My Top Church Logo Designs

Top_church_logo_designs

I think I’ve seen just about every church logo there is. Good or bad design, inspirational and creative. You name it. I’ve seen it. I think the best logos are distinctive, memorable, scalable and simple enough to use in different environments.

A logo or brand-mark though is only the tip of the branding iceberg. What wraps around the logo is just as important. 

Here are my top church logos so far from 2016. I’d love to know yours. Drop a comment below. I’ve also my favourites from 2014 below too. You can also see how the logo is portrayed on the church website if you click on the logo.

Cross & Anchor Church

Cross_Anchor_church

This is a recent church plant that has created a beautiful website and I love how this logo looks and fits into the wider church branding. The name reminds me of a traditional London pub which is fun too!

Menai Anglican Church

 menaianglican church logo

This copy of the Menai Anglican Church logo isn’t great, but I love the simplicity of it. It feels very organic.

Watermark Church

watermark_church

While the Watermark Church logo isn’t new it has clearly been refreshed. The typography is new and the website has definately been refreshed to create a new brand positioning.

Newspring Church

newspring church logo

Northstar Church

Northstar_church

Mosaic Church

Mosaic_church_logo

Heart Church

heart_church 

Eagle Brook Church

eagle-brook-church

2014

Here are my top ten church logos from 2014. I’d love to know yours. Drop a comment below.

1. Hillsong Church

hillsong_logo

 

The subtle way this logo has evolved over the years, yet maintained it’s original integrity has been fun to see. The team at Hillsong do a fantastic job of keeping the brand fresh through the years.

2. Watermark Church

imgres

 

I just fell in love with this logo. The way the brand is extended on the website for me takes it up a notch again.

 

3. Bethlehem Church

church_logos_bethlehem

 

So simple, yet so powerful. An original use of white space to create the cross. I also love the green which is fresh and young.

4. MarsHill Church

Mars Hill Church Logo

 

If you ever wanted a church logo for blokes the Mars Hill logo is it. Love how they express it. I hasn’t really changed that much over the years.

5. Christchurch Church

christ-church-logo

This logo has a simplicity and childlikeness to it without feeling like a children’s focused ministry.

6. Jubilee Church

church-logo-jubilee-church-derby

 

I’m a bit biased here as I’m originally from Derby and recently visited this church. But this is a good example that not every church has to have a brandmark. Words work too.

7. The Foundry

church-logo-the-foundry

 

Understated. Classic, yet modern. Brilliant use of negative space. Top marks.

8. Lifechurch.tv

imgres-1

This logo has been copied many times. At first I thought it was a surf brand, but the team at Lifechurch.tv have captured the young essence of who they are so well. I chose to show it on black as I especially like it reversed out.

9. The Church Of England

The Church of England Logo

 

The Church of England is actually a denomination, but I do like the sense of history and timelessness of the logo, which a hint of celtic influence.

10. Lake Hills Church

Lake Hills Church logo

The sense space and typographic excellence in the Lake Hills Church logo is what drew me to this logo. Simple yet the brandmark expresses the outdoor feeling in the name so well.

Your turn

What do you think makes a good church logo? What church logo is your favourite and why? Drop a link so we can all see it.

Church_branding_mistakes

34 comments

  1. Great list! We may be shopping for a new logo soon and it’s always nice to have good examples to follow.

    Could you possibly add links to the church websites? I would like to know more about #5 Christ Church, but that is a common church name and difficult to find via google.

    Thanks!

  2. https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/222695_203099249727812_1550525_n.jpg

    The Well at Hancock Church, Lexington MA. This is the evening service at Hancock Church (UCC). It doesn’t have its own site, just a page on the church’s wider site (http://www.hancockchurch.org/worship-schedule/the-well/),, but the logo isn’t there yet.

