In An Abundance of Creative Counselors, Chaos?

Having visuals and event graphics is great, but not just because those things make it easier to do promotion. The ultimate goal of an event brand is to make the experience “sticky” and memorable. To maximize that memorability, you’ll want to approach different types of events differently. There are tons of ways to categorize church events, but the one that matters for design and branding is timing. That said, here are the three different types of events (by timing) and how you can approach branding for each. Series Ongoing regular events in the life of your church that happen with a faster cadence (e.g. monthly or quarterly). For these, a new set of visuals for every event would almost definitely be overkill. However, there’s an opportunity for creativity. Instead of branding each event, consider giving the series a brand that persists throughout the year. If you need some variation to distinguish these regular events from one another, change something minor like a background color or a photo for each occurrence, keeping the design the same. Annual Annual events offer more flexibility and room to experiment with the unique event visuals. A lot of churches will approach annual events with an entirely new set of visuals each year, which is totally fine! As long as certain things about the event are consistent year to year, it can even become a beloved part of your church’s overall brand. Here’s what should stay the same for that to work: The event name Who the event is for What happens at the event (although there’s room to adjust this as well) You can also choose to treat Annual events in a similar way to Series events, keeping the core visuals the same and making minor tweaks. One-Off Do whatever feels right! One-Off events are an opportunity to go wild, but they’re also a chance to rely on the branding you use for everything else. If it’s an event you might eventually turn into a regular thing, then consider designing something simple to make it easier for people to remember. The goal of all event branding is to be memorable. If you don’t remember an event, it probably didn’t have an impact.

Limitation breeds creativity. Ask any artist or creative person, and they’ll tell you that their proudest moments are when they’ve solved a problem with restrictions, limitations, or pressure. Whether it’s limited time, resources, space, color, etc. those boundaries become a unique seed in which creativity grows and blossoms. This applies to new projects and ongoing brand work (aka tending your brand). Here’s the point: Don’t be afraid to put limitations in place. Committing to a deadline, color palette, or style is actually one of the best things you can do for your brand.

There’s a time for everything: A time to change your brand and a time to double down, A time to whisper with your logo and a time to shout, A time to plant seeds of your vision and a time to water them, A time to honor your heritage and a time to distance yourself from the past, A time to speak to your congregation and a time to speak to your community, A time to be bold and a time to be subtle, A time to plan communications and a time to wing it, A time to seek design help and a time to do it yourself, A time to repeat yourself and a time to say something new. Consider the times as you tend your brand!

A church rebrand can be a lot like cleaning the house: You know you need to do it, but it always takes longer than you thought. There’s not an exact number of weeks or months, but I’ve noticed some patterns that can give you a ballpark idea for how long a church rebrand takes. Here’s the formula: 12 Months or Hard Deadline / Designer Availability (1-4) + 1 week per committee member Hard Deadline This formula is part of why I encourage pastors to set a hard deadline for the launch. Without one, it’s easy to keep making minor tweaks for months, with diminishing returns. Many churches I've worked with have chosen to announce the rebrand at an annual gathering or upcoming church event. This gives you less flexibility, but it’s a great way to keep your eyes on the prize and push through sticking points. Committee Size The larger the group, the harder it becomes to schedule meetings, commit to colors, and review designs. Decision paralysis is a documented phenomenon that is amplified by more inputs. Only adding 1 week per committee member may not be enough, but it’s close. Designer Availability Using an in-house designer is going to be the most flexible and fastest way to rebrand, hands down. With a larger agency, you may be one of dozens of clients and might not get the fastest turnaround. I personally only take on a couple of new clients per month so I can focus my attention on the project at hand, keeping it on track. Transition Time Smaller churches may not have much in the way of merch, letterhead, or building signage. They may or may not have a website. In the design world, we lump all these items into a category we call "brand collateral" or "collateral" for short. For larger churches, the transition may take longer because they have more collateral to update. Building signs can take weeks to get printed or manufactured, the website needs to be redesigned, and merch probably needs to be created.

Carefully crafting color categories can catalyze cohesion. Alliteration aside, the categories or buckets you sort your colors into will determine the overall look and feel of your church’s brand. If you try to use too many colors spread out across different channels, your visual identity can start to feel incoherent and disjointed. Core colors Keeping the visual identity unified is why we normally pick 2 to 4 “core colors,” which are the duo, trio, or quartet that glue your whole brand together. Core colors can help focus the look of the brand and make it recognizable by a particular combination of colors alone. This also means core colors must be used and guarded more carefully than other colors. Supporting colors Supporting colors are generally taken from other parts of the color spectrum. We do this to add a certain level of variety and depth to the overall brand. Having supporting colors sprinkled in throughout your brand helps prevent it from being strictly monochromatic, which can come across as flat or boring. Even if your core colors aren’t monochromatic, they can be easy to overuse, diluting their impact and handicapping their ability to grab attention. So, to sum up, distinguishing between core colors and supporting colors is all about proportions and ratios. Disproportionate use of even the perfect palette can send the wrong message, so prioritize which colors you want to stand out and maintain that balance. P.S. This week I’m focusing on church brand color selection principles, which I’ve gathered the hard way from years of church rebrands. If you want the complete guide, I’ve collected all of the principles into a single post here.

