Case study # Built for the Whole Country Updated September 8, 2026 Brand Strategy Website Design Website Development Software Development CHF Canada is the national voice of co-op housing, supporting over 900 member co-ops from coast to coast. We refreshed their brand, untangled a sprawling legacy site, and rebuilt it as a fast, fully bilingual platform their team can run on their own. [See the Site ](https://chfcanada.coop/) ![Built for the Whole Country — CHF Canada by Paper Crane](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/208bf543347d468fc5f1535d26e6bb6f4842f0d5-3200x1800.png?rect=0,0,3200,1578&fit=max&auto=format) Detail ## The brief CHF Canada came to us with a website that had grown unwieldy. It was large, dated, and hard to maintain, and the team leaned on developers for even the smallest change. It is also one of the most important resources in the sector. Thousands of people visit every month to find programs, education, events, and support for co-op housing across Canada. They needed the whole thing modernized: the brand sharpened, the structure streamlined, and the platform rebuilt to carry a national audience for years to come. ![The CHF Canada logo, refined from a lighter vertical mark to a deeper, horizontal lockup](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/b91f1de10664d67961982f20e5b898fe48db320c-2640x1920.png?rect=0,0,2640,1751&fit=max&auto=format) Field note ## A brand, sharpened We started with strategy and brand. The logo was a refresh rather than a rebuild: same roots, but a deeper blue, a cleaner horizontal lockup, and tighter detail throughout. From there, the accent palette and the parallelogram visual mark were ours. A fresh, modern system that gives every page energy without losing the federation's civic weight. ![The CHF Canada brand system: palette and Manrope type](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/efaf26e774450dc2b4b2c109023d0dde80bce75c-2800x2100.png) ![The parallelogram visual mark, a Paper Crane addition](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/eb88364c98b2dd4196e19dd3fd43a38801f98b30-1800x2100.png?rect=0,0,1800,1939&fit=max&auto=format) Detail ## Built to carry a country With the brand set, we wireframed, designed, and built the entire platform on a modern WordPress stack the team can own. - A custom Sage theme with ACF blocks, styled in Tailwind and bundled with Vite - Over 40 reusable blocks the team can mix and rearrange without a developer - Fully bilingual in English and French through WPML, down to every taxonomy and slug - A filterable events calendar, a resource library, and more than 30 catalog pages - Thousands of legacy articles migrated cleanly into the new structure ![The CHF Canada homepage](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/39fb6d3050ada339338a0ebd15227618e6beb89c-2400x1800.png?rect=0,0,2400,1647&fit=max&auto=format) ![The filterable events calendar with online and on-site formats](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/51951c7b553dfdeeb4b3092e5597255fab930e3e-2400x1800.png?rect=0,0,2400,1620&fit=max&auto=format) ![The resource library, filtered by audience and topic](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/c8aaf530b03bd9e83d242893b89339b6e8e0ea2b-2400x1800.png?rect=0,0,2400,1631&fit=max&auto=format) ![The same site, fully translated into French](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/9cbdf9aeaf6d6fc26bb327ec3102241fa08ca738-2400x1800.png?rect=0,0,2400,1626&fit=max&auto=format) Detail ## Theirs to run We also took a hard look at the sitemap. A sprawling set of pages became a clear path: Membership, Learn, and Build, so every visitor lands where they need to be. Every section is a block, and every block is theirs. Since launch the team builds and edits pages on their own, no developer ticket required. ![The site in English and French, built bilingual from the ground up](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/3f11ee1e0f376bbb3a9b67ed3d7f7310f8de35fc-2640x1920.png?rect=0,0,2640,1728&fit=max&auto=format) Field note ## Bilingual, end to end CHF Canada serves the whole country, so the site speaks both official languages. We built it bilingual from the ground up with WPML, treating English and French as equals across every page, post, and filter. Members get the same fast, modern experience whichever language they choose. Measured outcomes ## By the numbers A few things we are proud of from this build. member co-ops served across Canada 01900+ reusable blocks in one shared kit 0240+ official languages, fully translated 032 legacy articles migrated into the new site 041,000s Detail ## Made to matter We are driven by work that makes an impact, especially in the non-profit world, so building the national home for co-op housing sat right at the heart of our mission. Launch was not the finish line. We continue to host, maintain, and grow the platform alongside the CHF Canada team as the movement does. In closing ## A home for the whole sector. Have a big, important platform that needs untangling and a rebuild? We take sprawling sites and turn them into something modern, accessible, and yours to run. Let's build it together. [Start a Project ](https://www.papercrane.ca/contact) ![CHF Canada, a national home for co-op housing, built to last](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/3580fe4b18b018be95c10eb9292a83aa1b4dc6e7-3200x1428.png?rect=0,0,3200,1241&fit=max&auto=format) Related: [Nonprofit website design](https://www.papercrane.ca/nonprofit-website-design) ## MORE PROJECTS [ ![CCASA's mark on warm cream with its audience colours](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/c33442161b1d7b22eb56cdea1db2a5c8367946e2-3200x2000.png) BrandStrategyCreative ### CCASA For more than 25 years, Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse has been a steady presence for people affected by sexual violence. When they were ready to carry that work into a new decade, they came to us for a brand that felt less like a help line and more like a friend. We rebuilt their identity from the ground up. 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We unified them into one uncompromising home that treats the stakes with the seriousness they deserve. Explore ](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/pancreatic-cancer-north-america) [See all projects](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies) --- Source: https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/chf-canada