Deciding on a Church Logo
We are coming to the close on our series on branding. Just a post or two left.
We are going to end this series where most discussions of branding begin—the visual images used to represent your mission or congregation.
The logo.
Developing a logo is a stretch for many small congregations. You may not have an artist in your congregation and the expense seems frivolous.
A logo is not a necessity, but it does have value. Consider this even as you work on your Mission Statement. It may help you focus on the words!
Common imagery includes: a cross, dove, open Bible, water, shells, people, hands, geographical features (mountain, river, plants/trees that distinguish your locale, for example cactus or pine), grain, chalice, fire or flame, building scape).
Think about style: modern vs classic. Same with fonts. Formal vs informal, script, san serif or serif or a combination.
Images communicate more powerfully than words. They trigger emotion quickly and deeply. In fact, the best writers are known for their ability to “paint a picture” with words. It’s a neurological reality. Messages received through imagery resonate more strongly and last longer in the memory.
Medieval Europe knew this. There faithful attended mass and listened to messages preached to them in Latin, a language few of them spoke and nearly none of them could write. Tthe cathedrals and chapels all across Europe are covered, floor to ceiling, with mosaics, sculpture, murals. Even the windows tell the Story.
Eastern Europe still makes imagery the focal point of contemplation with the use of religious icons.
Moslems forbid certain artistic representations but have developed symbolic imagery to a high art.
Families developed crests. Businesses mounted shingles with simple imagery.
All of this led up to the modern logo. A simple “picture” designed to tell many thousands of words every time you see it.
It may be worth finding someone to develop a logo concept for your church. There are also inexpensive logo design services on the web. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It can be accomplished for as little as $50 and certainly no more than a few hundred.
Here are a few web sites that will create a logo based on a collection of stock art (least expensive) to a custom logo.
http://www.churchlogogallery.com
http://www.thelogofactory.com/
http://99designs.com/
Just Google church logo design to find more and compare.
A low-cost solution is often sufficient for congregations. You are evangelizing and communicating within your neighborhood as opposed to the world, so it doesn’t matter so much if another church in a different denomination 1000 miles away is using similar imagery.
You can make a boilerplate image your own by adding distinctive type.
These sites are a good place to go for ideas. Have your committee look at the catalogs of stock images to see what ideas might fit your mission message.
The imagery should somehow reflect your mission statement or the name of your church or community.
If nothing else is available, take a photo of your building or something distinctive about your sanctuary. You can play around with photo-editing programs like Photoshop to make it more artistic.
Keep your logo simple so that it reproduces well in black and white for stationery and bulletins but color can be used on the web and mobile, where people spend more and more time!
The colors you choose can be used throughout the implementation of your ministry efforts. Think of how your favorite sports teams are identified by color even when the imagery is lacking.