Animated Logos: Does Your Church Need One?

For those of us with book collections, there’s just something about a well designed book cover. I’m talking kind that makes you do the chefs kiss every time you see it. Maybe one even comes to mind for you. I continue to find new books with beautiful cover designs, but there was one recently that confused me until the third or fourth time I picked it up to read. The book is called Designing Brand Identity, 6th edition by Alina Wheeler and Rob Meyerson. When I first saw the cover, I didn’t give it a second thought…. After all, I had bought the book for what was inside. It wasn’t until I saw it again from far away that I realized what the design was supposed to be: a number “6” for 6th edition. It was staring me in the face! I had the epiphany when my folks happened to be over at our house, so I showed my dad the hidden number in the design. His observation was, “That seems like bad design, shouldn’t they have made it more obvious?” It’s a good question: would the design have been better if it hadn’t been so subtle? Here’s my take: For most books, the cover only has two key pieces of information it needs to convey: the title and the author. The edition is usually a secondary or tertiary piece of info, if it’s included on the cover at all. There’s another more important function of the book cover, however. That function is to be distinct and enticing. If a book cover immediately identifies a book as different from all the other books on a shelf, it has done most of its job. This bright yellow book cover with swirling shapes did that. Here’s the application to branding: The purpose of your church logo isn’t to explain who your church is. In fact, it only matters a little if it has your church name at all. The most important thing in a logo is that it identifies you as distinct from others. If it doesn’t do that, you might as well not have a logo at all.

Is your church logo costing you money? Yes, it’s a serious question. If you’re thinking of redesigning your visuals, you probably want to do it in a way that’s cost effective and practical. That sounds easy enough, but there are some hidden traps in a new logo that can ruin your budget if you’re not careful. These are the three unexpected mistakes that can end up costing your church more than you expected, and how to avoid them. Mistake #1 - Relying on Color If there are four, three, or even two colors that your logo absolutely needs to look right, there’s a strong chance you’ll run into issues down the road. Hats with embroidered logos or a leather patch? Can’t do it. Printing t-shirts with a limited budget? Get ready to pay extra for multiple colors. This is why it’s critical to have a single-color version of your logo that doesn’t look “weird.” While it’s nice to have a version with more than one color, a logo that relies on multiple colors will end up costing you in the long run. Mistake #2 - Ignoring Context Think about where the logo is going to live. If you have a road sign that will need to be updated with the new logo, look at its shape. Is your road sign short and wide? Don’t make the logo tall and narrow. Is your church highly active on social media? Make sure the logo fits well inside a profile picture circle. Building custom signs or making special variations of your logo after the face can easily break the budget for a smaller church, so be wary of the expensive mistake of ignoring context. Mistake #3 - Doing it Yourself The expense of a DIY logo comes mainly in the form of time and future revisions. When you’ve designed something yourself or worked on it in-house without the aid of a professional, there’s a good chance it will take a very, very long time. Not only that, but I’ve seen time and time again a lack of certainty and confidence in the new logo after a rebrand. You’ll spend years wondering things like, “What if we had used a different concept instead?” “What if it had a more dimensional look?” “This reminds me of something else and now I can’t unsee it…” Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to saving time and money in your church rebrand.

I often talk about capturing your unique vision and church identity in a brand identity. However, when people hear “brand identity” they immediately jump to thinking about the logo. Hackney Church of London is proof that a generic logo can work (and shine) when it’s part of a well-executed design system. The church worked with London-based design firm OMSE, who was clearly capable of designing a much more nuanced and complex mark, so why did they do something so plain? They explain in their case study notes: We worked with Hackney Church to design a new identity that could flex across the breadth of their activities. From formal and often sobering occasions, to joyous celebrations. {{ comp.video({ src:"/img/posts/hackney-church-logo-by-omse.mp4" }) }} Their choice of a minimalistic approach was strategic and intentional. Maximum flexibility was the highest priority - not explanatory power. If you take the time to review their rebrand case study, you’ll see how a logo doesn’t have to capture your entire vision, vibe, or identity. It just needs to be an entrance point. In other words, the brand identity is the house, and the logo is just the cornerstone. Here’s what Armin Vit, founder of the BrandNew blog had to say about Hackney Church’s new mark: In a way, it’s almost an overly generic icon that could apply to dozens of churches around the world but not only is the execution flawless in this case it also goes hand and in hand with the overall personality and vibe of the church both in its physical presence and its range of activities. What can we learn from this? Your logo doesn’t have to be so perfectly unique that it’s entirely unmistakable. In fact, it’s quite easy to paint yourself into a corner with a rigid, inflexible brand identity (speaking from personal experiences). Instead of relying on your logo alone to do the heavy lifting, copy OMSE’s approach with Hackney Church and focus on making your branding beautifully simple.

