Michael Reeves Told Me to Tell You This

For those of us that read books, we quickly find a favorite author who we can’t put down. I’m curious how well you really know yours. If I put five excerpts by different authors in front of you, could you tell which one was written by your favorite author? What would give it away? I’m a fan of sci-fi, and my favorite author is currently Blake Crouch. He writes with a unique combination of vivid detail and grungy vocabulary. I like to think I could absolutely tell when a book is written by him. This identifying power of the words we choose and the tone we use is one of the key elements in branding. When a brand is polished, refined, and bolstered, it would be a mistake to leave out defining the word choice and tone of voice that brand speaks with. Tend your whole brand, and choose a tone of voice that will reinforce your message.

Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian communication theorist who coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” In other words: how you choose to say something changes what your audience walks away with. McLuhan’s point was that each medium doesn’t just deliver your message - it shapes it and sends unspoken signals like: The value you place on the relationship How urgent or serious something is How you want to be perceived Let’s look at an example. Sending a text message says, “I want to be quick and efficient.” A phone call says, “This is personal.” The words exchanged can be the same, but the vibe of that medium changes what message actually gets received. Effective branding is effective communication, so it’s important to understand this idea! Here are a few church-specific examples: Animated sermon graphics say, “We care about looking fresh and young.” A church-wide email newsletter says, “We expect our members to stay informed.” Hand-written note cards from a pastor or staff member say, “You are known and cared for.” You have core ideas and feelings about your church that you want your congregation and community to “get.” The medium can either supercharge or neutralize the power of those ideas. If they’re not getting it, you might want to find a different way of presenting it.

Messaging might be the trickiest part of brand-building, but it’s also the most important. While you want to stay consistent over time, there are ways to evaluate, tweak, and test your messaging so that it doesn’t become stale. Today, I want to look at the five steps that branding experts use for messaging refinement and apply it to a church context. By the end, you should have a good idea of how to make messaging adjustments (and if you need to at all). 1. Clarify the Core Ask yourself: “What exactly are our distinctives, and are they stated in a way people actually remember and repeat?” Here’s a practical test: Ask 5-10 people (leaders, members, new attendees) to describe the church’s mission/values in their own words. If responses vary widely or miss the mark, your messaging might lack clarity or memorability. 2. Dual-Audience Check I've written before about how church communication is unique because you have two audiences: a congregation and a community. Because of this, you need a way to evaluate your messaging with each. Congregation Filter: Does our messaging reflect the lived experience of our members? Do they feel seen and represented in our voice and values? Use quick polls, post-service questions, or a digital survey to find out. Community Filter: Would someone unfamiliar with church language understand and connect with this? Use the “Unchurched Neighbor Test”: Could someone not part of the church understand what you’re about from your website, signage, or social media? 3. Content Consistency Audit Review 3 to 5 pieces of existing content you’ve published in the past. These can be things like your website homepage, social media bio, flyer, sermon intro, or email footer. Are our distinctives clearly communicated here? Is the tone consistent and reflective of who we are? Is this memorable, clear, and people-centered… or is it vague and insider-focused? I recommend creating a simple scoring scale (1 - 5) so you can easily compare and evaluate each piece of content. 4. Decide on the Level of Tweak Needed Use this matrix to figure out how much you might need to adjust course with your church's brand messaging: 5. Small-Scale Testing It’s nerve-racking, but there’s no better way than real-world testing to know if you’ve made a meaningful change. Try your adjusted tagline, mission statement phrasing, or value summary in a few formats (social post, bulletin blurb, sermon series). Then, watch for engagement and organic adoption by your congregation. If people start using your new language on their own, you’re on the right track.

