Not Another CSS Book?

If you were to randomly grab a book out of the web technology section of any book store odds are you'd get a book on cascading style sheets (CSS). They're everywhere. With a flood of CSS books on the market, it's not a problem finding out how to write CSS, make it valid, standards compliant and accessible.

Being a creative person from the print world who made the transition to the web, I've had a hard time finding any sort of resource on the creative process of Web design -- which I find sort of strange. Any book on print design focuses on the creative process and spends very little time talking about applications or operating systems. Yet when it comes to Web design, it's all code and browser compatibility.

I suppose there is a reason for this. Print design has its roots in the fine arts and tends to be very visual while Web design emerged from programming and tends to be highly technical. It’s basically the old "right brain" vs. "left brain" fight. So, how do we meet in the middle?

I thought I had found my answer in The Zen of CSS Design, but it fell short of my expectations. While it was good for creative inspiration, it ended up being a gallery of advanced CSS techniques without much explanation behind either the creative or technical process.

Now, with the release of the follow-up to The Zen of CSS Design, I’ve got my answer: Transcending CSS, The Fine Art of Web Design by Andy Clarke. This beautifully designed book is about design and not markup, and assumes that you already know about XHTML, CSS and Web standards. It goes over designing from the content out, finding inspiration, establishing a workflow, creating wireframes and prototypes, and working with grids and the box model -- allowing both sides of your brain to work together in harmony. It's about time!