Steve Fogg > One Critical Mistake Churches Make With Their Logo

Church leaders should invest time into creating a great logo for their church.

You hear any arguments from me about that. Design is the international language we all understand. Good or bad it says something about who or what our churches are.

But if there was one mistake I know happens it is this. Focus. Many, many hours are focused on developing the logo, without any thought or consideration to the brand.

The visual brand identity of your church is so much more than your just logo. As Seth Godin says ‘your brand is a story, a set of emotions and expectations and a stand-in for how we think and feel about what you do.’

Peter McGowan from Plain Joe Studios speaking at #SimplyCommunicate says that “Design is intentionally and strategically thinking through your story, and how it impacts your brand and culture… branding is not just about logos, fonts and colours, those are key elements of a brand, but ultimately the brand is about an emotional response.”

No church logo just by itself can come close to evoking the same response. It’s all about that focus issue. Don’t be too narrow. Seth goes on and says that brands should spend much more money on their branding and brand than their logo.

I agree. Don’t let your logo become the sum of all parts, rather than just a part of the whole sum. To put it another way, your logo is like the full stop at the end of your sentence. (Check out 10 Common Branding Mistakes That Churches Make)

Your turn

Agree Disagree? What would you add? Comment below.

Steve Fogg has over 20 years of hard earned experience in the creative industry as a designer, creative director and design business owner and currently leads the church online & communications team at Crossway Church in Melbourne Australia. Steve has a Bachelor of Theology and he lives at the intersection of faith, culture, marketing and all things digital on his blog stevefogg.com.