Got a website for your church but it’s missing that extra-clean, professional look? I’ve got four tips for you today that are guaranteed to make it better. If you do these things, your web visitors will have an easier time finding what they’re looking for and you’ll have more people walking through your church’s digital front door. 1. Be Selective with Content The more different pieces of content there are on your site, the less likely visitors are to read any of it. Reduce the amount of information you’re presenting and cut any text that isn’t absolutely necessary. Pro tip: write as if you’re explaining your church to a total stranger at a 4th grade reading level. Here are a few practical ways to slice and dice: Headings should be between 1-10 words Paragraphs should be less than 50 words Use bulleted lists instead of sentences with commas 2. Increase Font Sizes If your content has been distilled to follow the word counts above, you’ll be able to bump up the size of your headings and body copy. This makes the site easier to skim, and helps older readers who might struggle with small text. I recommend 20-25px for body text, and 48-72px for your largest heading. 3. Provide a Clear Call to Action If someone happens to land on your website, you want to give them a clear next step, just like you would for a visitor who to your church on Sunday morning. Whether that’s filling out a digital connection card or watching your service livestream, make sure that there is a stand-out action someone can take, and that each button says exactly what it does. Pro tip: Avoid links and buttons that say like “Learn More” or “Click Here.” Instead, use labels that are specific and tell the user what to expect when they click that particular button. 4. Prioritize Menu Items Just like cutting down text, you also want to reduce the number of options you’re presenting to visitors. I’m working on a website refresh right now with an organization whose old website had FIFTY FIVE different links in the main menu. The decision paralysis and brainpower it takes to find what you’re looking for can get overwhelming very fast. Try to limit your main menu to 5 options or less. You can always link to additional pages from one of those main pages, but this approach keeps everything organized and easy to navigate.

We often think of form and function as a dichotomy. Sacrificing beauty for efficiency is putting function over form. Making something sleek and attractive at the cost of performance is putting form over function. Here’s my hot take: The form-function dichotomy is wrong. Form and function are two sides of the same coin. The name of the coin is elegance, or more simply “goodness.” And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. — Genesis 1:31a We don’t assess beauty in a vacuum. If a thing doesn’t accomplish its purpose, can it be beautiful? The Roman aqueducts were built with masterful craftsmanship and still stand to this day, 2000 years later. They transported millions of gallons of water over a hundred miles, making them extremely functional. But would they be beautiful if they didn’t work? If a thing’s only purpose is to be beautiful, does it matter if it can do anything else?

A few months ago, Crossway released The Dyslexia-Friendly Bible, featuring a new font they called “Grace.” The design team took a data-driven approach, carefully studying and testing what tiny details makes a font more accessible for dyslexic readers. This Bible also featured special design touches to make the reading experience more approachable, and less fatiguing. The team working on the design used existing studies, focus groups, and user testing to optimize things like paragraph spacing and line height (and other technical specs we designers are thinking about all the time). The end result was a beautiful product that is already changing the way thousands read and access God’s Word. This brings me the same joy as when the Scriptures are translated into a new language. Praise God! It’s also a good reminder that intentional design can make your localized vision and message accessible to a previously “unreached” people group. Are you studying what prevents your congregation and community from "getting" it?

If you have a good sense of fashion or a job that requires professional attire, you may have at one point gotten a custom-fitted suit. I’ve done this myself, and it felt great to have a jacket and pants that had been tweaked to fit my measurements. But the next level up is something I’ve never done, and that’s getting a custom-tailored suit made from scratch, with full customization of every detail. Unless you’re lucky and have a very specific body-type and build, you probably won’t find an existing garment that fits you as well as a bespoke suit would. I had a friend who got this done right after college, and I remember thinking, “Boy, I buy my shirts at TJ-Maxx, but he’s a real adult.” Here’s the application: Getting a custom-tailored suit signals personal maturity. In a similar way, getting a custom-tailored visual identity signals organizational maturity. For a visual identity to be custom-tailored means each part is carefully crafted to fit your organization. The logo is designed to represent your vision. The wordmark is tweaked and hand-picked to evoke a particular feeling. The colors are harmonized to stand out in your local context. Getting a bespoke visual identity signals organizational maturity. Bonus: If you have a custom-tailored suit with a very specific look, you probably don’t have to worry about theft - It won’t fit just anyone who tries it on.

