Product Description

As the Web evolves to incorporate new standards and the latest browsers offer new possibilities for creative design, the art of creating Web sites is also changing. Few Web designers are experiences programmers, and as a result, working with semantic markup and CSS can create roadblocks to achieving truly beautiful designs using all the resources available. Add to this the pressures of presenting exceptional design to clients and employers, without compromising efficient workflow, and the challenge deepens for those working in a fast-paced environment. As someone who understands these complexities firsthand, author and designer Andy Clarke offers visual designers a progressive approach to creating artistic, usable, and accessible sites using transcendent CSS.

 

In this groundbreaking book, you’ll discover how to implement highly original designs through visual demonstrations of the creative possibilities using markup and CSS. You’ll learn to use a new design workflow, build prototypes that work well for designers and all team members, use grids effectively, visualize  markup, and discover every phase of the transcendent design process, from working with the latest browsers to incorporating CSS3 to collaborating with team members effectively.

 

Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design:

Uses a visual approach to help you learn coding techniques

Includes numerous examples of world-class Web sites, photography, and other inspirations that give designers ideas for visualizing their code

Offers early previews of technical advances in new Web browsers and of the emerging CSS3 specification

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65646 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From the Back Cover

As the Web evolves to incorporate new standards and the latest browsers offer new possibilities for creative design, the art of creating Web sites is also changing. Few Web designers are experiences programmers, and as a result, working with semantic markup and CSS can create roadblocks to achieving truly beautiful designs using all the resources available. Add to this the pressures of presenting exceptional design to clients and employers, without compromising efficient workflow, and the challenge deepens for those working in a fast-paced environment. As someone who understands these complexities firsthand, author and designer Andy Clarke offers visual designers a progressive approach to creating artistic, usable, and accessible sites using transcendent CSS.

 

In this groundbreaking book, you’ll discover how to implement highly original designs through visual demonstrations of the creative possibilities using markup and CSS. You’ll learn to use a new design workflow, build prototypes that work well for designers and all team members, use grids effectively, visualize  markup, and discover every phase of the transcendent design process, from working with the latest browsers to incorporating CSS3 to collaborating with team members effectively.

 

Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design:

Uses a visual approach to help you learn coding techniques

Includes numerous examples of world-class Web sites, photography, and other inspirations that give designers ideas for visualizing their code

Offers early previews of technical advances in new Web browsers and of the emerging CSS3 specification

About the Author
Andy Clarke is an internationally known speaker, designer, and consultant focusing on creative, accessible Web development. Andy is passionate about design and passionate about Web standards, bridging the gap between design and code. He regularly trains designers and developers in the creative applications of Web standards. Andy has written articles for A List Apart Magazine and contributed to the CSS Zen Garden. Outside of his studio, Andy is a member of the Web Standards Project.

Author, instructor, and Web designer Molly E. Holzschlag has written over 30 books on 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. Molly is also Group Lead of Web Standards Project and frequent lecturer on Web design and development around the world.

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Customer Reviews

The current definitive book on web design
This is a seminal book, and as a designer who has spent far too many hours writing XHTML and CSS, I was in danger of losing sight of the 'design' element. This book stopped me worrying about how sites might appear in WinIE and got me back into using the full range of CSS possibilities, and into looking forward to the future of web design, a vision I'd almost completely lost interest in until I opened this book.

As a designer who moved a little too far into development, I read a lot of O'Reilly books, which are always worthwhile and solid, but this is in a different league. I've already recommended it to 4 of my web design colleagues, and will be asking my web design students to get a copy each.

I think this is becoming THE web design book of the current era - if you have anything to do with web design or development, you really need to read it.

Transcending
This is the most original and well thought programming book I have ever read. Lots of attention to detail and methodology were obviously put into its writing.
It constitutes a fantastically successful attempt at bridging the gap between developers & designers. Andy Clarke has mastered its art and shares the ins & outs of what everyday web development should be like.
This book has the ability to turn seasoned amateurs and many young professionals into experts.
The numerous examples and references complete the excellent contents, which is reinforced by the beautiful design and contextual photographs.
The best book on the topic.

A bible masquerading as a coffee table book
One thing this book is certainly not lacking in is photography. Very irritating at the beginning as you're hit by single, and even double, pages of full bleed irrelevant images when you're just trying to get on with the read.

Fortunately, from the Inspiration section onwards, the images included are more relevant and it blossoms from a good book to a bible. Andy Clarke really hits home his points about taking inspiration from off-screen and the forward thinking to CSS3 really gives meaning to the transcendence.

This is not a book for beginners! There are enough examples to illustrate each point well, but lacks clear justification behind a lot of the code. I have a fairly solid knowledge of CSS, but I did find some of his examples, whilst having strong concepts, were a bit vague. I wouldn't personally use this for reference so much; Dan Cederholm's Web Standards Solutions and/or Bulletproof Web Design are better for reference.

Definitely advisable for those losing hope with lack of browser compatibility, Clarke's attitude is exemplary to the lot of us!