Book Review - HTML + CSS: Design and Build Web Sites by Jon Duckett

There are many web design books on the market today that tend to lean towards the tedious side of writing code.  And when I say many, it is no exaggeration.  Virtually every book one can randomly pick up, virtually every page one can randomly flip to will look like:

Jon Duckett has brought forth a web design book (HTML + CSS: Design and Build Web Sites) that is geared more towards us, and by us I mean the visually responsive and creative community.  A web design book that, regardless of experience in coding, will provide enough background and basic knowledge to create and sustain a website for the present, as well as whet one's appetite, encouraging indulgence in emerging web technology in the near future (exploring new possibilities available in HTML 5 and CSS 3).  I originally picked this book up as sort of a self-administered refresher course in the continuous development of my own personal website (zabelillustration.com) but was pleasantly surprised to be enlightened to more than expected.  Duckett uses a familiar vernacular in explaining every aspect of creating a visually and technically functional website that will hold it's own in a ever evolving virtual community, giving any designer the backbone and confidence to take the basics and explore further possibilities by experimenting with their own creative process.  Provided throughout the book are useful links to online resources and a thorough appendix to easily navigate the text for future reference, examples of HTML and CSS coding accompanied by the visual outcome, and improvements (particularly relevant to designers) that are available in HTML 5 and CSS 3.  This book is not the definitive guide to web design, but it is a vital tool in creating and developing from the ground up for those of us that are more visually excelled.  A must for any serious creative thinker.

HTML + CSS Book dot com