Rating: 
Summary: Hit or miss
Review: I'll start by saying that some of the sites in the book are absolutely beautiful. Some of them are cutting-edge, fresh, and as Cloninger advocates, fun.But for a lot of them, "fun" turns to "frustrating" mind-bogglingly quickly. Several of the sites are electronic works of art that have incomprehensible interfaces and infuriating functionality. I realize the emphasis of this book is sort of the anti-Neilsen, but there is, and has to be, a line of practicality in web design that just shouldn't be crossed. A beautiful website is not something that someone can hang on a wall, it's something a user is supposed to use. Neilsen gets too draconian in one direction, and Cloninger goes too far in the other. Reality is somewhere in between. Several of the sites detailed, however, don't suffer from these problems. The "Mondrian" and "HMLMinimalist" sections are almost Neilsen-ite in their simplicity. The problem lies in some of the recommendations that Cloninger makes on how to execute such a site - the code he puts forth is often a bit sketchy and not always standards-compatible (use a new standards-complaint browser, you get a mess. Use and old browser, you get a mess). Overall, the book is somewhat useful, somewhat not. As inspirational material, it's grand. The sites are beautiful and complex. As a "how-to" manual, the advice given is often less-than-good. Couple this book with "Don't Make Me Think" and the ORA book on CSS and you will have a much better chance of developing a workable, elegant site.
Rating:
Summary: The Box and You
Review: I'm a developer. I program. I make the html that makes the pretty pages. I figured that this book would help me come up with some designs (for those oftentimes rare moments that I'm given a design project). I'd impress the boss and get more design projects. It didn't quite work out that way. This book made me feel like I was in design class. A basic page and its "template" was defined, and then there were more examples that if you squint and shook your head, then you could see it fits that template. I don't think it's so black and white. If so, then they aren't that fresh, are they? If someone is stuck for design ideas, I'm not sure this book would necessarily help since it's giving more templates. We're trying to move away from looking like everyone else, right? But some ideas for colors did come from this book, so that's good. I enjoyed the idea of boiling down a lot of web designs into a few basic themes, templates, etc. but think that doing so might make it that much harder to break out of the box and be fresh. Or, if you're like me, once you know the rules, you can break them more easily. I also liked the little bit of a history lesson that came with this design class. It's quite amazing what some people did with their websites back in the day, and quite amazing how not so far they have come. Perhaps this book would be better for the true designer and not so much for the developer wanting to be a designer.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for web artists, less relevant for others
Review: I've worked in web site design and development since 1995 and I've seen how people (even those with a lot of computer experience) sometimes struggle to get through web sites and accomplish the tasks they need to do. While this book offers a beautiful layout in the form of colorful screen shots and sidebars, I didn't find much of it very insightful or applicable. In fact, one chapter is devoted to a style the author characterizes as "Punk" due to the focus on subverting visitors ability to navigate a site. The author proposes that one can learn good design principles from the subversiveness of the punk style, but I really didn't find this particularly insightful. Many of the styles highlighted in the book would be difficult to incorporate into sites that you're hoping people will actually use. I can sympathize with the author's frustration with the usability geeks and their metrics on how people traffic sites, but I didn't find many of the styles in this book applicable to "real world" projects. Many URL's cited are already "404" and I disliked the "hacker" approach to coding and developing some of the visual effects. For example, one section of the book details how to write chunky text using HTML tables and cell background colors....Who in the world would do this in a real job, especially given today's section 508 rules?! The intent to inspire through this book is noble and it is a beautiful looking book, but not a resource I would really use given my observations and experience within this field.
Rating: 
Summary: In need of some inspiration?
