Transcending CSS
January 22, 2007
I picked up a copy of Andy Clarke’s Transcending CSS just before Christmas but thanks to the holidays I only recently sat down again to finish reading it.
Let me say first that content aside this book is absolutely gorgeous. It’s printed in full colour, which doesn’t sound major but really makes a huge difference, especially in a book discussing design. Throughout, you’re eyes are treated to a visual parade of original photography and important points are highlighted with quotes from some of the best in the industry.
Of course it’s not all about looks, the content needs to be excellent and here Andy delivers with bucket loads of advice and useful tips. As a teacher Andy really excels and in particular the section “Marking Up the World” is a fantastic way to teach the virtues of meaningful and well ordered markup. I also found the section on grids to be very interesting as, having no formal design experience I’ve never contemplated grids in design, nor have I realised how prevalent that technique is employed (news papers for example).
The book really has something for everyone, covering advanced CSS, a look at future CSS features, ideas for design inspiration and even spares a lengthy chapter discussing workflows and interactive prototyping.
I’d say this is pretty much an essential purchase for anyone interested in webdesign as, no matter how much experience you may have there’s enough in this book to make anyone reconsider how they approach design.
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