Book Review::The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web

This book has the whole package: layout strategies, using images, proper fonts, special effects.

If you are doing anything with CSS, this book is required reading. In fact, I can safely say this is my favorite CSS book. Why? While most books cover the technology, this book covers the philosophical and design aspects of the application of CSS.

As a programmer, I feel at home with the standard fare of CSS books. However, there is something missing. The element of design is a core half of what CSS brings to us. An ugly page can be done in CSS just as well as a sliced up table layout. But a well designed page, and a well constructed page as far as markup, is what we all want to achieve in the end, right?

If you are not awate of what CSS Zen Garden is, you are in for a treat. This one site single-handedly converted me to CSS, in one day. It was the last time I ever did a table layout. It shows the power of CSS, where the markup does not change -- a true separation of content and design. Check it out, you won't regret it. If you are not impressed, you must be one of those command-line, hopeless types.

The book takes different posted designs, and describes how they work. It's one thing to see the code, and try to figure out what it's doing. This book explains the concepts, explains the code. It's clear, concise, and a fast read. It also makes a great coffee table addition!

Bottom line: This book is incredible. It brings a more complete appreciation for implementing CSS, it brings the design portion in, and gives it a prominent spot. If you are a designer, you will appreciate what programmers can do to set your creative side free. If you are a programmer, you have the function, now embrace form a bit, and make something extraordinary.