What does logo and brand design for churches in 2020 look like? This article is going to explore the most recent trends for logo and brand design as well as the relationship between these two distinct parts of your church’s marketing strategy. I also want to explore important factors that you need to take into consideration with your logo’s design specifications.
2020 is here and I think by now most churches understand that they need a good quality design to reach people. Our culture thanks to companies like Apple and others has become more brand and design aware, and therefore more design-centric in our decision making.
The art of design has been around us for centuries, but only in the last 40 years has it become so ingrained in us to make a purchasing decision based entirely on how a product is presented. Some studies claim that 70% of purchasing decisions are based entirely on how a product or service looks in its presentation.
Loyalty to brands is based more on experiences that are guided by good design. For the believer, this may seem a very surface reason to want to go to or be a part of a church, but these decisions that we make on design and quality affect people in a very deep and emotional way. We simply can’t ignore it. Instead, we need to use these tools to guide people to Jesus.
What is trending in Logo and Brand Design for 2020?
Gradients are back. However with caution. These are not the cheesy gradients from Web 2.0. These are clean easy on the eyes styles of gradients. The color combinations must be carefully and thoughtfully chosen.
80’s styles and Retro 8-bit styles are in, but again in a cleaner more modern way.
Multi-Layered and Overlapping of Design Elements in a Logo are in as well for 2020.
Animated Logos are an important element in 2020.
Unusual and Daring Typography is in for 2020.
A word of caution with trends. Trends can be fun and can give you an edge. But trends come and go.
When looking at trends you should always look at what elements of that trend follow the longlasting rules of what makes good design.
Those are the trend elements that will remain and get remixed into the next big trend.
The Relationship Between Logo and Brand Design
It is important to understand what these two things are and how they relate to each other. Some of you might still be looking at a logo and brand as one and the same. But they are not.
Your brand is your reputation. It is what people say about you when you are not there. Your reputation is based on past experiences that people have with your brand. It is the trust they have knowing that when your brand speaks it always speaks the same way, and will always be consistent in what your brand says it will do, and consistent in following through on its promises.
Your brand can almost seem like a living being. And that is because a brand is made up of the sum of the people who work for your brand. Your staff and volunteers represent your brand and give it life.
Your logo is a visual summary of that brand in its simplest terms. The logo represents your brand in a single visual cue.
What you should expect in a logo design for 2020
Your community experiences your brand and your logo in many different formats. Whether that is on a brochure, a door hanger, or a sign. Or a billboard, or embroidered on a hat, or polo. Your logo and brand are experienced on a website, on social media, on a mobile phone or a slide from a projector. One of the biggest mistakes made today is logo design is not planning ahead for more than 2 or 3 of these possibilities.
Logo Design in 2020 must be versatile. You must plan for printing in both small and large formats. You must plan for digital with a mobile-friendly logo. You must plan for embroidery were small lines will get discarded.
Simple is best. Simple is Iconic.
Conclusion
The right brand and the right logo can make all the difference in reaching your local community. Every church has a story to tell. Every church has a reputation to keep, build, or even rebuild. Every church is different from a different culture, and a different diversity of people.
That being said I think every church has a different audience they are specifically geared to reach. It isn’t a competition, but let us all as churches put our best out there in our communities when it comes to the visual cues we use to reach people. Because it all boils down to reaching people for Christ.
Additional Reading
- People Want Your Brand to Participate in Their Transformation [Building A Storybrand Book Club: Chapter 11]
- Your Church Needs a Brand Strategy
- Considerations For A Rebrand
- Branding Guides: Take the Guessing Out of Design
- Adding Humor to Your Church Brand
- The Challenge of a Memorable Logo
- Responsive Logos
- Do You Need a New Logo? [Flowchart]
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