Creating a style guide for your church

16/08/2019

A style guide is a set of standards you uphold with any digital or printed resources for your church. It helps people to identify your church’s resources before they read the details of it. Think of it as the liturgy of your logo.
Creating a style guide for your church

The Holy Trinity of Style: Logos, Colours & Fonts

At a minimum, you should try to answer these three questions in your guide:

  • What is a correct/incorrect use of the church’s logo?

  • What is the correct/incorrect use of colour on resources?

  • What is the correct/incorrect use of fonts on resources?

 

An example of St John’s Church main logos, colours and fonts

These three elements are the core of your identity in printed and digital materials. Even if you’re making posters in Word or PowerPoint, consistency with these three elements can start to make them look more consistent and professional. 

 

 

The above show how the logo can be misused. 

Consider: 

  • What are the common misuses of your logo? 

  • Do those who misuse the logo know they’re misusing it?

  • Who is most often designing things for your church?

  • What are the HEX or RGB values of your church colours?

  • Do your church fonts have enough range to work in several circumstances?

  • How does your logo change for black and white?

 

Other Areas to Consider

Although logo, colours, and fonts are the core of any design style guide, you can in fact put whatever you want in your style guide. Each church will have different elements they want to preserve. Below are some questions to consider for other commons sections:

 

Website

  • Do you have common layouts you want to use?

  • Are there websafe colours/ fonts you need to consider?

  • Are there common elements (buttons, sliders, etc) you need consistency with?

  • Does each page have a common header or footer?

  • Do you have standards for accessibility?

 

Photography/ videography

  • What style photo are you going for?

  • Do you have any editing presents?

  • Do you have any examples of good/ bad practice?

  • Are there any areas of the church/ services that are forbidden from photography?

  • How do you edit photos/ videos?

 

Social Media 

  • What tone of voice is appropriate?

  • How do you respond to DMs?

  • Should all your accounts use the same logo?

  • Does your youth social media accounts have different rules?

 

Branded House not House of Brands

A common problem some small and medium-size churches can have is an established logo for their church overall but a mismatch of logos for their different ministries. When you create your own style guide you could consider how your ministry logos tie into your church branding overall. Again it’s important to be clear on the correct and incorrect use of these logos.

For example, below are my church’s overall, youth and kids ministry logos. In all of our ministry logos, although the font is unique to the ministry, the brand colours are present and they all conform to overlapping typography or translucent opacity. 

 

 

Consider: 

  • How do your ministry logos tie into your overall brand?

  • Do your church team know you have ministry logos?

  • Do all your ministry require their own logos?

  • How many are external facing?

  • Do you have primary and secondary ministries? Do the logos reflect that?

 

Update Regularly 

As your congregation and church change, so do the requirements for your style guide. Below is St John’s first style guide:

 

 

St John’s first (very simple) style guide. This worked well for a time, but as our graphic output grew we outgrew the style guide

It’s important as you develop your style guide to be specific as issues arise. For example, if the font size needs to be at least font size 16 for accessible documents make sure you state that in the style guide. 

 

Resources & Exercises

Church Style Guide Examples


 

Commercial Style Guide Examples

 

Style Guide Template

 

Questions to Consider 

 

Geraint Harries
Digital Lead

 

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