Speaking in Styles aims to help Web designers learn the "language" that will be used to take their vision from the static comp to the live Internet. Many designers think that CSS is code, and that it's too hard to learn. Jason takes an approach to CSS that breaks it down around common design tasks and helps the reader learn that they already think in styles--they just need to learn to speak the language.Jason helps Web designers find their voice, walks them through the grammar of CSS, shows them how to write their design specs in CSS, and how to prepare it for screen, printer or handheld devices. Along the way designers will learn to optimize their code, make it accessible, optimize for search engines, mix it up with Flash, and more.
Author(s): Jason Cranford Teague
Edition: 1
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 361
Contents......Page 5
Introduction......Page 12
PART 1 A Web Primer......Page 22
1 What is a Web Page?......Page 24
HTML, JavaScript, and CSS......Page 25
2 Web Designer’s Toolbox......Page 40
Web Browsers......Page 41
Firefox Add-Ons......Page 47
Code Editors......Page 51
Online Tools......Page 53
3 The Myths of CSS......Page 58
Myth 1: CSS Is for Developers, Not Designers......Page 59
Myth 2: CSS Can’t Handle the Designs I Need......Page 63
Myth 3: CSS Has Too Many Browser Inconsistencies......Page 67
PART 2 CSS Grammer......Page 70
4 Syntax: Creating Meaning......Page 72
The Rules of Style......Page 73
Types of Selectors......Page 83
Styles in Context......Page 93
Styles for Special Cases......Page 103
5 Semantics: Making Sense of Styles......Page 112
Where to Put Style Rules......Page 113
Adding Notes to CSS......Page 127
Inheritance......Page 129
Order......Page 133
Specificity......Page 135
Importance......Page 139
Media......Page 141
The Cascade......Page 143
6 Vocabulary: Talking the Talk......Page 146
Values......Page 147
Fonts......Page 149
Text......Page 153
Background......Page 157
Box......Page 163
Position......Page 183
Tables......Page 189
Lists......Page 191
Cursor......Page 193
Design Enhancements......Page 195
PART 3 Speaking Like a Native......Page 200
7 Designing with CSS......Page 202
The Process: An Overview......Page 203
Plan......Page 205
Build......Page 215
Deploy......Page 227
Iterate......Page 229
8 Layout......Page 232
Structure......Page 233
Default Styles......Page 239
The Grid......Page 241
9 Typography......Page 248
Font Choices......Page 249
Fluid Typography......Page 255
Styling Text......Page 261
10 Navigation......Page 266
CSS Sprites......Page 267
Links......Page 269
Menus......Page 271
Buttons......Page 275
11 Chrome......Page 280
Using Transparent Images......Page 281
Defining the Grid......Page 285
Logos and Forms......Page 289
Defining Sections......Page 291
12 The Last Word......Page 296
CSS Validation......Page 297
CSS Frameworks......Page 301
CSS for Other Media......Page 303
CSS Best Practices......Page 305
APPENDIXES......Page 312
A: voxLibris Code......Page 314
index.html......Page 315
main.css......Page 318
default.css......Page 319
layout.css......Page 320
navigation.css......Page 321
chrome.css......Page 323
B: CSS Values......Page 326
Lengths......Page 327
Fonts......Page 329
URLs......Page 332
Color......Page 333
C: Fixing Internet Explorer......Page 340
Understanding Quirks......Page 341
Fix 1: Doctype Switching......Page 342
Fix 2: Conditional Styles......Page 343
Fix 3: Underscore Hack......Page 344
Common IE6 Issues......Page 345
B......Page 347
C......Page 348
D......Page 350
F......Page 351
I......Page 352
J......Page 353
M......Page 354
P......Page 355
S......Page 356
U......Page 358
W......Page 359
Z......Page 360
