[pbogdan]

From the previous threads about design I would recommend "Non-designer's Design Book" which includes simple exercises. I also found this (http://www.betaversion.org/~stefano/linotype/news/169/) article very helpful. And "Designing for the Web" book (http://designingfortheweb.co.uk/) which focuses on core principles of design and how to apply them for the web. For basic understanding of usability I recommend "Don't Make Me think" by Steve Krug which is an excellent book.