Christian Young Adult Logo

theenigmat · Jul 18, 2009

Hey everyone,

This is a logo I designed for a Christian Young Adult group. The name of the group is Unearth. The focus of the group is unearthing whatever faith we had from our youth and trying to make that come alive again now that many of us are on our own and looking for some community of faith to belong to.

I'm looking for feedback (positive or constructive) on the design.

Thanks!

Mat

I've also attached the PSD and font used if anyone wants to tweak it.

skunk · Jul 18, 2009

Somehow that logo says "disinter" to me. Surely "re-growth" rather than "the Living Dead" should be your emphasis?

IgnatiusTheKing · Jul 18, 2009

The "U" is way too big and the "t" doesn't shout "CHRISTIANITY" as much as you want it to.

It seems like you're using this font because you think it looks "earthy" but it's not working for me. Why did you choose to go with all caps? This font might be too "thick" (for lack of a better word) and your kerning is off.

theenigmat · Jul 18, 2009

IgnatiusTheKing said:
The "U" is way too big and the "t" doesn't shout "CHRISTIANITY" as much as you want it to.

It seems like you're using this font because you think it looks "earthy" but it's not working for me. Why did you choose to go with all caps? This font might be too "thick" (for lack of a better word) and your kerning is off.

I'd like some Christian symbolism worked into the logo and the "t" looks "cross"ish. I see what you're talking about with the kerning and the "u". The "t" sticks out like a sore thumb if the U is a regular size though...

You're also spot on about why I chose the font. I'm wrestling between making the logo "earthy" and making it "organic". The trouble I'm running into is that "organic" would require design skills that I don't have. (I'm not an artist and can't sketch or draw to save my life.) At the end of the day, I'd love the logo to be organic but I just don't think I could pull it off well...

Thanks for your comments.

bartelby · Jul 18, 2009

skunk said:
Somehow that logo says "disinter" to me. Surely "re-growth" rather than "the Living Dead" should be your emphasis?

It looks like the logo to a dodgy Black Sabbath covers band to me.
Which I guess isn't the impression wanted this time round...

MacLadybug · Jul 18, 2009

It just needs a little tweaking...

Just make the "u" lowercase and keep the "t" larger... or maybe try it with the "t" in red. Try it larger and the same size and see which is better. I think the word is a good choice. You're on the right track just keep tweaking.

theenigmat · Jul 18, 2009

skunk said:
Somehow that logo says "disinter" to me. Surely "re-growth" rather than "the Living Dead" should be your emphasis?

bartelby said:
It looks like the logo to a dodgy Black Sabbath covers band to me.
Which I guess isn't the impression wanted this time round...

HAHA Well, you know... Heavy Metal for Jesus...

But seriously, does anyone have suggestions of another route to go that would allow me to create a good logo even though I'm not a GREAT artist?

theenigmat · Jul 18, 2009

Something more organic

Here's another logo that I think leans more to the organic side rather than the "earthy" side.

Feedback and constructive criticism much appreciated.

Mat

Designer Dale · Jul 18, 2009

I like the original with a little more attention to typography issues like kerning. The color in the second is nice, but using all lower case loses the symbolism that you are looking to convey. Maybe work a little with the first using the color combo you came up for the second. Maybe black for the U and T and your earth green for the rest. Looks nice. Keep working on it.

Local Christian groups are leaning toward non-traditional means to attract young folks. A Church in my area calls itself GODZ GANG (caps intended). They have a huge black jacked-up truck with that all over it.

Thanks for including the font with your post.

Dale

DELLsFan · Jul 18, 2009

I like the original design ... with maybe a smaller U ... and using the green in your second design. Perhaps add some embellishments to the t / cross or make it larger?

Good Luck!

theenigmat · Jul 19, 2009

Two updated versions

Thanks for all your input thus far. I've taken many suggestions into account and here are two updated logos.

Mat

DesignerOnMac · Jul 19, 2009

theenigmat said:
Thanks for all your input thus far. I've taken many suggestions into account and here are two updated logos.

Mat

I am sorry but I get a dead or cemetery feel from either logo design. I think you would want a more 'heavenly' feel and/or colors?

Font is too heavy handed which does not help your idea of the cross.

miiles · Jul 19, 2009

DesignerOnMac said:
I am sorry but I get a dead or cemetery feel from either logo design. I think you would want a more 'heavenly' feel and/or colors?

Font is too heavy handed which does not help your idea of the cross.

