KLONDIKE, CP Army Headquarters- In our lifelong pursuit to innovate in the community, the entire CPAHQ staff is excited to announce a new slate of events, alongside our bold new redesign.

The Redesign

Since its foundation, CPAHQ’s design was largely inspired from previous news sites.  Obviously, the website theme and CSS is the one that has been used forever.  But more specifically, the graphics were similar to that of the Small Medium Army Press or Small Medium Army Central.  Both of these organizations utilized bubbly letters to differentiate themselves from Club Penguin Army Central.  When CPAHQ redesigned for Pride Month, the design stayed longer than planned.  During this time, the design team began working on an entirely unique design for our website.

The Logo

The new logo for CPAHQ encapsulates what our organization is about.  First and foremost, the inclusion of our year of establishment signifies that CPAHQ is here to stay.  2021 is only the beginning of our journey.  The second component of note is the new penguin.  Going with an outlined penguin is perfect for another mantra that we use in our organization: this is a place for anyone to work in media.  The outlined penguin is symbolic in the sense that there is no one “look” that we want from our staff.  All that we ask from our staff is their passion for the job.  Overall, this logo bucks the trend of having a strong outline applied to the text.  The simple and sleek design of the font is emblematic of our priorities at CPAHQ.  We want to provide amenities to the community that are reliable and incomparable to anything else.

The Header

Another big change is the design of the header.  The first thing that will jump out to most people is that there are no longer any penguins on the header.  This is for a variety of reasons.  The biggest one is in our effort to simplify and modernize the design game.  Most website headers just have too much going on.  This is especially true of the old header for CPAHQ.  The contrasting designs of the custom penguins commanded attention away from our organizations name.  Eliminating assets that aren’t specific to CPAHQ reigns in the focus of our organization.  Another reason for this choice is so we do not have to update the graphic if an army that is on it closes down.  CPAHQ is the one constant we can count on in our graphics.  Plus, it removes the idea of “playing favorites” with who gets on the header.  CPAHQ does not treat any army differently from another.

The Primary Background

The primary background received an update with our new column graphics.  The newspaper design easily shows what CPAHQ is here for, above all else: news.  The brightness of the background was tweaked to contrast better against the blogroll.  Also, we’ve incorporated this design into other areas, like the header and in our Discord design.

The Secondary Background

An entirely new component of our design, the secondary background is used frequently to unify our brand.  The gradient of the background plays well against a new feature that will be unveiled later in this post.  Overall, it grants the website a level of consistency that was not present previously.  This background is used in a variety of places, like the header and the buttons.

Text Plates

 

 

 

Like the secondary background, the text plates were redesigned to be more uniform.  Columns used to have contrasting graphics.  While some were bold with unique custom penguins and colors, others stayed true to the purple and bubbly design that CPAHQ had at the time.  Now, all text plates use the same style while still possessing a unique feature.  More plates will be revealed when they are needed for a post.

Discord Graphics

 

The Discord icon utilizes previously mentioned components, but puts a twist on them.  The logo was given a neon glow.  This is because we envision the Discord server as one of the top “hangout spots” for the community.  The neon glow creates the feeling of a club, all while maintaining the uniqueness of the original logo.  An animated version was also created for when we have enough boosts on the server.

Dark Mode

One of our most exciting new features to the website is dark mode. Dark mode is able to be activated or deactivated by the user.  If desired, one can disable dark mode completely, or disable light mode completely instead.  The change is seamless, meaning you will not have to refresh to update your settings.

Author Information

Another new feature for the website is the introduction of author bios.  This feature impacts multiple faucets of post structure at CPAHQ.  At the end of every post, the authors profile will be embedded.  The profile will show the author’s profile picture and a short biography about themself.  Because of this, CPAHQ will no longer include signature graphics at the end of the post.  The sign-off and the comment blurb will also no longer be included.  Meaning, the content of the post will end with the concluding paragraph, followed by the embedded profile.  This feature is yet another change that catapults CPAHQ into the modern era of news sites.

Please note that staff members will not be allowed to do what I did for the example.  I just thought it was funny. 

Organizational Changes

The changes do not just stop at the new look for CPAHQ.  The new identity gives our organization the chance to revisit our morals and make some changes that reflect the current desires of the community.