Review: If you are, Curt Cloninger can help with Fresh Styles for Web Designers. I picked up this book hoping to get some ideas to snap me out of a bit of a rut. It worked. Not only did I find his descriptions of different styles, ideas and sites helpful, but the myriad of links in the book helped to fill my "design ideas" bookmarks folder with a ton of great sites. Web design clients want commercial sites that aren't often very artistic. Knowing that, Cloninger showed off underground web sites that exist for purely artistic reasons and used them to demonstrate that artistic endeavors are not just a path to web-based expression but a palette for ideas that will end up as part of tomorrow's commercial site developments. This revleation not only makes the book fun to read but practical as well. Nice job.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Source of Design Ideas
Review: if your target audience has a gigahertz under the hood, a broadband connection, a 21 inch monitor, and is surfing for entertainment. Otherwise, the book makes a good point here and there, and a couple of chapters have some useful ideas. If you're designing usable websites for the typical web surfer, or for intranet users, or for anyone else that is looking for information or merchandise instead of entertainment, this book is not a good choice for a working reference. The author emphasizes the bland results that often come from rigidly following the "rules" of usable website design. He glosses over the findings of innumerable studies that show that web surfers want to get what they came for and move on. Many of the "role model" sites in the book are pretty. Most are confusing, painfully slow to load, and outright annoying if for some reason you need to return often. Truth is, most of the sites presented as cutting edge design are exactly the kind of site I back out of just as soon as I can. Studies have shown that I'm a fairly typical user in this respect. The design paradigms presented in this book will most likely result in web sites that appeal to a very small audience and irritate typical users. Particularly the user who sat down with a credit card to buy a gift because he or she was too busy to head for the mall. Buy the book for its chapters on simplicity and it's message of designing "outside the box". But design websites with Neilsen's work on your desk.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book.!!
Review: It manages to articulate, position, explain (etc etc) "way out there", cutting edge design in a sophisticated way. For me, as someone making the transition from print, it was inspiring. It expanded my vision for what I am trying to achieve on the web. What I found interesting about the book, and worthy of praise, is that it's "produced" by a real web pro (who writes well too) but who doesn't just design for designing's sake (like you would think if you looked at the man's web site). This bloke is passionate about effective communication - I mean, as apposed to just awards and adulation from his web designing buddies. I respect this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book.
Review: Just got this book yesterday and love it already. Mostly discusses different "Types" of websites such as Gothic and Grunge. Great for a desktop reference or for some quick inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Great Ideas for New Designs
Review: Like most books of this genre, "Fresh Styles" is useful for those in the web design business and less helpful for companies and clients that are ecommerce focused. The designs are incredibly but are heavy on graphics, images, and other elements that are frequently not beneficial to business sites. However, the book does chronicle designs that are really innovative and beautiful to look at. Very artistic and creative styles that will push the world of web design forward which it really needs at this point in time (tiring of the standard 'portal' look that is so popular).
Rating:
Summary: Over the Top
Review: Lurking inside of me for some time has been the desire to take web design to the next level; beyond handome and functional to experiential. Curt Cloninger has been living in experiential world and does a phenomenal job evangelizing the experience. He gives truly out-of-the-box examples with how-to instruction. Logic can be taught, creativity only inspired. This book did it for me. I am rethinking, better, going back to the drawing board on every project on my easle. This is one of the best two books I have read on the subject of web design.
Rating:
Summary: a passion for evocative, communicative design
Review: Not all of us have seen the examples Cloninger writes about in his book. That's why I found Fresh Styles to be so helpful. For those of us who are "beginners" - who usually only visit such web sites as amazon.com and cnn.com - I highly recommend this book. It will open your eyes to a whole new world. For those of you who are "veteran web designers," I cannot see how, like the individual from Portland, Maine, Fresh Styles wouldn't make for a good "leaping point." I've seen Van Gogh's and Matisse's artwork a hundred times, and yet it still moves me. And that's what this book is about. Fresh Styles awakens a passion for "evocative, communicative design." Not many people I know can create something out of nothing. We all need ideas, examples, illustrations, models, etc to stir up our own imaginations. Cloninger has done this for us by describing ten web design styles that are, in my opinion, unique and ... well, inspiring.
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