It’s tough to create a good logo. Even tougher to create a great logo. Logos are important for what they communicate. They’re important for creating mnemonic relationships between people and your organization. They are important to communicate for you when you can’t communicate for yourself. So here’s the question I’d ask you to answer if you’re jumping into a logo project for your organization:
What will your logo SAY ABOUT YOU…when you’re not there to SPEAK FOR YOURSELF?
Logos are gossipers. They talk about you behind your back like an 8th grader chatting on myspace about your pimples. So what is your logo saying about you behind your back?
If your logo says, “I’m complicated.” you lose.
If your logo says, “I look this way because my owner is too cheap to pay someone to make me look pretty.” you lose.
If your logo says, “I think I’m adopted because I don’t look like my parent organization.” you lose.
If your logo says, “I’m the logo for Org A and I look just like the logo for Org B.” you lose.
So, what can you do to help your logo be on the same team you are?
Simplify. Your logo can’t say it all; not even if you tell it to. If your logo requires instructions or a legend to map out and make sense of, then it’s not doing your organization any good. In fact, it’s likely a distraction from bringing people to you.
Emotify.
Ok, that’s not a word, but let’s pretend you’re going on a date with this hot new logo. At the end of the night, your hands lightly graze each other and you get all tingly inside. I know, a bit dramatic. But the point is, you want more. You had a great first encounter and you’re ready to go to the next level. This is all about an emotional connection. A desire to go deeper. Deeper, because you don’t know everything about the oganization, but you believe the encounter could be the start of something great. Your logo should share the same energy as your organization. That helps others know whether they want to have anything to do with you. Don’t be afraid to express yourself.
Burn.
You want to burn your image in someone else’s memory. That’s it. Recollection. Recall. Brining it back. That’s what it’s all about. Like a branding iron leaving its mark, a logo should mark it’s territory in your brain. Don’t let it look like all the others. What’s unique about you that you can easily communicate? Make it plain, and make it memorable.
Spent the last few days at the Dynamic Church Conference in Dallas. It’s a conference for users of Fellowship One, a Church Management software from Fellowship Technologies.
Here’s what I like about this software, these people, their passion:
Passion drives their purpose.
There is a genuine heart and belief that technology can be harnessed to help people become more fully devoted followers of Jesus.
They know that their technology is not the end but the means.
Fellowship One is about all about helping the church clear the administrative barriers to make way for real relationships.
They have an impressive road map.
Ftech has clearly been putting in the work to architect or rearchitect the product to be more agile and responsive to the growing technological needs of the evolving Global Mobile Church (GoMo as @terrystorch labeled it).
The don’t have the answers.
They made it very clear that the users of F1 are vital to drive future developments of the product. They call us church partners…and they mean it.
In my roll @theSanctuary, I see a long relationship with F1 in our future. If we’re diligent about it’s implementation, realistic about putting a SuperTeam around it, and intentional about pursuing the relationships on the other side of the data, this should be a beneficial partnership now and into the future.
Malcolm Gladwell’s recent article in the New Yorker highlights the Full-Court Press. How a rag-tag team of middle school daughters of Silicon Valley programmers, went to a national basketball championship game, because of an outsiders strategy: Effort trumps force, and responding in real time.
Gladwell follows the story with coach Ranadive, a father to one of the girls on the team. Ranadive didn’t take the usual approach to winning basketball games. He wasn’t a basketball player himself. Most of his team were made up of first year players. There were no plays that were executed. No star towering center to dominate the lane. And no long-range shooting guard to sink shots from the outside. Rather, the approach was all about not wasting space and time.
The girls executed a full court press, every defensive minute of every game. The didn’t play the usual game of shoot and retreat. The never let up. They were, at their core, relentless.
Gladwell remarks of the strategy “Playing insurgent basketball didn’t guarantee victory. It was simply the best chance an underdog had of beating Goliath.”
It’s all about effort. When your opponent moves slow, you counter with speed. When your opponent relaxes, you counter with drive. Relentless pursuit can trump brute force.
So, how can the church implement the Full-Court Press?
Relentless pursuit of relationships (our culture wants us to get something out of relationships. I think it’s wise to think about giving something to relationships).
Relentless pursuit of relevance (if we don’t speak the language, we will fumble our connection possibilities).
Relentless pursuit of breaking conventional rules (When convention keeps the game the same, defy it and change the rules).
Relentless pursuit of the one we love most (When we pursue God, people will follow).
When we engage people, in their language, with a relentless pursuit that redefines the conventional rules, because of the love God has for us, we advance the kingdom of God.
