Storytelling
Heritage Restoration Guild
An immersive digital microsite preserving South African heritage stories through archival content, interactive timelines, and a donation infrastructure for restoration projects.
Client
Heritage Restoration Guild of KZN
Industry
Non-Profit & Cultural Heritage
Duration
5 Weeks
Year
2025
The Challenge
What they were facing
The Heritage Restoration Guild had decades of archival photographs, oral histories, and restoration project documentation locked in physical filing cabinets. They needed a digital platform to preserve these stories, attract donors, and coordinate volunteer restoration efforts across 15 heritage sites in KwaZulu-Natal.
Our Approach
How we tackled it
We partnered with local historians and the Guild's archival team to digitise and curate content. The design approach prioritised storytelling — using full-bleed imagery, ambient audio, and scroll-triggered animations to create an emotional connection with visitors. The donation system was designed to be frictionless with multiple payment options.
The Solution
What we delivered
A visually stunning microsite built with Next.js featuring interactive heritage timelines, 360-degree virtual tours of restoration sites, an oral history audio player, and a Stripe-powered donation system with project-specific giving options. The site also includes a volunteer coordination portal.
Deliverables
Key Outputs
Heritage Microsite
Immersive storytelling platform with parallax scrolling, ambient audio, and interactive timelines.
Digital Archive
Searchable database of 2,000+ photographs, documents, and oral history recordings.
Donation Platform
Stripe-integrated giving system with project-specific campaigns, recurring donations, and tax certificates.
Volunteer Portal
Event calendar, skill-matching system, and project sign-up for restoration volunteers.
Impact
Measurable Results
R180K
Donations
Raised in the first 90 days through the online platform.
45,000+
Archive Views
Unique page views of archival content in the first quarter.
280
Volunteers
New volunteers registered through the coordination portal.
8
Media Features
National media features including SABC and Daily Maverick.
Our stories were disappearing. Breed Industries gave them a permanent digital home. The donations that followed proved that people care — they just needed a way to connect.
Dr. Zanele Mthembu
Director, Heritage Restoration Guild of KZN
Technology Stack
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