One Part Scissors continues to assist GodFirst in keeping their website up to date on a monthly basis, but the website theme was beginning to look dated, and the time was right to give the website a complete refresh.

Having being built on the excellent Drupal Content Management System meant that the update was relatively quick and painless – all the previous content was retained, which allowed us to create a visually striking theme, and focus on the usability of some key sections of the website – such as the hugely popular resources centre.

Along with adding usability features such as search and an easier to navigate menu, we created a ‘Big Footer’ for the bottom of the website. This new trend in web design allows for all the links on the website to be viewed at a glance – making finding a specific page very easy. This footer begins to act as a site map for people who are new to the site or lost – and allows search engines to quickly index all the pages on the website.

See the new site at godfirst.co.za

OPS was approached to create the print brochure for the 2011 conference. A look-and-feel was developed by in-house designers for the Beauty for Ashes website, and we continued this identity across to the brochure.

Beauty For Ashes Brochure – Outside Spread

Beauty For Ashes Brochure – Inside Spread

The style of the website makes use of real-world textures to add a “realness” to the look-and-feel of the website. Elements are layered with subtle shadows and torn paper edges.

Interesting textures make this search box an interesting design element.

The website is built on the brilliant Drupal content management system, which has created a solid base for the church moving forward. New features are easily added, and content is quick and easy to update.

The Change Bible Church Podcast downloading in iTunes.

The website features an iTunes-compatible podcast, and all members of the church that sign up for a account on the site can create their own blog. This community aspect allows people to connect more deeply with each other on the website.

See the website at changebiblechurch.co.za

Rosebank Union Church as a rich history, having first started as a house church in 1906. The website One Part Scissors designed for the church had to house a wealth of information about the church, it’s values, beliefs, and history, as well as modern-day resources such as audio podcasts, event calendars, blogs, and links to the Social Media Networks.

With this in mind, OPS ensured that the huge body of information is never overwhelming to the user.

The podcast can be found with the website, or directly in iTunes in the Podcast Directory.

As the website is built on the Drupal Content Management System, the church has quick and easy access to edit the website’s info, uploading podcasts, resources, new events, and blog posts on a virtually daily basis.

See the site at rosebankunion.org

OPS has just completed the redesign of the Northpoint City Church website. The new website is built on the Drupal Content Management System, which allows the church quick and easy access to edit the website’s info as needed on a weekly basis.

The system allows for the easy admin of the Media Library, organizing the audio downloads and offering an iTunes compatible podcast.

One Part Scissors is currently also working on the redevelopment of the church’s overall brand and identity, and the website is the first element to show the new logo, designed by One Part Scissors late in 2009. The new brand’s colour scheme is also showcased in the website.

An interesting element of Northpoint’s web requirements was the need for 2 subsections for ministries within their organisation that need a different look and feel to the rest of the website. The first such section is the Impophomo section, home to Northpoint’s social upliftment ministry. This section needed to be seen by the visitor as it’s own ‘mini-site’, one which will ultimately be reached by a separate domain.

The benefit of using 3 themes with a single website, is that Northpoint can update information across all three sites via a single web based admin tool.

Jozi Jammers is a preschool situated on the property with Northpoint City Church, and although overseen by the church it is an independent entity, also needing it’s own unique look-and-feel.

All three sites – the main Northpoint website, as well as the two mini-sites, all have a similar feel carried across them; a visual thread which ties them together.

See the website at npcc.org.za

OPS created the website for Grace Generation Church, based in Pietermaritzburg.

The website is built on the Drupal Content Management System, which allows the church quick and easy access to edit the website’s info as needed on a weekly basis.

Audio resources are available as a podcast or as a direct download from the site.

See the site at gracegeneration.co.za

UPDATE: The GodFirst website has been revamped, click here to view the latest news on the website.

 

GodFirst needed a website to reflect and cater for their expansion in 2010.
The site will be the central information hub for all the venues around Johannesburg.
The MyVenue feature allows you to select the venue you attend to see news and events related specifically to your venue.

Visit the site

One Part Scissors has refreshed the brand of GodFirst Church.

GodFirst is going through our new Brand Appreciation Model, to strengthen the brand for the exciting changes the church has lined up for 2010. GodFirst is expanding to operate in 7 locations in the new year, and the larger scale of the group means that a defined and structured set of guidelines around the presentation of the brand becomes vital.

Because of GodFirst’s growing profile in the city, OPS created a new logo that pays homage to the former logo, so as to maintain recognition and credibility – the ties to the old identity are still strong, but the logo has been updated, strengthened and refreshed.

New GodFirst Logo. The new logo has thicker lines, which allows it to be legible at much smaller sizes than the previous logo.	Previous GodFirst Logo.
A symbol was also devised for situations where the full logo cannot be used – for example, as the Website’s “Favorite Icon”. The symbol makes use of the phrase “G1″, which has become a colloquial reference to the church among its members.

Brand Manual

The GodFirst brand identity manual was given to all those responsible for communicating on behalf of the church. The guidelines in the manual are loose enough to allow for creative expression around the themes that the church communicates about – everything from marriage and sex, to salvation and destiny. The brand manual seeks to provide a framework that is dynamic and adaptable.

Next Steps

Work is already underway on a brand new sophisticated GodFirst website that will better reflect the multi-venue church, allowing visitors to view their venue’s info and events quickly and easily. Look out for a new GodFirst billboard around Johannesburg in the coming months as well.

One Part Scissors would like to congratulate Rhema South Family Church on winning a Bronze SA Web Award.

The website scored the following:

• Content 77%
• Layout 70%
• Functionality 85%
• Overall Appeal: 68%
• Overall Score: 76%

OPS designed the website in 2008, and Rhema South has been keeping the website up to date with new content using the content management system.

See the site at rhemasouth.co.za.

If you’d like to read more about the original design project, see the first blog post about rhemasouth.co.za.

See the award here.

One Part Scissors once again teamed up with Donovan Coetzee (assemblies.org.za) to create a website for Urban Edge Church in Durbanville, Cape Town. The use of JQuery allows the church to update all the pages. The UrbanEish! blog was also created.

See the site at www.urbanedge.org.za