This morning I took a look at the site for Catholic Community Services via cssmania.com. So what you say? Another css site that looks nice? Big deal. But there's more going on here.

The site accomplishes everything it needs to on a number of levels.

INFORMATION
The IA is concise, while allowing for plenty of expansion within the four main categories. The content is easily digestible and legible. Everything is logically laid out and easily found. Calls to action are apparent without screaming.

CSS
The typography is well thought out and pleasing. The mix of Verdana and Georgia is about as good as it can be (granted what system text gives you to work with). The color palettes are fresh and inviting while not being garish. Background colors for text fields are very subtle, but they are there. This is more difficult than one would think and they selected their colors wisely.

PHOTOGRAPHY
I'm betting this was not shot by a pro, but likely by a designer with an eye. I've had to do the same before, due to budgetary and time limitations. I've also designed similar layouts, then had to shoot to fit the challenging horizontal format. These work nicely. You can tell these are real people doing real things and that nothing is staged. Very candid and approachable.

When charitable organizations are seeking donations, there is a fine balance to be had in their marketing communications. This site gives Catholic Community Services an outward appearance of really having their act together without being flashy or gratuitous. It has the right tone of voice for their audience and they look like an organization that would know what to do with money contributed to them.

The most striking thing is that it was accomplished for a client that I'm certain is as conservative as you can get, and has a very limited budget at best. Congratulations to whoever pulled it off. So it seems the impossible IS possible. This is a good case study for what it looks like when all the elements come together on a site of this scale. All that, and a nice logo too.