I will randomly select one of those comments Friday night as the winner of the DVDs.

Good luck!

Dan