About the Project
The First Press is FPC's monthly newsletter and serves as a primary source of information for members, ministry leaders, and visitors. It is printed in-house and mailed to all members and is also published online.
Client: First Presbyterian Church of Gastonia (FPC)
Software: Adobe InDesign
Format: Print and Digital
Challenge: I was responsible for designing and producing The First Press. This included creating clean, easy to read page layouts, selecting quality photographs, and ensuring the newsletter aligned with the church’s visual identity and communication goals.
Spearheading the publication didn’t come without it’s problems. Content almost never came to me on time and photos were usually low quality. To combat these issues, I created a content submission system for ministry leaders.
Solution: Once per quarter, contributors received a one page submission form that outlined specific details like event descriptions, dates, contact info, etc., and guidelines for graphic/photo submission. I shared a Google Drive folder with each pastor and committee chairman in order to keep everything in one place.
This simplified the submission process for myself and contributors resulting in consistent content management, minimizing last-minute redesigns.