Product Description

Proving once and for all that standards-compliant design does not equal dull design, this inspiring tome uses examples from the landmark CSS Zen Garden site as the foundation for discussions on how to create beautiful, progressive CSS-based Web sites. By using the Zen Garden sites as examples of how CSS design techniques and approaches can be applied to specific Web challenges, authors Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag provide an eye-opening look at the range of design methods made possible by CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). By the time you've finished perusing the volume, you'll have a new understanding of the graphically rich, fully accessible sites that CSS design facilitates. In sections on design, layout, imagery, typography, effects, and themes, Dave and Molly take you through every phase of the design process--from striking a sensible balance between text and graphics to creating eye-popping special effects (no scripting required).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25877 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

About the Author

Dave Shea is the creator and cultivator of the highly influential CSS Zen Garden Web site (www.csszengarden.com). As well as being a member of the Web Standards Project, Dave is the owner and director of Bright Creative, and he writes about all things Web for his daily weblog, mezzoblue.com. With over 6 years of experience working on the Web, Dave is a leader of the new generation of Web designers that believe in responsible Web design.

An author, instructor, and Web designer, Molly E. Holzschlag has written over 27 books related to Web design and development. She's been coined "one of the greatest digerati" and deemed one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women on the Web. There is little doubt that in the world of Web design and development, Molly is one of the most fun and vibrant Web characters around. As a steering committee member for the Web Standards Project (WaSP), Molly works along with a group of other dedicated Web developers and designers to promote W3C recommendations. For more about Molly, check out www.molly.com.

Customer Reviews

Extremely well written book!
Very readable and enjoyable book. The authors' carefully chosen example designs are dissected to highlight key CSS concepts. The process examples were especially enlightening for me. Even the references at end of the book were spot-on.

Great Illustrations, but left me a little puzzled
I bought this book years ago wanting to learn CSS before it became popular. I have always loved the artwork produced on csszengarden's web site. I figured that the book would teach me css. I was somewhat wrong. The book covers techniques the page developers used to create some of the artwork, but never really explains what the different settings mean. The book also seemed to jump around and did not flow with any explanation. I ended up learning CSS from the web. Even now that I know CSS extensively, I have gone back and read this book again and can really see how it jumps around and does not explain the techniques very well. I do still keep the book in my toolbox for some reference, but hardly ever look at it anymore.

Great addition to a great website.
I came across this book due to my love of the great website of the same name as the book. If you are a web designer or want to see some better ways to make your online web presence look better, and more slick, this book is a great addition to your tool box.