In the graphic design world, much of our time is spent on layout. This is because you usually have fixed content, and a fixed space where that content needs to go. If those two variables are set in stone, then it’s up to the designer to solve the Tetris puzzle - how can I fit X content into Y box? Sometimes this is easier said than done. As a brand designer who often continues to help churches “roll out” their new visuals following a rebrand, I want to make things as easy as possible for future Braden. What if we get a space where the logo doesn’t fit, or looks awkward? This comes up quite a bit, and it’s something that can be solved by having an alternate verison of your logo for just such scenarios. The need for a mark to fit into narrow spaces comes up more than you might expect. Lanyards Banners Table runners Outdoor signs Leather belts (just seeing if you’re paying attention) Creating a “wide” version of your church logo means your brand can look and feel comfortable in those spaces that are too narrow for a more squarish mark. The way you do this is pretty straightforward, with some caveats and a couple of bonus tips I’ll share at the end. Unstack multiple lines of text into one line Move the icon to the left or right side of the mark (sometimes it can go in the middle of the words) That’s it! Well, sort of… Below I’ve put an example of how to apply this in practice. Also, if your church does have leather belts with your logo, please stop it. Get some help.

So you want to put professional-looking photos on your church website. That’s great, but where do you start? Who do you hire? What shots do you need? The main thing to remember is that you want to show the benefits of your church. Why do people attend? What makes your church uniquely valuable as a local congregation? Website photos and videos should show the benefits you’re known for and set realistic expectations. Church website imagery is especially important because it’s giving potential visitors a taste of what it’s like to attend, while also reminding existing members of the reason they come. That said, how can you get the most out of your time and resources? Here are my recommendations. Book a local photographer for a Sunday morning and ask them for a list of shots that looks something like this: Parking Lot / Building Greeters Bulletins / Merch Worship Preaching Fellowship Baptisms or other significant moments Bonus tip: If you can find a little more budget, use a videographer instead and ask for stills from the footage they capture. Now you have professional video and photos. Much like a rebrand, if you do this right, you won’t have to do it again for a very long time. Put your new photos and video on the most visited pages of your website, and let them go to work. While you’re off focusing on ministry, they’ll be consistently connecting with people who are looking for a church home, and tending that part of your brand for you.

We’ve established that you need a church website, but what makes a website "good?" Out of pride, I'd like to say that a well-balanced, memorable logo and strong color palette are the most important things, but I'd be lying. Professional-looking photos and videos are the most permanent and powerful way to make your website stand out. Let’s face it, people can identify a stock image from a mile away, and while AI is getting better all the time, it’s not good at generating images that feel like genuine, authentic interactions at a real place. Most websites will need maintenance and updates from time to time, but a strong image on your website’s homepage is something you'll never have to worry about updating. That’s why even a few high-quality images can make all the difference. Take them once, and they do the work of resonating with potential visitors over and over again, forever. In a future post, I’ll share how I recommend churches should get professional photos and videos for their websites. Especially how to get the most bang for their buck when they do so... stay tuned!

Love it or hate it, social media is the perfect place to communicate about the life of your church. Your church isn’t a museum and you probably want people to know that. An active social media profile indicates an active church. But posting photos, going live, and answering comments is something that a lot of companies have an entire team for. Thankfully, it’s not as hard as it sounds. Here are two guiding principles for a vibrant, flourishing church social media presence. 1. Consistency over Quantity How often you post is far less important than how regularly you post. Whether it’s once a week or every day - it doesn’t matter! What matters is that you set expectations and then meet those expectations consistently over time. This creates familiar patterns of communication that give people a sense of belonging and connection. I saw a church do this exceptionally well, and their engagement was off the charts! They posted a short video every week with an elder or staff member giving a 5 minute devotional (they’ve been going for 2 years now!). It’s not anything fancy, but it serves to publicly show the church’s long-term focus on discipleship. 2. Substance and Relevance over Aesthetics The truth is, almost no one is scrutinizing your images, videos, and text. While it’s good to pursue excellence, nobody is going to pay much attention to how professional your photos look or how good the lighting is in your videos! They’re giving you a couple seconds of their attention and then they’re back to scrolling. Making your content substantive and relevant is going to give you way more engagement than making it look and sound pretty.