Sacred Design: Taking a worshipful approach when it comes to design and branding
By Aynsley Vermilya
When considering trying out a new church, most people will peruse the organization’s website, browse their social media, notice the promotion materials around the building, and ultimately start forming opinions about the church before they’ve even walked into the sanctuary.
Today’s economy is (for better and for worse) an economy of attention. Every tech company – and every cause, nonprofit, or congregation involved on it – is chasing after people’s attention, which has become incredibly valuable and highly sought after. This has made it impossible for any organization to ignore its marketing when hoping to gain the attention of possible “consumers.”
This language can be striking when used in a church context. It should be; churches aren’t trying to produce consumers, but disciples. The goal is not to make a profit or gain influence like a business, but just as churches “share space” in their neighborhoods with other enterprises and organizations, churches also “share space” in their digital neighborhoods with other organizations. Part of being intentional in that space-sharing requires churches to be purposeful in their branding and design.
When Allie Farrell began studying graphic design in college, she didn’t imagine herself being in a position where her job was to “sell” a church. She enjoyed being able to create, working on a team, and bringing to life the conceptual ideas of others. Finding herself at a church where graphic design was a high priority, Allie ultimately fell in love with what she imagined that job would be. Having served there for four years and now serving as the graphic designer at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, IN, Allie has learned a lot about what it looks like to intentionally and worshipfully capture the message of a church with a compelling brand. Her experiences offer practical guidance for churches, whether they have a designer on staff or not.
Allie understands how valuable attention is. A primary motivator for her has been remembering what she’s communicating. Rather than a product people pay for, Allie’s job is centered around the idea that she’s ultimately hoping to help people pay attention to the life of Jesus. This merges two things that she loves and is passionate about: design and her faith.
Not every sign or graphic is going to be incredibly meaningful. A hallway sign that states where the bathroom is located isn’t the most exciting thing to create. Yet, towards the beginning of her career, Allie learned how important even the simplest design can be. She had been tasked with creating a sign to direct people to where a temporary gathering space had been set up in the community. The sign merely read “This way.” It wasn’t the most interesting project she’d ever worked on, but later Allie found out that someone who had not been in church before had seen that sign, walked into the service, and found their church home. That sign – simple as it was – led to curiosity, which led to faith.
This encouragement has shaped how Allie views her work. She recognizes how important it is to create quality designs, yet she also knows that her designs are not the thing that is going to save people. This balance has given Allie a good perspective of how the church can work together to do their assigned tasks while trusting the Lord to work through them. Whether it’s making a sign, organizing a youth event, or playing a song on Sunday morning, church leaders who recognize that they are called to work hard and do well but who trust that it is the Lord who works through their efforts will find that there’s no pressure to be perfect; rather a call to serve God and the Church wholeheartedly.
Allie has learned a lot about what it means to be a good steward as she has spent time designing for churches. She’s aware of how people give their money to the church in faith that they will use it well, and this has taught Allie to work hard to minimize mistakes. Not because something can’t be reprinted, but because it costs money to produce paper materials, and she hopes to be conscious of how much money is being used on branding. In this, a lesson of stewardship is evident – honoring what others have given so people can find faith.
Not every church has a graphic designer on staff. Yet every church does seek to bring new people through their doors, and the first step to getting there is to get (and hold) people’s attention. Allie pairs her standard graphic design skills with her area of ministry to create excellent artwork that draws people in. Whether a church has someone like this who desires to use their passion for design within a ministry context, or they are simply using a free online graphic creator, churches can learn a lot from Allie’s perspective on marketing as a ministry. Worshiping God and inviting others to do the same through the art of design.
