Curt Cloninger wrote a book about ground breaking web design back in 2002. Fresh Styles for Web Designers got rave reviews from people like Jason Beaird. On a whim I decided to pick up used copies of Fresh Styles and its recently released sequel, Fresher Styles for Web Designers: More Eye Candy From the Underground.
After first reading through them I was glad that I had only paid the cost of used. Had I paid the combined cover price of $74.99 I would have been sorely disappointed. Maybe I’m completely wrong on this. Even now as I type this I find myself pausing to re-read sections of the books.
I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who find these books to be worth far more than the $75. Maybe after looking at these again I will feel like I’ve robbed someone by getting these for less than $20 shipped.
For the time being, my original opinion on Fresh and Fresher stands. The author seemed to try to hard. The second book is layed out better than the first. The “Background Killer” sections from the second book were interesting. The first book seemed to spend too much time talking about the same websites, or at least it did in the first few chapters. The quotes kicking off each chapter in the first book were more interesting than those used in the second book. Minor stuff I know.
The writing was about as exciting to read as my own. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad. All the same, the writing was not as engaging as some other books on the same topic. Reading Fresh and Fresher did not make me want to pound away at my keyboard or start sketching out ideas on paper. There are a few books out there that gotten me to do so. I did jump online a few times though to check out some of the more unique sites I had not yet seen.
I do enjoy reading bits from Curt Cloninger’s website, lab404 (warning, there are times where you will want to flee from the site design). I still want to take a look at another one of his books, Hot-Wiring Your Creative Process: Strategies for print and new media designers. You have to hand it to the guy… He sure does know his way around the world of subtitles.
I know. I’ve accused him of trying too hard while I myself have tried too little. I’ve really only designed a couple of sites recently. This site is using a prefabbed template. Where do I get off questioning the value of his books? Well, I did buy the them for inspiration. I guess I was expecting more based on the opinion of others. Sorry.