A couple of years ago, I tried to talk a church out of hiring me for a rebrand. The church had an outdated logo and the leadership had a new vision/mission statement they were beginning to push. Here’s why I hesitated: the church was running 400+ members/regular attenders and I couldn’t believe they didn’t have someone from their own congregation with design expertise. Here’s how the conversation went with the pastor (we’ll call him Jake). Braden: “So why rebrand with my help? Isn’t there anyone in your church already who is a graphic designer?” Jake: “We’ve got a couple of people with a creative background, but nobody who’s up to the task of a complete rebrand.” Braden: “Surely they could work as a team to design it?” Jake: “Here’s the thing: we don’t want to put people in a position where they’re stepping on each other’s toes. We want this to be a unifying thing for our church - not a divisive thing.” Braden: “Hmm… if you’re sure…” Jake: “Bringing in an outside expert helps us avoid those situations. Plus we know we’ll get a better result in the end that we won’t have to second-guess in a few years.” Now, a few years later, Jake is still using that brand identity to reinforce his vision and communicate effectively in their thriving church. It turns out, he wasn’t the only one who feels that way. For many church leaders, bringing in a believer with expertise and an outside perspective is the clear best choice.

Sometimes we need to be confronted about how bad a situation really is. It’s too easy to develop blind spots over time, and your branding isn’t an exception. Like an untended vine, it can quickly get out of control. So here are ten warning signs that you might need help reigning in that branding. You cringe when you hand out a business card or flyer Your social media pages all have a different profile picture You have to hunt for your main logo file on a regular basis There are more than 3 fonts used on any given flyer, banner, or bulletin You don’t have the original HEX codes for your core colors Outdated materials and web pages still surface every few months to haunt you You’re seeing more unofficial logos than official ones used in the wild Your staff or volunteers don’t feel equipped to make the church “look good” online Your website, wayfinding, and bulletin look they’re from three different eras You’re constantly reinventing visuals, changing styles, or revising logos because nothing sticks If several of these sound like you, it might be time to consolidate and clean up. Or, it might be that you’re transitioning, and you need to start from scratch with a new and fresh look as you start this new chapter. Either way, consider getting professional help. I work with churches specifically to solve those problems with their branding. Contact me here, and we’ll talk about what it looks like for me to help you design an identity that reflects your God-given vision and lasts for decades.

Recently I shared a story about a church who was threatened with a lawsuit due to a similar logo. But that was probably just a fluke - is spending the time and money on a trademark really necessary? As it turns out, there are other cases of trademark battles involving churches, and more nuanced reasons to venture down the trademarking path. I’ve been learning about this process lately, so I figured I would share what I’m learning here and contextualize it for churches. With that, here are five reasons you might want to trademark your church name and logo. 1. You’ve been confused with other organizations This first one should be obvious, but trademarking your church’s name and logo is the best way to prevent organizational identity theft and brand abuse. In 2010, the International House of Prayer (IHOP), faced a trademark infringement lawsuit from the restaurant chain International House of Pancakes, also known as IHOP. The restaurant chain alleged that the ministry’s use of the acronym “IHOP” and the website domain “ihop.org” caused confusion and diluted its brand. Although the lawsuit was eventually dropped and settled out of court, the ministry agreed to rebrand itself as IHOPKC to distinguish itself from the restaurant chain. 2. You sell merchandise If you’re selling books, shirts, or creating digital resources under your church’s name, a trademark can help you maintain control over the brand. As soon as you start putting your name or logo on merchandise like shirts, mugs, hats, books, etc., you’re entering the realm of commerce. A trademarked image and name helps you protect your church’s right to sell those products without worrying about knock-offs or competing merch. Otherwise, another church could copy your image for their own merch and start profiting off it. Online platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Etsy will sometimes even require you to trademark your brand, rather than run the risk of stores impersonating you. 3. You create media resources Similar to physical products, digital products can be replicated, resold, or changed without your permission, which can quickly turn into a huge headache. In fact, digital products are even more vulnerable than physical products because they are easier to make and distribute copies of. Media resources like trainings, devotionals or Bible-reading plans, and paid digital content (even if it’s just raising support for a campaign) can all be exploited without trademark protection. 4. You’re expanding digitally In that same vein, creating content online can become more complicated as your brand and audience grows. Even if there’s no money changing hands, your church’s reputation is an asset that can be maligned or challenged. All that to say, if you’re expanding online (websites, social media, podcasts), you probably want to think about trademarking sooner than later. 5. You’re expanding geographically If you’re starting satellite campuses, or gaining regional/national recognition, trademarking helps protect your brand across state lines. At the end of the day, without proper trademark protection, your name or logo can be used by others, leading to confusion or association with unrelated or even opposing groups.