    The top link is to the graphic itself, found on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thewellhancock

    1. Hi Eifer, thanks so much for dropping a link to your folio sample. I’ve updated the bit.ly link so people can see what they are clicking so they don’t think it’s a spam link.

      Merry Christmas!

      Steve

  3. Steve, I’ve seen your likes & read your critiques about church brands & logos. Do you have a primer on how a church can locate talented person to create a simple but accurate logo that portends the character of the church it represents? Thanks.

    1. There are plenty of great designers out there FranP. You can look inward in your community, or appoint a design firm. I would recommend having a clear creative brief and budget that you both agree on before you start any work.

  4. I am in the process of creating a logo for my evangelism ministry. I am still getting the 501c3 status up and going, and am building the website. Anyway I can send my logo to you to get your thoughts?

  5. In the process of rebranding with a fresh design. We work closely with the martial arts community but feel this can work even outside the confines of that particular demographic due to the base meaning of the word “dojo”.

    We feel it is simple, subtle, and intriguing enough to draw people in for a closer look. What are your thoughts?

  6. You seemed to have looked at these logos as any other design, but I think if you describe a few of these through the lens of Christianity you may see that there is more depth in these logos aside from just visual appeal. For instance, the ChristChurch logo resembles the mark of the Ashes used on Ash Wednesday (the beginnings of the season of Lent). Just a thought!

  7. Nice updated list Steve. Although I’m more developer than designer (creativity still plays a huge part in my daily life) I tend to migrate more to the simple logos in life. Life.Church is a great example of logo that has remained branded but undergone the simple changes that allow it to stand the test of time. They use SVG for logos and call them using CSS data URIs. I personally love using SVG for logos as it creates a highly flexible, efficient file that can be served in many ways using a single source.

    At Free Chapel we concentrate on branding while maintaining a print and Online graphics department. Using SVG graphics means it is that much easier to be consistent with logos across both disciplines and the vector nature of SVGs means enlarging the logo for print purposes is not a concern.

    Out of all of these listed my top one is Life.Church’s logo. Contingent that is on the basis I cannot select Free Chapel’s logo. 🙂

  8. As the person who oversees communication at our church one of the things I struggle with are all the ministries and special groups, courses that have a basic logo designed for them. When you place them all together sometimes hard to identify they are all a part of our church. Suggestions on addressing this? Large companies will have a logo and multiple different logos for different brands they carry. Does this concept apply to the church as well? Thanks for input and links to any sites that show good examples.

  9. As a person in the church website industry, I am amazed how the importance of a good logo is minimized by so many churches. IMO, it is the starting point in effective church communications and something that shouldn’t be overlooked.

  10. I love seeing all of these logos, thanks for putting it together. It’s pretty inspirational. Also, Life.Church did a rebrand and updated all of their logos.

    1. Hey Beau, I did think about updating the Life.Church logo but forgot! It’s a great example of how to seamlessly update quickly. It was really well done. Appreciate you all so much!

  11. Have a look at the new logo introduced last year for Above Bar Church, Southampton, UK: http://abovebarchurch.org.uk. The website header has a monochrome version, but the colour version is in the page footer. It expresses a key aspect of the church’s ethos which is ‘blessed to be a blessing’ (Genesis 12:1–3) and reflects the fact that the church is in a significant port city.

    The style, and/or colours are carried over into various ministries in the church which have something of a distinct identity. For example, the discipleship/leadership training school, called Formation School: http://formationschool.org. Here, the idea of rock layers is very simply expressed, though the wave shape also connects with the ripples of the primary logo.

  12. Hi

    I would appreciate your view/s on the logo we created for St Mary Magdalene Parish Church, Newark On Trent, England.
    The Church is near to 1000yrs old and the spire is visible up to 15 miles around.
    So, when asked to design logo that would project a fresh / inclusive look – I used the spire and a whole spectrum of colours. Criticism is fierce!
    Would appreciate your (professional view). Logo on HOME page. Many thanks.

    John Taylor

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *