News

After many hours of good, hard work, our new logo is done!
The new logo, designed by Boston-based design and communications firm Theory One Design, draws upon one of the more distinctive features of our historic sanctuary, the large, clear glass windows. “So many churches use an image of their building exterior as a logo, when in fact, we spend most of our time on the inside of the building looking out,” said task force chair Jon Geldert. A simple cross formed in the white, or “negative,” space of the window grilles evokes a core aspect of our identity as a church: we gather in our sanctuary to look at the world through the lens of our Christian faith—to be formed and informed for following Jesus’ teachings out in the world. The abstract landscape of the green foreground and blue background evokes the natural beauty of our home in the Berkshires, but avoids the temptation to depict a more literal landscape of hills and trees—a nod to the reality that we all see the world through our faith differently. The gorgeous typesetting grounds the design with a sense of history and tradition (the church name is set in Trajan, a typeface based off of the inscription found at the base of Trajan’s Column, a Roman triumphal column erected in 113 AD), while the more contemporary window graphic is light, expansive, and bright.
“The new logo represents, for me, a fresh new look for a very historic and continuously active congregation,” said task force member Terry Wise. “It is contemporary in look, yet honors the historic building we call home. While change can sometimes be difficult, the updated logo indicates new life and energy within the congregation, and that is very attractive and encouraging to all, young and old, new and long-time members.”
The graphic identity project began in the summer of 2014 with formation of a task force charged with developing a new set of graphic identity standards (logo and standard palette of fonts and colors) for church publicity and communications. The group was given the task of producing a graphic identity “toolkit” that would help make church materials warm, welcoming, professional and beautiful. The task force met six times over as many months, grounding each meeting in prayer, and asking LOTS of questions—everything from “how do I feel about the use of italics?” to “what does this window suggest about our values?” to “how do these colors make me feel?” Input was solicited from Council and church members. The process was an iterative one, where task force members—and the design—moved toward a consensus that all were pleased with and felt would serve the church well for many years to come.
Look for the logo and other graphic identity elements to start appearing in church publications over the coming months.