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 experienced 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, and much more.

Written and edited by Web design and CSS luminaries Andy Clarke and Molly E. Holzschlag, Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design features:

• 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

Featuring color illustrations throughout, this volume uses real world examples to teach Web designers about how visual design theory and CSS code can work together to help them reach their creative goals. Just a few of the topics explored: designing from the content out, using interactive prototypes, and finding inspiration in unexpected places. It is assumed that the reader already has a working knowledge of XHTML markup and CSS. Consultant Clarke specializes in training designers and developers in the creative applications of Web standards.
Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Featuring color illustrations throughout, this volume uses real world examples to teach Web designers about how visual design theory and CSS code can work together to help them reach their creative goals. Just a few of the topics explored: designing from the content out, using interactive prototypes, and finding inspiration in unexpected places. It is assumed that the reader already has a working knowledge of XHTML markup and CSS. Consultant Clarke specializes in training designers and developers in the creative applications of Web standards. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This book helps designers understand how to implement highly creative designs by visually demonstrating creative possibilities and how to achieve them using contemporary techniques. Readers get examples of stunning CSS-based Web designs and learn how to work with navigational design and common interface elements.

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.

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.