Mission Statement

Though our previous mission statement is still a value we hold true to what CPAHQ stands for, it is time for a new mission statement to reflect our main priority as an organization.  The overarching theme of our redesign was an idea of innovation.  This is what CPAHQ wants to be known for.  For the community, we have brought forth new ideas like Project: Conquest, the Night of Debauchery, and the potential changes to our judging branch.  For our staff, we have provided rigorous rubrics, feedback systems, and quality-of-life tools that help them perform at the highest level.  Overall, everything CPAHQ does is creating new ideas in the hopes of improving the community.  We are never afraid to suggest ideas, even if these ideas draw the spotlight away from us.  Knowing our role as a news site, our biggest priority on the community level is pushing for changes that the community wants to see.  Henceforth, our new mission statement is as follows:

Club Penguin Army Headquarters strives to be the organization that innovates.  Our mission is to employ new ideas and work with the community to shape them in a way that they want it to be.  Our organizations top priority is helping to improve the community, whether that is by providing our usual top quality features, or introducing new ones for all to participate in.

A New Vice Director

Not too long ago, Vanish retired from his position as Vice Director.  While we still miss his contributions to our administration, we are extremely lucky to have an equally great administrator step up to the role.  I am proud to announce that Mansionz Sidie9 is hereby promoted to Vice Director.  Below is a statement from Sidie herself:

I first decided to take up an administrative position here at Club Penguin Army Headquarters on the 19th of May this year. As Associate Director I have been extremely privileged to work alongside many talented and intelligent individuals who shared the same vision; to continue to shape CPAHQ into a strong organisation with an emphasis on our content, whether it be the consistent news reports and columns or projects that push the boundaries of community expectations (ie. Project: Conquest). In recent days we unfortunately had to say goodbye to our beloved Vice Director Vanish. Vanish had put so much into this organisation and I, the new incumbent Vice Director, have huge shoes to fill. I am looking forward to the promising future of CPAHQ, with this new rebranding/redesign being the mark of a new era of the organisation that will continue to break new ground. Thank you to the amazing Graphic Designers who have put immense time and effort into creating our website design and thank you to the community for your everlasting support.

-Sidie9, CPAHQ Vice Director

As an Associate Director, Sidie was instrumental in the upkeep of Project: Conquest.  She frequently handled the day-to-day demands of the tournament, helping it to take flight even through the turbulence it faced.  Sidie has an infectious personality that is helpful for both our audience and our organization.  Her charismatic nature makes her an easy candidate for maintaining the status of relations with the community.  Her dedication to her job is a peace of mind for the entire administration, knowing that she will always step up to plate when called upon.

The position of Associate Director is still in good hands, as Fusion will maintain his place there.  New to the administration, Fusion has already been an asset to CPAHQ, all while he continues to lead the content department in putting out quality posts.  The administration of CPAHQ is in good hands with Sidie9 as the Vice Director and Fusion as the Associate Director.

Upcoming Events

To celebrate a new era of CPAHQ, the administration workshopped a handful of events that are coming soon to the army community.  Though the Fall is usually a time of slumber for armies, we are certain that these events are perfect for the current state of the army community.

Champions Cup VI

The Champions Cup, or as I like to call it: the Kingfunks4 Classic, is returning for its 6th edition.  Champions Cup VI is a group stage tournament.  Armies will be randomly drawn into a group and battle each other army, trying to gain the most points before the stage ends.  It is important to note that the length and format of the tournament depends on how many armies accept.  Finalized details of the tournament will be announced this weekend.

CPAHQ Writing Competition

This event was slated to take place during the summer, but time constraints from the administration prevented it from taking place.  However, we are excited to confirm that the CPAHQ Writing Competition will begin on October 1st, 2021.  The competition is open to any people who have an interest in writing.  It will consist of multiple categories of varying writing prompts.  Points will be award to every entry in each category, and the winner is the person who garnered the most points.

CPAHQ Staff Night

Viewers with a keen eye may have noticed that staff awards were missing from our recent event, the Night of Debauchery.  This is because we will be having a special night for the staff soon!  This event will be a celebration of all the hard work our staff has put in over the summer.  The date has yet to be determined, but a post with the details will be released when it is decided.

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After six and a half months of serving the community, the administration could not be more excited as to where CPAHQ stands.  Throughout many mistakes on our end, we have received the utmost of faith from the community.  We are so grateful for those that support us in our efforts to live up to our mission statement.  The future of armies never possesses many guarantees, but one thing we are certain about is the foundation of CPAHQ.  We truly feel that we are working on something special, and are lucky to have an audience that supports us and an audience that gives us feedback we would not notice from our own rose-colored glasses.  Going forward, we aim to continue building faith within the community, transforming into the consistent news site that it deserves.

 

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