If you know me, you know I’m into web design, CSS, and the standards compliance trend. And if you’ve been to this site a few times, I hope you will have taken the time to visit the CSS Zen Garden.

To really understand CZG and all it represents, you have to notice a couple of things on that site. First, click on any number of the “Select a Design” links. Then, you have to understand that the HTML code that generates all those design pages is exactly the same. Yes. The code is exactly the same. The only thing that changes is the style sheet or CSS file. That’s the point of the page. Pretty cool, huh?

Now, imagine taking this really cool concept and wicked awesome technology to the absolute end of the WRONG end of the spectrum. Exhibit A: The Really Bad CSS Zen Garden Page.

As you can see, standards compliant CSS design is not, by default, good design. This was just a really good jab at design elitists and I had to share.