Asbury Church Rebrand

During my time as the in-house graphic designer for Asbury Church (then called Asbury United Methodist Church) in Tulsa , OK, I had the opportunity to develop a proposed rebrand for the church.

Asbury is a large, established church with more than 50 years of history and a congregation made up of all age groups, so this project posed a unique challenge: How do you create a visual brand attractive to new congregants made up of young families and college-age adults while being sensitive to the older generations who still make up a good percentage of the church?

There was room to improve the graphic alignment of Asbury’s identity with the vision, direction, and focus of the church. The goal was to change the perception of Asbury as being only a traditional church for an older demographic. We wanted to refresh the way the church presented itself to face the future while paying respects to its roots. I’ve learned one of the best ways to show respect for such a varied group of people—and get buy-in for a big initiative—is to be very thoughtful about symbolism and explain my design choices methodically.

Four generations: The symbol is made up of four main columns, representing the four generations that make up the Asbury congregation. Each generation brings something that strengthens the whole: wisdom, experience, energy, vivacity. This is a part of the church’s DNA that is unique and should be highlighted. It is an advantage that brings longevity to the congregation.

Different stages of faith: The four main columns are each split at a different level. This reflects the different stages in our walks with Christ. This is a church with a focus on discipleship and development. Regardless of our experience, the destination is the same: a greater knowledge of and deeper relationship with God. This goal is what the cross-like structure at the top symbolizes. The imagery of stain glass is another architectural call back to its use around the campus.

A church this size requires an extended color palette that could work for numerous ministries and initiatives in multiple combinations. I planned for the possibility that groups of connected ministries might use color-coded versions of the logo to distinguish themselves.

“See what develops” fit the bill for us. It points to the changes taking place at Asbury and invites the community to take an interest. Asbury’s leadership is very focused on discipleship; this tag line invites people to see what develops in their own hearts and lives by attending Asbury. How will they grow? How will they change?

While the main logo would serve to cover most of the church’s ministries, special versions of the logo were developed for the children and youth ministries. The goal was to tie them to the church while giving them some space to be themselves.

Finding a balance between what would appeal to an audience made up of various age groups took time to accomplish, but the resulting work threaded that needle. We took into account how a congregant who had been going to Asbury for 50 years would view the proposed changes compared to the experience of a first-time visitor. The unifying factor is that every person in the congregation had the same goals: to be part of a community and grow closer to God.