David was a shepherd. He didn’t know he was supposed to bring a sword to fight off a Philistine in a duel. He brought a staff and slingshot. He changed the rules of the game. When Goliath slowly advanced, David sprinted. He didn’t cut off his head, and yet, Goliath lay dead.
God promises a great reverse. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. The peacemakers and the meek will sit atop the kingdom. It’s not the relentless pursuit of perfection, but the relentless pursuit that wins out. A game changing attitude that responds in real-time to the real needs of people.
Prefab, Affordable?
The promise of eco-friendly modern prefab housing is also it’s current downfall: low prices. In order to lower the price, you need to ramp up production. Classic issue of supply and demand capitalism.
A new player in the market.
In walks Warren Buffet and his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway…One of their companies is called Clayton House and they launched a much anticipated Eco-friendly Prefab model called the iHouse, intended to be affordable and accessible as a modern dwelling place.
Personalize it.
I went to the website and configured my own model which included a 2 Bedroom, 1 bath main living quarters with a sun porch that connects to the flexspace that adds a large multi-purpose room, a smaller flex room and another bathroom. I included two solar powered options, a few kitchen and bath upgrades, and priced out a fully modern, small footprint home for $185,000 delivered right to my very own empty lot.
A step in the right direction.
This is a great new option in the prefab world. Hopefully, with the backing of one of the best business minds around, they can start selling these things and lend a boost to the entire prefab market. I think they need to get the price down another 25-30% in order to truly make these things accessible for the average family.
My boss is going to be launching his blog here pretty soon. I wrote these quick tips to help him get off the ground and into the blogosphere. Quick tips for blogging Pastors—
Be yourself
Keep it Simple.
Keep it Brief
If you have a numerous thoughts on a topic, break it up into a series.
Add a supporting image when possible.
Comments are comments, not rabbit holes to follow
The expanded version:
You want to write because you think you have something to say. Don’t blog because “you think you’re supposed to.” Be yourself and share your passions.
People reading blogs tend to be information junkies. They are probably reading 25 other blogs. To reach a broad audience, you’ll want to communicate simply and to the point.
Shorter is better in the blog world. You get a few paragraphs to share what you think and bullet points or numbered lists will go a long way to help you keep your messages short and to the point.
To help keep your message short and sweet, if you have a topic that requires more words to really get out what you feel, consider breaking it up into a multi-part series. Swerve.LifeChurch.tv does this really well. Consider launching a 4-5 part series on Monday and title it…”Blog on this topic, 1 of 5.” This will help you organize your ideas, keep your posts short and also keep your readers engaged and wanting to come back for more.
Sometimes images speak louder than words. If you can link to an image or have one of your own, try to include it with your post.
Comments should not drive your content. You should. Do not feel the need to chase after each comment and create justifications based on what your community says. Don’t ignore all the comments, but don’t respond to everything either.
These simple tips will help get your blog off the ground and help you to jump start your online community.
Today, Seth Godin took a pragmatic approach to design in a blog article that allowed him the opportunity to be accosted by designers all over the internet. Go ahead, have your opinions, I have mine.
He said,
“Why aren’t you (really) good at graphic design?
Ten years ago, you had a wide range of excuses for being a lousy visuals person. Starting with no talent, leading to no skill and going from there.
But now, in a world where it is expected that professionals will be able to make beautiful powerpoint slides, handsome business cards, clever bio photos and a decent website, it’s as important as driving. And easier to learn and do, and requiring less talent.”
And I agree. Design can be formulaic. Totally awesome design is not always formulaic. It requires sheer talent. But, the tools available these days make it easier than ever to make something that is not total crap. And really, isn’t the goal to always be a little better than you were before.
I’m not foolish enough to think as a designer that I’m a novelty act. Used to be, if you were a journalist, you worked at a newspaper. Now, there’s millions of people on the web with very useful things to say and stories to report that really can wow me with their precision at times. There’s still a lot of total crap out there, but there’s a ton of people doing great work. It’s the same with design. The days of boutique design aren’t over, but the door is wide open for real innovation to happen that makes it easy for non-designers to make life more beautiful and communicate better. We should be thankful that we all get to partake in something that makes life a little less crappy.
Realistically, you can find design on the same continuums that other industries use as indicated in the awesome scale below. The language may be different, but 10 points is still more than 0.
75 points is still more than 30. And a big step in the right direction is better than being total crap.
I love this house and I can’t believe it’s a prefab.
Maybe it’s just the chartreusie pea green set in the foggy Pacific Northwest, but I think the angles, color, and contrasting materials make this prefab model especially tasty to the eyes.
