In Flash Web Design the v5 Remix Hillman Curtis places the emphasis firmly on design while demonstrating the range of techniques which have enabled him to create some of the most compelling Flash movies on the Web.

Curtis is Principal and Creative director of Hillmancurtis.com, inc, a New York City design firm that has produced stunning Flash work for clients such as 3Com, Intel, Hewlett Packard and even Macromedia itself.

The book deconstructs nine high-profile Flash projects created for real life clients. Curtis takes time in the introductions and throughout the deconstructions to emphasise the importance of thinking about and applying design-led principals to the job in hand.

One of the things that makes Curtis successful is his approach to motion and it's here that the book has most to offer. Curtis defines what he calls a "Global Visual Language" comprised of "simple symbology and motion", which makes it possible to communicate a powerful message across cultural barriers.

Projects include designing a 20 KB advert, animating a 3-D wireframe and converting video to vectors to overcome bandwidth constraints. In the penultimate chapter Todd Purgason provides an indispensable guide to producing print-based client presentations using Freehand.

As a tutorial, the book is less successful. The project deconstructions take the form of numbered walkthroughs with accompanying illustrations and screengrabs. The design is busy and the lack of a CD showing finished projects makes it difficult to know what you're working towards.

But for an insight into what makes Flash motion work and how you can put it to good use this is a book from which you can learn a great deal. --Ken McMahon