12Rock

by Ben Toalson | Feb 17, 2015 | Case Studies, Featured Work, logos

12Rock is a men’s ministry out of Riverside Community Church. Though ministry to men has existed previously, 12Rock was an effort to highlight the ministry’s identity and purpose.

One of the first questions I asked when talking about this project initially was, “What do you hope a new logo will accomplish?” To sum up their answer, they were looking for something that would grab and attract the attention of men in the community and express the unique identity of the group as well as its connection to the main church. Over time this logo would become a visual reminder of memories, experiences and events associated with this group, further solidifying its impact on the hearts of those involved.

The name “12Rock” was chosen for the account in the bible of Joshua commanding the men from each of the 12 tribes of Israel to collect a stone from the Jordan river and assemble them as a monument to the power of God for future generations. Some of the direction I received was that they were looking for something edgy and rugged, conveying “strength” and “band of brothers,” connected to the history and to the branding of the main church, Riverside, while still maintaining a distinctive look. With these cues I took the following approach to designing the logo.

Connection to the Main Church

In the main church’s logo, the tail of the “R” in “Riverside” swoops below the name to create a river-like feel. I used this subtly, allowing the tail of the “R” in “Rock” to swoop down below the “O”

I also used the unique approach to color in the Riverside logo. Across all riverside branding is a pallet of blues set in a mosaic-like pattern. I used an aspect of the logo (stones surrounding the text) as a way to visually represent this branding, giving the 12 stones the same blue pallet. If the logo is taken to gray-scale, the difference in gray shades still allows the look to be consistent with the Riverside branding, which means alternative colors can be overlaid for use in special events.

Finally, though the logo doesn’t require it, I used the Riverside Header Font, “Roboto Slab,” as the title and sub-title font to further associate the logo with Riverside.

Traditional and Progressive

It was important to the client that the logo both carry an ancient and progressive look. Both the use of stones as a part of the logo and the serif font face used for the “12” offer a traditional feel, while the bold, sans-serif font used for “Rock” (modified Impact font) along with a slight tilt in the angle of the logo offsets the traditional feel with a hint of modernism. With full color and texture, the logo has an edgy feel which also lends to the progressive look.

Global/Local

I chose a circle in which to frame the logo. The circle is used widely in social media to represent an individual person or entity. This is important, as this ministry is, in part, about changing individual lives as a part of a bigger connection. The configuration of the stones in the circle gives it a globe-like feel. Though I didn’t want to go as far as to shape the stones like the continents, I wanted to give a subtle nod to the aspect of this ministry that endeavors to reach the world, while also showing that each individual part makes up a significant and powerful whole.

Diversity

I took care to give each stone its own unique size and shape and was careful not to place stones of the same color right next to each other. This was to underscore the fact that this ministry is not just for one variety of race, background, circumstance or standing, but for all men. This works really well in tandem with the globe-like feel mentioned before. Each individual part, each stone, makes up a significant and powerful whole, therefore each stone is significant and necessary.

Rugged With Soft Edges

Another thing I was careful to do in crafting not only the stones, but the text, was to give them the look of something stone-like and rugged, but with rounded edges. The idea I wanted to convey here is that there is often a difference between the biblical understanding and the secular understanding of masculinity and strength. The stones in the logo are neither perfectly round, nor are they jagged and sharp. Men are sometimes told or taught that they have to be stones with sharp, strong edges or feel like they need to be perfect. The Bible teaches that our strength as men is often found in the softer places and in the way the Lord uses our unique shapes and that we are the most masculine when we are not afraid to let those places show.

“Band of Brothers”

I used the randomness of the stone’s size, shapes and colors to make them look a little like camouflage. This is meant to trigger thoughts of camaraderie among group members, as soldiers holding the front line together. This is a subtle visual gesture to convey the “band of brothers” feel. The viewer may not necessarily recognize it as a camo-like pattern, but it can serve to subconsciously spark that element of brotherhood.

The people and the mission behind this ministry are very close to my heart, and it brings me great joy to think that this logo could be a part of helping them see success in their mission.