+1

I get what you're going for but I think the only way it would feel natural without seeming like a graveyard undead type thing would be to have some sort of tree or other thing thrown in there, I don't know if you will be able to do it with only a font.

ktbubster · Jul 19, 2009

Font: SF Florencesans Black

It's a free font that I got from... well one of the free font sites. The T already looks like a cross, so I immediately thought of it when you posted this thread.

If you want to go the tree route, this is one of the many sites you can get free vector trees from if needed.

All of that might help you. I did some samples really quickly combining your ideas. The font is shown plain there, but I used the Effect > Stylize > Scribble feature in illustrator and played around with it a bit.

Good luck and keep us updated!

Macky-Mac · Jul 20, 2009

I think ktbubster has a good suggestion in having the "cross" start well below the rest of the word as that breaks down the impression that it's a grave marker sticking up out of the "earth"......make it clear it's a cross and not just another font will help

TJRiver · Jul 20, 2009

You have the "lipstick on a pig" problem. No amount of typeface and font and graphic work is going to change that fact that the name of the group just doesn't work.

MarkCollette · Jul 20, 2009

I like the first post's graphic, particularly because of the embedded "U near t (Jesus)" message. But, I think it could benefit from ktbubster's aspect of making the T go lower than the other characters, by a little bit, which makes it stand out more as a cross.

MacLadybug · Jul 20, 2009

Just an idea...

I know this isn't good, but maybe it will get your creativity going in a different direction:

tweekskratch · Jul 22, 2009

Not to be rude but I really don't think the T has to be a cross at all. I think it's cheesy. I like the second idea the best so far. It's fairly simple and it doesn't scream "look, I'm a youth group logo". Not to mention that Unearth is also the name of a hardcore/metal band? maybe something to consider.

tweekskratch · Jul 22, 2009

theenigmat said:
Here's another logo that I think leans more to the organic side rather than the "earthy" side.

Feedback and constructive criticism much appreciated.

Mat

I like this one the best so far.

IgnatiusTheKing · Jul 22, 2009

theenigmat said:
Here's another logo that I think leans more to the organic side rather than the "earthy" side.

Feedback and constructive criticism much appreciated.

Mat

My advice is to take this one, throw out the "t" and replace it with a hand-drawn cross (don't worry if you "can't" draw...that might actually be better in this case).

Sdashiki · Jul 22, 2009

TJRiver said:
You have the "lipstick on a pig" problem. No amount of typeface and font and graphic work is going to change that fact that the name of the group just doesn't work.

Yea? What does UNEARTH (the digging of something up) have to do at all with a christian youth group?

Whatever the reasoning behind the name should almost dictate the style of the logo.

Having it look "Christ-like" should be secondary to the meaning of the word, and should go hand in hand if there was any real thought to the name in the first place.

mkrishnan · Jul 22, 2009

tweekskratch said:
I like this one the best so far.

A concern I'd raise about that one (and also most of ktbubster's ones) is that they all look a lot like environmental activism logos. If I saw that logo, I would assume it was for some kind of environmental group, and I would probably be confused about what it actually is and why it uses the logo. Perhaps with a few of them, I'd think it was a Christian pro-environment group (maybe trying to reverse the image of the church as being opposed to efforts to improve the planet). But all the brown/blue/green ones, especially given the name itself, say environmental action to me....

tweekskratch · Jul 22, 2009

As some have said, I think it may come back to the name. Once you identify the point of what you are trying to say, it will be a lot easier to communicate that message. So what exactly is the point of "Unearth"?

theenigmat · Jul 22, 2009

ktbubster said:
Font: SF Florencesans Black

<snip>

Good luck and keep us updated!

Thanks ktbubster. I'm going to PM you about a few of the logos that I really like.

Sdashiki said:
Yea? What does UNEARTH (the digging of something up) have to do at all with a christian youth group?

Whatever the reasoning behind the name should almost dictate the style of the logo.

Having it look "Christ-like" should be secondary to the meaning of the word, and should go hand in hand if there was any real thought to the name in the first place.

Sdashiki: Our group is focused on recovering and re-examining our faith as young adults, many of us long removed from the church of our youth. As we threw around metaphors to describe this journey of rediscovery, we thought of our faith as the systems below the surface of our lives. For many of us in the group, it was going to take some digging and discovering, thus the idea of "unearth"ing our faiths.

Thanks for all the input. I really appreciate it.

Mat

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