CSS is finally supported by all modern web browsers, empowering Web designers to do what they've been hungering to do for years: control layout more precisely, use color more effectively, and expand typographic options beyond the frustrating limitations of the past. So where to begin? Where can you get design-focused instruction on CSS while learning the technical details?

Cascading Style Sheets: The Designer's Edge is precisely the resource you've been looking for. Written by renowned web designer Molly Holzschlag, this book begins with an in-depth look at structured markup, both XHTML and CSS. It then explains how to use CSS to achieve specific design goals involving typography, color, layout, and more. Finally, it deconstructs a series of impressive designs, showing you how the authors used CSS to maximize their efficiency and get exactly the right effect.

• Writing valid XHTML
• Authoring effective CSS rules
• Working with classes and IDs
• Validating your CSS
• Creating great typographical designs with CSS
• Using CSS for backgrounds, borders, and color
• Creating multiple link styles
• Using absolute positioning
• Working with relative positioning
• Positioning with float
• Creating great CSS layouts

Contents

• Understanding Structured Markup
• Learning CSS Theory
• Writing CSS

• CSS Typography
• Color, Backgrounds, and Borders
• Working with CSS Layouts

• Reconstructing a Table-Based Site
• CSS Design Gallery
• Wired News: A Visual Tour