International Mission Board
Connecting a brand’s global mission
This brand identity design project wasn’t just about redesigning our client’s legacy logo of 25+ years
Previous International Mission Board logo:
People all throughout the world had long referred to the International Mission Board as simply "IMB." It was critical for the organization to stand by faithful individuals and churches who had been key and committed supporters of the firm brand for centuries. Stakeholders were considering making the IMB name official, but they wanted to make sure it didn't give supporters the impression that they were abandoning their roots as experienced, helpful, and reliable hearts for God. Nothing would change their humble devotion to field-driven missions work. So, before doing anything, the business wisely held multiple rounds of qualitative and quantitative research before making the strategic decision to adopt the abbreviated moniker that so many people had been using for decades. With widespread approval from both internal and external audiences, they opted to adopt IMB as the only letters in their new brand identity.
However, that was the easier obstacle to overcome. In prior years, research findings had indicated significant drops in supporter development outside of their legacy groups. The International Mission Board was well equipped and eager to support a broader spectrum of faith-based audiences, but many in these expanding groups expressed concerns that the International Mission Board's identity felt “...dated and stodgy,” and “…out of touch with younger generations and new, seeker-based or independent churches.“
IMB knew a new name and logo wouldn’t be the solution to all of these perception hurdles. But with cutting-edge programs and tools at its disposal, IMB had been supporting mission-driven churches and individuals in new, innovative ways. A new visual brand identity could be the first cornerstone that would better reflect what IMB had become — the most forward-thinking missions organization in the world.
Logo Design + Tagline Development
After researching, concepting, and collaborating with our client stakeholders on literally hundreds of wide-ranging visual icon design concepts we developed, it was actually quite unanimous when we eventually came to the collective decision that an icon in the logo just wasn’t necessary.
Below: A small sample of hundreds logo and icon design concepts my team and I created.
But, with a global audience so wide-ranging in cultures and history of perceptions with faith-based organizations, we eventually concluded that the logo could be more flexible and serve more universal purposes as a letter mark alone.
Oddly enough, I’ve often been known to say, “Sometimes the hardest thing for designers to do is to stop designing.”
Perhaps this was one of those times. ;)
During the design process, we had meticulously designed custom characters for a bold and modern letter mark. All heads were nodding that this type treatment hit the desired marks of feeling less institutional; more approachable; progressive, yet current and stable at the same time. All heads were nodding on that.
Below: The logo and tagline selected to represent the cornerstone of the new IMB brand:
Same Godly mission.
New glorious look.
Pictured: Rich E., IMB Missionary, 2008
Brand Tiers
IMB programs and audiences vary dramatically. What is designed for one program may not be as effective, or even culturally appropriate for a region or audience in a different part of the world.
For this reason, we developed multiple Brand Tiers that categorized and guided people on the type of visual language and graphic representation to be incorporated into various IMB communications:
Core Brand
Regional Brand
Tailored Brand
No Brand
1. Core Brand
The clean visual approach of the Core Brand was the primary visual brand language used on the majority of IMB’s brand communications. It was intentionally structured in a systematic manner that would be easy to templatize and recreate on nearly any design and publishing platforms by people of varying design skillsets.
Additionally, when we realized the caliber of the IMB Photography organization (many of whom had worked at industry leaders such as National Geographic), we didn’t want the visual design of the brand components to overpower or ‘get in the way’ of their powerful storytelling imagery and the compelling copy that accompanied it.
2. Regional Brand
IMB is a global organization that segments audiences, and teams that support them, into geographic Affinity Groups. Each Affinity Group speaks to a different cultural audience. Not only was it important to these groups to feel ownership of a unique identity for their region, it was also felt that a visual language that works in one culture may not appeal to another.
The challenge of provide a cohesive look and feel across IMB communications while honoring the cultural roots of each group.
Regional Palette Libraries
With careful consideration and design strategy, we developed unique libraries of color palettes, textures, and images were developed for IMB’s eight global regions – ensuring that they complemented the Core Brand, while giving them the tools they needed for their unique and culturally appropriate identities.
3. Tailored Brand
To better target to specific demographics such as Youth and Teen audiences, a few products, experiences, and events had to be customized. Our approach entailed creating visual design language strategies and executions that honored the spirit of the Core Brand while also appealing to and connecting with the younger generation, making them feel more engaged and intrigued.
4. No Brand
In an unusual move for a brand strategy and design agency, we also created guidelines for refraining from using visual brand language in regions where IMB's Christian beliefs might not be well-received.
This allowed us to be sensitive to local cultures and beliefs while ensuring the safety of the missionaries remained a crucial aspect of continuing the organization's work.
Throughout the months and years that followed the rebranding project, we were fortunate to maintain an ongoing partnership with IMB to continue to evolve their brand identity to better connect their past with their current and aspirational leadership in Christ-centered missions work.
We collaborated with numerous departments within the organization to plan, develop, and implement hundreds of traditional, digital, video, and creative marketing and communications tools that would help them reach a wider audience globally with the message of Christ.
The team
Creative Director:
Kevin Flores
Brand Strategist:
Kevin Flores
Art Director:
Jordan Schmidt
Art Director:
Whitney Tucker
Senior Designer:
Jared Boggess
Account Director:
Sarah Sheldon