Transcending CSS - The Fine Art of Web Design

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

List of contents

Chapter One: Designing on a Moving Surface In this chapter, the focus is on expressing current challenges faced by visual designers and the contemporary solutions they can rely on to: * Better understand the designer's role within the Web team * Find inspiration outside of contemporary software and technology approaches * Reinvigorate passion for design by understanding that the Web medium is different than print Chapter Two: Visualizing Code Here, the designer won't learn to write code, rather experience through existing visual designs how code can be represented. This is done using 3d emulations of code structures, and using markup guides to create structural models. * Visualizing general structures in contemporary Web design * Working with navigation design * Creating common interface elements * Designing visual tables * Artful forms Chapter Three: Design Workflow Building on the more elemental techniques described in Chapter Two, the designer will learn how to create visual maps of a site using markup guides, building wireframes, creating sprites and maximizing the workflow process with a balance of both traditional and progressive techniques. Readers will learn: * How to create markup guides * Why and how to build effective wireframes * Creating and using sprites to increase workflow productivity Chapter Four: Progressive Enhancement Now that the designer is thinking about Web design in a visual manner, he or she is ready to progress beyond the conventional needs of an agency or company. This chapter provides inspiration for going beyond the limitations of contemporary Web browsers and the desktop, and encourages designers to constantly seek new ways of expressing design without the constraints of technology. Appendix I: Recommended resources for continued success While many books have a resource guide, most of them list resources by technical topic. This appendix will include hand-picked, annotated resources of specific interest to the visual designer.

About the author

Andy Clarke is an internationally sought-after speaker, designer and consultant. He is creative director of Stuff and Nonsense (www.malarkey.co.uk), a design agency focusing on creative, accessible web. Andy is passionate about design and passionate about Web Standards, often bridging the gap between design and code.§He regularly trains designers and developers in the creative applications of Web Standards. He writes about aspects of design and popular culture on his personal web site, And All That Malarkey (www.stuffandnonsense.co.uk.) Soon to be released is his first book, "Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design."

Als Autorin, Dozentin und Webdesignerin hat Molly E. Holzschlag über 30 Bücher zum Thema Webdesign und Webentwicklung verfasst. Sie wird als "eine der größten Digitalisten bezeichnet und zu den 25 einflussreichsten Frauen im Web gezählt. Es besteht kein Zweifel, dass Molly E. Holzschlag eine der amüsantesten und sprühendsten Personen in der Welt des Webdesigns und der -entwicklung ist.

Als leitendes Mitglied des Web Standards Project (WaSP) arbeitet Molly E. Holzschlag zusammen mit anderen Webdesignern und -entwicklern, um die W3C-Empfehlungen umzusetzen. An den Universitäten von Arizona und Phoenix und im Pima Community College erteilt Sie darüber hinaus Kurse für Webmaster.

Während der letzten drei Jahre hat sie für das WebTechniques Magazine die beliebte Kolumne "Integrated Design" verfasst und außerdem ein Jahr als Herausgeberin von WebReview.com gearbeitet.

Summary

Shows you how to implement highly original designs through visual demonstrations of the creative possibilities using markup and CSS. This work uses a visual approach to help you learn coding techniques. It also includes examples of world-class Web sites, photography, and other inspirations that give designers ideas for visualizing their code.

Product details

• Authors: Andy Clarke, Molly E. Holzschlag
• Assisted by: Molly E. Holzschlag (Editor)
• Publisher: New Riders
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2006
• EAN: 9780321410979
• ISBN: 978-0-321-41097-9
• No. of pages: 384
• Dimensions: 224 mm x 229 mm x 18 mm
• Weight: 922 g
• Illustrations: w. numerous col. figs.
• Series: Voices that matter; Voices That Matter
• Subject: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > IT, data processing > Data communication, networks