I will agree that the template 'system' in Dolphin is perhaps not entirely intuitive and not 100% flexible.

But I think that it is easy enough for most users to effect basic style changes with a few simple css changes (just look though general.css and you should be able to create a completely different looking site with minimal changes). Half the battle is knowing where to look.

IMHO this is where most webmasters should start. Learn the basics and then grow with your site, it's the best way see more to learn, relying on an automated templating system does not a good webmaster make. People are so reliant on things such as frontpage and dreamweaver that when it comes to doing simple css mods they are stuffed.

More complex changes will probably also require changes to the code (to create different classes so that you can style different blocks to look visually different - as per your example) so this is the logical next step in the learning process.

I believe the tools are already there within Dolphin, people just need to take the time to learn them. IMO it's pretty easy.

Dolphin has a typical layout -> header / navigation / footer + 1/2/3 central columns of content.

Header and footer files are easily editable with text editor if required. Column layout is decided within builder in admin panel and css files can all be edited via admin panel.

Might put a quick blog together for the noobs with some tips.