Top 33 Church Logos
Last summer, I created a list of my top 20 favorite church logos. Now I have added thirteen more church logos to the list, which makes it the Top 33 Church Logos. They are the best church logos I have found that are:
- aesthetically pleasing
- distinctive
- memorable
- timeless
- scalable
- and easy to work with
Here’s a sneak peek at the new additions:
To see the rest of the logos, check out the full list of the Top 33 Church Logos.
For Discussion:
- What are your favorite church logos and why?
Lacy Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 8:24 am
I agree with some of your criteria — but not distinctive or memorable. They are all EXTREMELY similar. If you scroll down the list … with few exceptions they are all horizontal designs - similar color schemes. It’s like … we need a church logo. Web 2.0 + grey / light brown color + complementary color = church logo! I scrolled down - and none of them jumped out at me as “oh wow - they really made an effort! it’s not just their church name and some generic shape!”
I do agree that horizontally based logos are easier to use though!! And scalability is KEY these days when a logo is used in multiple media forms.
Love your lists — its a great way to find inspiration
Kent Shaffer Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 8:30 am
Thanks for the feedback, Lacy!
I too agree that when all of the “top” logos are grouped together it dilutes their individual ability to stand out and be memorable. However, within the context of reaching their congregation and community, I think the logos, particularly the logomarks, are very distinctive and memorable.
The human brain recognizes and remembers shapes first then color and then content, which is why the logomark is so important.
Dave V Said,
June 23, 2008 @ 10:21 am
Funny how I saw the list almost the opposite way that commenter Lacy saw it: I didn’t totally see a common thread, and some looked Web 2.0 and others looked traditional, or playful…
I really dig the fact that there are two from Australasia. Both had very refreshing looks in my opinion.
We’re beginning the process of hopefully creating Top Church Logo #34…thanks for this list…it’s been a great help so far!
Joshua Blankenship Said,
June 25, 2008 @ 8:58 am
Full disclosure: I work for NewSpring Church and we’re about to rollout a fairly extensive rebranding effort this summer. I’m trying my best to practice what I preach (so to speak.)
The problem with lists like this is that logos don’t do anything outside the context where they exist. A logo in a big list of logos, with no context of what the church is like or how that logo is supported by typography, colors, standards, etc. doesn’t equal a consistent brand identity, it’s just a logo — a visual cue to identify you.
I’m much more interested in seeing churches embrace brand strategies that create a consistent visual environment and overall impression for guests. The logo is only a small part of that, and I wonder if lists like this do more harm than good (e.g. communicating to church leaders an arbitrarily-chosen “gold standard” that makes them think “Oh, crap, our logo isn’t aesthetically pleasing, let’s ‘rebrand’ so we’ll be perceived as relevant.” Then a process occurs where they swap out the old logo for a new logo pretty much anywhere it exists. That’s not a strategy to create an environment or an impression, that’s just a lot of logo.
Branding is much harder than logo creating. And brand always trumps logo. It’s what everyone says when you’re not in the room. Your logo may communicate “modern, hip, professional” but your guests may see unclear signage, a poorly-navigable website* and dungeon-like children’s facilities. All the logo in the world can’t their impression of your church because your brand sucks.
I want to see churches understand and implement strategies that acknowledge the relative smallness of their logo in the overall take-away impressions of what they do. By all means, have a great logo. But more importantly, make sure you’re actually living up to what the logo conveys. And without context for the churches on your list, I have no idea if these are actually effective logos — they’re just graphics and type.
*We’re guilty of this sin, and furiously working to amend it.
Kent Shaffer Said,
June 25, 2008 @ 9:11 am
@Joshua
Well put.
I agree church branding is a far more important thing to have than a great logo. If the list were about branding, it would be a significantly different lineup of churches.
Some of these churches have great logos but poorly use them. The difficultly with creating a list of the top church brands is:
(1) the ability to have access to different churches’ marketing materials,
(2) the time it takes to accumulate all of those marketing materials,
(3) taking into account not just the graphic design aspect of a brand but the marketing and psychological values as well
That’s a tough thing to do. I’ve spoke with some other church communications professionals about trying to tackle such a list, but so far it’s just talk.
For now, perhaps the easiest solution is to add a disclosure that just because someone has a great logo does not mean that they have a great overall brand.