First Church BRAND.

Our branding is often the first impression that people receive. How we use words, how we communicate, and the images we display tells the story of First Church. Our voice and visuals should remain constant and clear in everything we do. We are an Independent Christian Church. We’re followers of Jesus, impacting lives by unleashing a revolution of God’s love on the 918 and beyond.

How to use the First Church brand to maintain a cohesive identity in all mediums of visual communication.

2021 December Update

Clear space, or negative space, is the area that surrounds the logo that is completely clear of any other graphical element. Clear space helps the logo stand out from the rest of the elements on the page and ensures legibility, even at small sizes.
As a general rule, the more clear, or negative, space around the logo, the better.

At a minimum, there should be clear space equal to the height of the First Church icon on all four sides of the logo. Using an element from the logo as a unit of measurement ensures enough clear space at any size.

Maintaining optimal and minimal logo sizing is vital to the legibility of the mark and overall brand recognition.
The execution will often dictate the right logo size. But in order to maximize legibility, try to use the largest size (within reason) for each logo version. In some circumstances, it may be acceptable to use the minimum size.

PRIMARY LOCKUP: Minimum height is .75” for print and 50px for digital applications.
ICONS: Minimum height is .75” for print and 50px for digital applications.
VERTICAL LOCKUP: Minimum height is 1.5” for print and 100px for digital applications.
LOCATION LOCKUP: Minimum height is 1.5” for print and 100px for digital applications.
CHRISTIAN CHURCH LOCKUP: Minimum height is 1.5” for print and 100px for digital applications.

Looking to download the First Church logo? For proper usage, refer to the Our Logo section in our Brand Guideline. Also refer to the Incorrect Logo Use section to be sure you are using the logo correctly.

Other acceptable versions of our logo may be available from the communications team.

Never, under any circumstances, should a First Church logo be used that does not look like one of the options on the previous pages. For example, the words “First Church” should never appear under the icon, or above it, or to the left of it, etc. This means that you should never create your own First Church logo, no matter how talented and creative you or the person you are asking to make it are. For alternative options to the main logo see the Alternate Logos section of this guide.

The idea of a ‘branded house’ essentially means that First Church is the brand, and all of First Church's ministries are under that main brand. First Church's ministries do not exist separately of First Church. Ministries are not independent brands. The exceptions to this are branded events, such as Youth Quake, or branded Ministry Environments, such as LOVE918, First Church Live, First Years, First Kids, and First Students. What this does NOT mean, however, is that ministries cannot use a unique graphic over the course of several months or years to designate their ministry. What is DOES mean, though, is that none of these graphics represent a permanent brand.

We have several fonts that are approved for general use on handouts and digital documents (excluding email). Any fonts used outside of approved fonts must be approved by Communications Team.

Because Google Docs offers limited options for fonts, please use the following for consistency across ministries and events: TITLES: Source Sans Pro Black, TAG LINES: Source Sans Pro Bold, BODY: Source Sans Pro Normal.