When God's people gather for corporate worship, we've always looked for ways to beautify the space in which we meet. Sometimes you don’t have a choice for what your meeting space looks like. Many churches and church plants share a building with someone else. Others might own their building but just don't have the budget to start knocking down walls. However, the design and layout of common spaces in your church building will either help or hinder people feeling welcome and at home in your church. When my wife and I bought our first house, we were excited to host people for meals and fellowship. You can imagine that I was disappointed when I realized that the layout of our walls and floor plan made fellowship difficult. A wall separated the kitchen from the living room, and the dining area tried to straddle the two rooms, which made it awkward to socialize while we cooked food for our guests. Conincidentally, we're standing where you would have to stand while talking with someone in the kitchen. When we decided to build a house, we designed the floor plan to be open and spacious. Not being interior designers or “feng shui” experts, we were expecting that this new layout would solve our problem. It did - but not perfectly! After all that, there are things I would still do differently to make our home as welcoming and supportive of fellowship as possible. Our new house, still a work in progress. If you own your church building and can afford it, seek out a professional for help creating a space that is beautiful and inspiring. Regardless of your situation, don’t take for granted opportunities to beautify the place you're gathering for corporate worship. At the end of the day, there's nothing that is more welcoming than a friendly, genunine person. Inspire your congregation to be that hospitable through their environment.

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.

I love magic. I’ve probably watched movies like the Prestige and the Illusionist more times than most people. But I recently learned the origins of a phrase that magicians love to say: “Abracadabra.” It comes from the Ancient Aramaic phrase, “Avra Kedavra,” meaning “I create as I speak.” We worship a God who is creative, the first sentence of the Bible tells us. But how does he create? We find out in the following verses that he does so with his speech. Words are how the God of the universe chose to express his creativity. We get to imitate his creativity using our own words. And it’s easier to do this now than ever. Because of AI, we live in a time where anyone can create anything - pictures, video, and interactive experiences - using just words. It feels like magic. With such a powerful tool at our disposal, should we not meditate on how this can be used to create things that will honor our Creator?

If a church is rebranding, it usually means they’re wanting to start something new. Sometimes that looks like focusing on a younger audience or rewriting the distinctives and core values. But many times, the goal is to create separation from a previous scandal, former leadership, or mission drift. If your goal in a church rebrand is to put the past behind you, you might not consider taking logo inspiration from your history… but maybe you should! In fact, it can be totally appropriate to draw on your history for branding ideas. Here are a few reasons to consider: Your past challenges were leadership-specific Your congregation and community still resonate with the legacy of your church Your church is especially old and its history is genuinely redemptive So what does taking logo inspiration from your church history actually look like? If your church has an archive of historical artifacts and documents, dig around and see if there’s anything interesting. You'd be surprised at how many times a simple artifact or document has been the inspiration for a killer logo design. Keep your eyes peeled for things like: Stamps and seals Building illustrations or paintings License plates Hand-made items Articles of formation Items that were important to the founding members/pastor I’ve personally seen all of these in a church archive at one point or another. And at the end of the day, you’ve gathered a greater appreciation for the legacy of your congregation, even if you don’t find something to integrate into your brand. P.S. If a rebrand is intended to create separation from the your past (especially a painful one) then drawing visual inspiration from that same past can send mixed signals. Even if the intentions are good (e.g., honoring long-time members or heritage), using symbols, colors, or design language tied to a difficult era can unintentionally reinforce what you’re trying to move past.

If you have a creative streak (or if you read this publication), you might occasionally notice the design choices made by your favorite brands. Think Apple, Nike, Chase Bank, etc. A majority of brand marks for the last several decades have followed a pattern when it comes to their logos: Abstract icon to the left, word mark to the right. However, nobody said you have to follow suit. In some cases, it’s perfectly appropriate to skip the abstract logo icon and go straight to a stylized word mark. This is a great approach when you have a short, unique name. That also means you’ll struggle if your church is named “First Baptist” or “Periwinkle Avenue Presbyterian Church.” Here’s a great example of a brand that leaned into their name with a strong word mark: Smirk - It’s clever, no? ;) Despite “icon-first” being the common approach to logo design in the corporate world, a well-crafted wordmark - like the one shown above - can bring a wealth of creativity and meaning to your brand, all on its own. Bonus Way: Monograms A second way to draw inspiration from your church’s name is to stylize and customize the first letter, also known as a monogram. Monograms have been around for centuries, so it makes sense that they would continue to be an effective means of identification. The monogram approach also helps with brand recognition because it stands for something very concrete: your church’s name. P.S. The tricky part about monograms is that they usually need a word mark to go with them. This puts you back at having a dualistic logo, except now the first letter of your church’s name gets repeated in the monogram and the word mark, which could be problematic.

Building, creating, and doing business is how many of us are called to glorify our Creator. By building businesses and influence in every sphere, we’re carrying out the dominion mandate and bringing more of creation under submission to Christ’s lordship and rule. This is true whether our work is in law, construction, medicine, or design. I love serving churches because it’s a chance for me to reflect God’s creativity and what he is already doing in each local church body to advance his kingdom. All this while pointing back to the timeless truth of the gospel. Sometimes that looks like symbolism in the logo itself, and other times it’s the overall feeling of reverence, optimism, or hospitality that you can bring out through other visual elements. My work has gained attention from secular designers from time to time, and I don’t think they quite understand what it is that I do. They don’t see how working with churches can be profitable. The truth is: it’s not the most lucrative market. I price projects at below what I believe the value is, but even then many churches aren’t willing to spend ministry dollars on branding. That’s okay with me because I’m able to pour myself even more into other projects that ARE a perfect fit. Because of this approach, I’ve gotten to have those conversations with my peers about why I continue to work with churches. I’m driven by more than just money. If this were all taken away tomorrow, I would still praise God for it. I feel invigorated and fulfilled by the work he has called me to in this season of life, but I know it is a gift and that the next thing he leads me into will result even more in my ultimate good and his ultimate glory.

Last year I realized something… Designing comprehensive church rebrands is one of my favorite things to do, but I’m just one guy! The most work I can ever take on is a couple of new clients per month. The only way to help more churches… is to give my process away for free. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m writing down everything I do in a typical church rebrand project, adding templates and worksheets, and breaking it into simple steps anyone can follow (even if they have no design experience)! This is the first time I’ve ever mentioned this to anyone (outside of my wife), so I can truly say “you heard it here first.” Over the next several months, I’ll share behind the scenes sneak peaks of this thing. And the best part is… you will have an opportunity to shape the final product. I’ll be dropping more details in future updates, so keep your eyes peeled for the next one. 👀

Get ready for a more streamlined experience! Starting today, Tend Your Brand is becoming a concise weekly digest of 6 valuable branding insights. That means no more daily emails. 😅 Each Monday morning, you’ll get a list of that week’s posts from TendYourBrand.com (still published daily, but only sent out once per week). We all have busy schedules and one inbox item is easier to manage than six. Plus, a weekly digest format allows you to quickly pick topics from the week that are actually relevant to you. Things that haven’t changed: Posts will still be very short and focused (<1 minute read) Content is still packed full of useful branding tools and strategies Intermittent GIFs and Office references I hope you enjoy the new format, and don’t forget to tend your brand!

Hi, my name is Braden East. I've worked on creative teams doing brand and web design at both local and international ministries for nearly a decade. For a long time, I've wanted to start an email list for pastors and ministry leaders: the type of people I help in my work every day. In 2025, I'm finally doing it. I'm calling this email Tend Your Brand. The meaning behind it is simple: Your brand is like a vine (any biblical analogy enjoyers?). Without attention and care, it can grow out of control, interfere with other goals, or just die out completely. Too often, ministry leaders get one of those outcomes and give up. "It's just gimmicky marketing." "It's too much work." "It's not helping us." But your brand is not an invasive species. It’s also not a burden - at least it shouldn’t be. When you start seeing your brand as something to tend and cultivate, it starts bearing fruit. If something (your brand) could multiply your outreach efforts and give people a sense of belonging, why wouldn’t you focus on it? I believe the answer is that most ministry leaders just don’t have the right tools and strategy. This email is where I'll share those tools and strategies that can help you get your brand under control and turn it into something that bears much fruit. If that sounds interesting to you, click the subscribe button and I'll see you there! P.S. Because we’re all busy and have short attention spans, I’ll keep them under 1 minute read.