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For those of us who work primarily on the technical side of web site management, there is usually a clear divide between the design of web sites and the various forms of programming that allow that design to be expressed. The people who worry about font pixelation and those who concern themselves with the content of error_log files rarely talk shop at the water cooler, never mind work together to ensure that the web sites they jointly manage both adhere to current technical standards and promote a look and feel which is both functional and elegant.
This where "The Art & Science of CSS" has important lessons to teach. In seven easy-to-read chapters with plenty of code samples and full color images, this book makes it clear that good CSS coding and eye-catching, elegant web design can easily go hand-in-hand.
What is CSS?
CSS, or "cascading style sheets", provides a way for web developers to define, apply and manage many aspects of web design apart from the web site's contents. This separation of style from content allows developers to deploy web pages with a consistent style without having to carefully and repetitiously code the more painstaking design elements. Instead, individual web pages simply refer to elements within the style sheets and elements of the design can be changed without recoding of the individual web pages. For example, a web developer might select particular fonts and colors for headings or a consistently applied background image that will be used for the entire web site.
The seven chapters in the book cover many elements of design that are frequently migrated from individual pages to cascading style sheets -- headings, images, backgrounds, navigation, forms and tables. There is also a chapter on rounded corners.
In Chapter 1, Headings, the author illustrates how you can take control of the look of your web site using the heading hierarchy and typography. He then moves through image replacement and flash replacement. He discusses the pros and cons of current methods.
In Chapter 2, Images, the author shows how you can create an appealing image gallery. He describes how you can provide enlarged and thumbnail versions. He also describes adding captions to images and how to use transparent PNG images.
Chapter 3, Backgrounds, illustrates how you can transform your design into lightweight markup and CSS. It covers basic backgrounds, repeat backgrounds, background positioning and walks the reader through an appealing design using positioning and layering.
In Chapter 4, Navigation, the author discusses various forms of navigation -- vertical, horizontal, tabbed, variable width, etc., illustrating each with solid examples.
Chapter 5, Forms, show you how to make forms far more interesting and attractive than most we see on the web today. It illustrates effective labeling and grouping and styling of form elements.
Chapter 6, Rounded Corners, is far more interesting than the title suggests. It walks the reader through putting rounded corners on boxes that won't misbehave if you use the wrong browser.
Finally, Chapter 7, Tables, illustrates how you can spruce up your tables, giving them colorful interesting designs that look good no matter which browser you are using.
If you know enough HTML to build a simple web site, you can easily take advantage of the lessons in this book to create a web site with a stunning design and consistently unique look. While there's no substitute for a "good eye", you are not likely to get through the book's 208 pages (213 with the index) without picking up a sense for what works and what doesn't in design and how to make your design work better by using CSS. The book's five authors, all noteworthy web professionals, all share techniques that work well for them in their web design work and promise to give readers a much better sense of how to marry maintainable coding practice and aesthetics in their own projects.
