by Derek—2005.02.23 @ 1630
I've been published! Well, at least I've been included in a publication by author and web designer Dave Shea. The book is called "The Zen of CSS Design" and is the culmination of three years' work by Shea to bring CSS standards-based design to the consciousness of designers. The book showcases what has developed on the CSS ZenGarden website--a site that has exploded into an international phenomenon.
Last year, I submitted a design to CSS ZenGarden with a small hope it would be accepted as an official entry. I'm sure hundreds of designs are submitted, but only a few (151 to date) have been officially stamped and put on the Zen site. It is exciting, to say the least, that my design was selected as an official "zen" entry. Even more exciting was when Dave contacted me months later and asked if he could include my design in an upcoming book he was writing. Of course, I consented, and the result is fabulous.
Dave, and co-author Molly Holzschlag, wrote the book which takes several official Zen sites and deconstructs them helping designers understand how CSS was used to create each design. The basic premise behind Zen is that you have one HTML template that can be styled through CSS. The results are amazing, and the book helps you understand how.
I highly suggest this book as a handy resource on CSS design as it puts together all the fantastic tips and tricks of wonderful designers who have successfully applied CSS in a real-world environment.