City on a Hill’s New Logo

Please take a moment (and exercise some self control!) to read through the process and rationale rather than just jumping to the logo!

Why Churches have logos

One of the realities of life is that we are always communicating something. This is true even if we chose to do nothing, even that is a form of communication! As followers of Jesus we have the most important and greatest news to share with the world. How we express ourselves to those we are hoping the reach and our visual identity (or logo) can play a part in helping or hindering the effectiveness of that communication.

Just like putting a nice coffee in someone’s hand, making sure the microphones are working, that the room is not too cold or too hot, how we choose to present visually as a church will communicate something about who we are as a community. Given a logo is something we do have some control over, it is wise to make clear and deliberate decisions so that what is being shared aligns with who we are and connects with those we are trying to reach.

We ought to look at a logo and feel like it says something about our church that is true and authentic to who we are as a community. We also want those who don't belong to our church to look at a logo and for them to understand a little bit about us as well. Now that can seem like a lot to be asking of a few small pixels and letters!

The Process

For the past little while we've been getting some feedback that our current logo might be due for an update/redesign. Many people have expressed confusion about what it is and what it is trying to communicate. 'What's with the hexagons? What do they mean? Why does it look so corporate?' are some of the questions people have been asking.

With a new congregation plant just around the corner, the timing seemed right to consider making this change. We're about to make some investments in signage and promo material and ideally it would be great to do that knowing our logo is settled and not about to change. The Hutt Plant doesn't mean we need to change things but it does mean that if we do, now is the time to do it.

We engaged Gray Buchanan (a former member of COAH who knows our church very well) to help us come up with a logo that is a clearer, a better representation of who we are and also connects with those we are trying to reach.

We formed a small committee of people who were interested or had relevant experience to help navigate this process. The aim was that what we end up with a logo that will serve our church community well going into the future. The first stage of that work was to think hard about what makes us who we are as a church. The conclusion was ‘We are a warm and welcoming church that has a solid grounding in the Bible.’ This was distilled into these three words:

Warm - Welcoming - Grounded

The second ingredient in the process is our name - City on a Hill Evangelical Church. Very early on, when our launch team was only about a dozen people, we thought and prayed hard about what sort of church we wanted to be so we might reach the people of Wellington with the good news of Jesus. We settled on the name 'City on a Hill'.

It comes from the lips of Jesus in Matthew 5 as he speaks the role he expects his followers to take - 'You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden'. It's also a picture of what we are to be - 'let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.' It is this reality, that the followers of Jesus are to be light in the darkness, that has shaped much of who we are and what we do as a church. We'd love for this to be conveyed in our logo to those who come across our path.

Gray’s job was then to take these ingredients and start to conceptualise what they might look like in a new logo. He came back with three good options that were reduced down to two which underwent further refinement. Of the last two, many of the members of the committee concluded that both captured who we are as a church and would serve us well into the future.

Added to this conversation was the use of colour. It became increasingly clear that a feature of our current logo that people connected with most was the colour.

The logo that was finally chosen, although quite different to our current one, has been paired with a familiar colour which provides continuity between old and new.

The Rationale

Here is Gray explaining the rationale behind the final design:

‘This design direction was created to show both the serious Biblical underpinning of City on a Hill, but also the youthful and expressive nature of the community and location in Wellington.

‘The logo itself is primarily typographic. Inspired by the ancient illuminated manuscripts where elegant and expressive typography was embellished to add visual interest to drop caps in Biblical texts.’

‘Further to the styling, there are visual ideas to discover within the logo arrangement. The most subtle is the way the descender of the Y makes the dot of the I in Hill. The most noticeable is the rising incline of the word Hill itself, the final flourish is the dot of the I in City is made by a star/light burst, shining bright at the top of the hill.

‘This considered typographic solution is intended to create gravitas, hopefully future-proofing the logo beyond current design trends. It has also been designed to be a unique solution for the consolidation of a four word name. While the logo itself brings a grounding feel, the colours are intended to add a warmth and welcoming vibrancy.

‘The typeface for the messaging, beyond the logo, has been chosen because of its clear and accessible tone. Intended to soften the maturity of the logo and complement the flexible colour palette.

‘Overall this direction seeks to position City on a Hill as a Bible believing church, that embraces its location and community with warmth and energy.’