Church logo

[fiasco!]

My church just bought a decent plot of land on a lake and will be building a new building. I decided to present a few logo ideas to the board, since we currently don't have much of an identity (fairly new church, growing congregation).

This is the first set I presented to the board:

The response was pretty good, but they wanted another look, as shown in this message:

Hey Joel the logo looks good!

I was imagining a logo that would have

a bird in flight over the lake with the name

Unity incorporated into it somehow.

Any thoughts on that?

Thanks for your creativity,

James

So, I sketched up a couple ideas:

Then turned them into these:

Which eventually turned into this, hopefully the final version:

Just wanted to give the budding designers here some insight on the process, hopefully it helps a bit.

Comments on the design, as always, are welcome.

Yes, I know I misspelled "without" on the proof sheet. Sorry.

[paynomind]

You, sir... are a professional designer. As that the esign has been accepted, I will reserve my small preference-based comments and simply say,

Bravo.

[tajmccall]

Very cool Joel. Nice to see the progression.

[andrewharrington]

I find it to be really busy, which is not entirely your fault. That's more on the project brief's shoulders than yours. The other main problem I have with it is the color choice; the blue and green look very 'stock' to me and are much too close in value, thus not effectively contrasting with each other. This probably is just me, but in my opinion it would make more apparent sense (take this with a grain of salt since I have no backgound knowledge of the organization) to emphasize UNITY CHURCH, with 'of greenville' as the sub info instead of only emphasizing UNITY.

[quantum]

From the perspective you use, shouldn't the lake have a flat surface?

My second thought on this is about color use. I think the colors should be brighter, or should I say uplifting. A carolina blue and a more brilliant green would do the trick.

Thanks for sharing.

[Joshawaggie]

I like it when you can see a process like this, thanks for sharing, Joel.

I think I agree a bit with quantum on the colors, actually just the green, I really like the blue, but I think you could get away with having a more green, uh green. On your last sheet of logos, I like the bottom left one, having the 2 different font colors, one for the church name, one for the location.

[fiasco!]

The church just asked me yesterday for some new colors, specifying a burgundy and a light purple. I changed the lake color from the blue to more of a seafoam green. I'm not too sold on the colors, but it's not really my call. I still think it looks pretty good, though.

[fiasco!]

I find it to be really busy, which is not entirely your fault. That's more on the project brief's shoulders than yours. The other main problem I have with it is the color choice; the blue and green look very 'stock' to me and are much too close in value, thus not effectively contrasting with each other. This probably is just me, but in my opinion it would make more apparent sense (take this with a grain of salt since I have no backgound knowledge of the organization) to emphasize UNITY CHURCH, with 'of greenville' as the sub info instead of only emphasizing UNITY.

Good comments, as always, tempest. The reason for the emphasis on Unity over Unity Church is that the national organization is merely called "Unity"

From the website:

Unity is a not-for-profit organization based on the teachings of Jesus and the healing power of prayer. Our world headquarters in Unity Village, Missouri, provides a tranquil atmosphere for quiet meditation and a place for all people, regardless of faith or nationality, to worship.

Our prayer, publishing, education, and retreat ministries allow us to provide people around the world with positive, spiritual messages of hope, healing, prosperity, and peace.

My feeling is that they like to emphasize the fact that people are "united" in prayer, meditation, what have you... as opposed to merely going to a church and listening to the preacher tell you what you are supposed to be doing and how to live. I've never really been a big churchgoer, so I like to downplay that aspect.

[Korkie]

Joel, nice job. The blue and green say Greenville to me, but the new colors work. They feel warm and cozy. My only point is that the I looks like a 1. I know that it is the font's fault, but it is kind of distracting. As you might have remembered from the Greenville Naturals thread I lived in Greenville for a little bit, so I understand how important church life is in that area and being the nephew of a pastor who plants churchs I know how hard it is to build a strong foundation. A strong graphic identity does wonders to allow a congregation to stand out from another. Best of luck with it.

[fiasco!]

Joel, nice job. The blue and green say Greenville to me, but the new colors work. They feel warm and cozy. My only point is that the I looks like a 1. I know that it is the font's fault, but it is kind of distracting. As you might have remembered from the Greenville Naturals thread I lived in Greenville for a little bit, so I understand how important church life is in that area and being the nephew of a pastor who plants churchs I know how hard it is to build a strong foundation. A strong graphic identity does wonders to allow a congregation to stand out from another. Best of luck with it.

Removing the dot on the "i" to make a "1" is on purpose. Unity - the state of being one…a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one… a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one…oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.

Thanks for the comments.

[Korkie]

OK, job well done then!

[EJ_Barlik]

I'm not going to harp on the logo as it was requested by the organization.

However, as a churchgoer, and as one who is involved on a semi-weekly basis with different ministries, I'm missing something. To me, nothing in that logo makes me want to go to church. Nothing says "exciting" or "vibrant" in that logo. If I'm driving by it on a billboard, I don't know what that "y" thing is. And my eye definiately is not drawn to the fact that it's a church in the first place. But, that is not your fault. You did a good job based on the request as it was specified it to you.

By way of comparison, I will refer to my own church logo. It's for "Sandhills Community Church" in Columbia, SC. In the logo, you see what appears to be a hill with the sun rising over it. But, looking closer, the elements which make up the hill's outline show a cross, which is the harbinger of a church logo for many churches. It's not in-your-face, but it is effective. Enough so that I want to own a shirt with the logo (we are apparently out of my size and color preference, but that's another story). Just food for thought.

www.sandhillschurch.org

[Davidson]

To me, nothing in that logo makes me want to go to church.

best thing ive ever read on the internet... EVER. shot coffee out my nose reading that. thankyou sir.

there is not a logo that has been or ever will be that could possibly make me want to go to church!

awesome.

[Keebe]

There is a lot that "budding designers" can learn from this. In particular that churches seem to tolerate poorly designed concepts.

[Joshawaggie]

There is a lot that "budding designers" can learn from this. In particular that churches seem to tolerate poorly designed concepts.

that's real nice of you....

[Joshawaggie]

The obvious choice for logo comes to you from Rick James....

[Jimmy!]

I'm not going to harp on the logo as it was requested by the organization.

However, as a churchgoer, and as one who is involved on a semi-weekly basis with different ministries, I'm missing something. To me, nothing in that logo makes me want to go to church. Nothing says "exciting" or "vibrant" in that logo. If I'm driving by it on a billboard, I don't know what that "y" thing is. And my eye definiately is not drawn to the fat that it's a church in the first place. But, that is not your fault. You did a good job based on the request as it was specified it to you.

By way of comparison, I will refer to my own church logo. It's for "Sandhills Community Church" in Columbia, SC. In the logo, you see what appears to be a hill with a dot over it (representing the sun). But, looking closer, the elements which make up the hill's outline show a cross, which is the harbinger of a church logo for many churches. It's not in-your-face, but it us effective. Enough so that I want to own a shirt with the logo (we are apparently out of my size and color preference, but that's another story). Just food for thought.

www.sandhillschurch.org

You need a logo to make you want to go to church? Really? A logo?

Thanks for pointing out the dot being the sun. The yellow beams of light coming off the circle, I never would have guessed that.

I'm actually digging the new color scheme, Joel. I don't often see those colors used together. While I like seeing the process, I'd be just as interested to know what kind of contract you worked up with the church (if any). To me, that's a hefty part of the design process.

[Davidson]

honestly speaking, is kind of mutated into something with about 5/6 different elements from what youve been saying. from the 1 for the i, the purple lake, the rushes, teh bird.... all of which now dont look particularly 'unified' under that colourscheme, which clashes horribly. you were closer at the beginning i reckon. this is as much an example of why design by commitee/ client turn a concept around in a couple of itterations.

[fiasco!]

There is a lot that "budding designers" can learn from this. In particular that churches seem to tolerate poorly designed concepts.

So, what would you suggest?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I like the rocket ship logo best of all. I think I would attend any church using a rocket ship as its logo at least once. Can you just put a cross on that and call it a day? It'd be fun.