Reviews for The ZEN of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web (Voices That Matter)

1. Excellent read, makes you think

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, March 12nd, 2010

   As a software engineer writing desktop applications by day and a general geek by night, with an suppressed designer inside, web design has always interested me. I brought the book after being pointed at the Zen Garden web site and decided it was time to know more.
   Don't buy this book thinking it will tell you how to technically do everything with CSS, it's not about that, there are tips and snippets of code but its more about the design element and the book really makes you think about web design, breaking it down to expose the details, and how clever design elements can be achieved thought the use of CSS.
   This book is an excellent read and whilst it will help you to think about how to use CSS to achieve great web design, it will also inspire you.
   

2. For beauty, be patient.

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2007

   I've been an admirer of the CSS Zen Garden online for a number of years and when I caught sight of this book I knew I had to add it to me design collection.
   
   This book is NOT a reference or tutorial in the fullest sense - but it's a brilliant inspiration of what can be done with CSS to craft artistic, striking and unique web sites that allow yours to stand out from the mundane crowd.
   
   If you are looking for design ideas, design tips and a few good suggestions add this to a good tutorial guide and you'll not want for anything.
   
   Remember though, that many of the designers featured in this book have spent long hard hours to perfect their designs and ensure they were compliant to both CSS standards and the idiocy of browser programmers. If you want the same then you'll need the patience to work through the standards and the lack of browser compliance. Perhaps one day we can all look forward to even better designs when all browsers comply to a universal presentation standard.

3. Brilliant!

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2007

   If you thought standard-compliant CSS web pages had to be boxy and bland, this book will show you how wrong you were. The book simply shows many designs for the same web page and then talks you through the logic behind the CSS techniques used in the design. It is a great source of inspiration. What the book is not is a CSS reference book - try the O'Reilly series for one of these. What this book is, however, is a demonstration of what can be acheived with a modicum of CSS skills and a lot of artistic talent.

4. Take a walk in the garden...

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2006

   This book is delightful, like the website behind it.
   Theres a lot of books about CSS, most of them is CSS
   from a to z, and you only get small pieces of what you
   actually can with CSS. The strong point for The Zen of
   CSS design is that you can find a lots of ideas about
   have you can realise your own ideas. Learn CSS of other
   books and when they dry out, read this book.
   

5. Nice book, but not a CSS book - buy with care

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, May 12th, 2006

   I bought this book thinking it was a CSS book, and would give me some insight into how the CSS Zen Garden designs were done. Let me say right off that it was a big disappointment from this point of view. This book is NOT a CSS book.
   
   The book concentrates mainly on design ideas, which is also useful, but not what it claims to cover. Some of these ideas were explained well, some less so.
   
   The book was pleasant reading, and was very nicely produced, but it's doubtful you'll learn a great deal from it. Buy it for interest, don't buy it for education.
   
   P.S. I gave it four stars as it was a very nice read, it just wasn't what I thought when I bought it.