Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Object-Oriented Programming with Visual Basic .NET is a double-crested cormorant. Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) are goose-sized birds with dark plumage, webbed feet, long necks, and hooked bills. Though males are usually larger than females, they are otherwise similar in appearance. Immature cormorants are browner, with pale necks and breasts. Cormorants live in marine and inland waters throughout North America. Their diet consists primarily of fish, which they usually hunt in moderately shallow waters.

Cormorants spend much of their time perching on land with their wings outstretched. This behavior may help eliminate parasites, realign feathers, or serve a number of other purposes, but it is most commonly attributed to the drying of feathers. The feathers of cormorants are not waterproof. This decreases their buoyancy and assists their hunting of fish, but requires them to dry their feathers after leaving the water. On particularly hot days, cormorants can also be seen with their mouths open, fluttering their distensible, orange throat pouches. Known as gular fluttering, this behavior helps reduce body temperature.

Derived from the Latin words corvus (raven) and marinus (of the sea), the name "cormorant" literally means "sea raven." During breeding season, adults have a short, white tuft of feathers over each eye, giving them the "double-crested" appearance for which they are named. The scientific name also refers to these crests; Phalacrocorax auritus is Latin for "eared" (auritus) "cormorant" (phalacrocorax). The word "cormorant" is also used to describe a person who is rapacious or greedy. Brian Sawyer was the production editor, and Ann Schirmer was the copyeditor for Object-Oriented Programming with Visual Basic .NET. Catherine Morris was the proofreader. Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Lynda d'Arcangelo wrote the index.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Grosvenor Prints in London. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted to FrameMaker 5.5.6 by Joe Wizda with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Brian Sawyer.