An interview with Dave Shea, the CSS Zen Gardener

You might not recognize the name, but if you're a serious web professional, you'll know the site: CSS Zen Garden. It's a simple idea; provide the mark-up and allow people to submit various CSS designs to style the page. It immediately mirrored the zeitgeist, and has attracted some top graphic designers and inspired hundreds of web professionals to learn CSS. Why? Now we can see what artists and graphic designers can do with CSS, rather than the early, rather boxy designs that the mark-up freaks were using.

Thus, The ZenGarden is both gallery and manifesto. Dave writes, "There is clearly a need for CSS to be taken seriously by graphic artists. The Zen Garden aims to excite, inspire, and encourage participation." So, who is Dave Shea? DMXzone's Bruce Lawson caught up with him over the weekend..

What's next for you?

I'm still just riding the wave for now. Currently I'm putting the finishing touches on my contribution to the second edition of "Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content from Presentation" for Apress. There may be one or two more publishing goodies in the not-too-distant future, but nothing's concrete yet.

Otherwise, I've only started mulling over my prospects. It's been a good year, but it never hurts to plan for the future. I'd like to begin working for a company in Vancouver that really understands what the web is all about, and do some amazing things. On that count, I'm open to suggestion from your readers.

What's the most beautiful thing you've seen today?

The smile of my newly-awoken bride.

The glass: half-full, or half-empty?

I'm gonna need a bigger glass.

Thanks Dave!