04.20.2009
I have been working with the awesome guys at New Denver Church to come up with a logo for their church plant. These guys rock…and couldn’t be more different from each other if they tried :) The common thread in their questionnaires were Clean, Simple, Organic, Relational…well ok. So we embarked on a logo journey that I think they are glad is finally at the end. Design by committee is never optimal, but these guys are setting an amazing example of how to harness each person’s giftedness to create a new model of leadership that I respect and admire.
We all agreed we had the font treatment nailed down pretty early on. I loved the way this logo brought in their concepts of self, other and the world.
After several iterations on this concept, leaf style, etc., Jason sent me a aspen leaf that they were interested in me trying out…they are in Colorado after all…they loved the two logos I presented …except that 2 guys liked one logo and the third liked the other one…
What to do…what to do. The obvious answer was to create the stacked logo integrating the circle, an option I had already tried and hated. I only send clients what I deem the best of the best…which might limit their options but ensures that they are getting my best work. I had another idea. I am firm believer that the old rules of design and branding are just that O.L.D. old. Just like interior designers no longer are tied to the rule that the cabinets in a house all have to be the same the way it was 20 years ago, brand designers are not tied to any hard fast rules anymore either. Since the foundation of each logo was the same, typeface and use, colors, even the leaf was actually the same just arranged differently, why not use both. And folks we have a winner! Now they have 3 happy campers, with a logo that they can adapt to their needs, styles, etc. while developing a brand that is still consistent. Some items will integrate both like the business cards below to develop the visual identity of the both/and inclusive brand.
front of card
back of card
Maybe I’ll get flack for breaking the rules, maybe I won’t. Honestly I don’t care…at the end of the day I have happy clients, who ALL feel good about the direction their brand has taken, and who are excited to implement my work in launching their church.
