The new Charles S. Anderson Design Co. site is near perfect*.

CSA home page

It’s a beautifully simple and clear departure from the overtly complicated designs that you’ll often find when you browse design firms, architecture firms, and, most notably, photographers’ sites.

The new CSA site confidently says: We know what we’re doing. When you’re this good you don’t have to show off.

No hovers, no lightboxes, no scrolling images, no flash, no unnecessary clicks, nothing fancy at all. It’s presented clearly, directly, and without stuffy ceremony. The latest fad, technique, or technology is nowhere to be found. They’re comfortable in their own skin and it shows.

It’s effortless. I just love it.

Click on a project and you get a straightforward page with the work down the middle and the details in the margin. Each project has its own URL and is easily sharable and printable. CSA’s address and phone number is on every page. Just plain smart.

The copywriting is clear and it has purpose. It’s not too serious, too clever, or too cute. It’s plain english, yet colorful where it matters. It wants to be read. This kind of writing respects the reader.

Whenever someone asks me for an example of a site designed by someone who understands the fundamental strengths of the web, I will point to CSA’s site. This is the example.

* I’d bump up the font size a bit.