SILVER SPRING - The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has announced the first change to the denomination’s corporate identity in over two decades. General Conference Communications Director Williams Costa, Jr. circulated an image of proposed changes to the Seventh-day Adventist logo graphic at the 2016 Spring Meeting of the GC Executive Committee.
It definitely looks like the box was added to configure it for an app logo. I don’t think it’s better or worse than the previous version. It’s just a little bit different.
Corporate logos/signatures are critically important. Rightly created they should immediately state the all-encompassing purpose of the corporation…if, at all possible, it should separate its contributing focus from all other competing entities; standing head and shoulders above the common herd, as it were. One might wonder if this newly created version does that. It seems that there has been an attempt to improve the church’s logo by creating it to be more representative of current trends; negating the notion that “Here’s who we are and we are different.” Secondly, and more importantly, it puzzles me to see the iconic Christian Cross, which evolved up through Catholicism, inspired by Constantine’s vision of a Roman Sword emblazoned in the sky with the inscription, “By this sign conquer”, continuing to be a focal point in the new logo rendition.
I think that they need to go back to the drawing board and try to discover something that is more contemporary than this somewhat muddled design. As already stated by a commenter, this design also looks like an app and not at all more innovative than the old one. I think that if they allowed some younger designer to be creative this would not be the result. Too old and staid looking in general.
I didn’t like the current logo; it was too impressionistic, and no one but an Adventist would have a clue as to its meaning or purpose. I can’t see that the proposed changes are an improvement, either. I don’t see why we have to copy the corporate world. Do we really need a logo? I don’t have one for my business. We have a name and a reputation. Isn’t that enough?
I prefer the “old one” one on the left “Out of the box” is an expression that describes non-conformal, creative thinking. The term is used as an adverb to describe the thinking or as an adjective to describe the ideas. The term is said to derive from a famous puzzle created by early 20th century British mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney, in which someone is asked to interconnect nine dots in a three-by-three grid by using four straight lines drawn without the pencil leaving the paper. In order to be successful, the puzzle solver has to realize that the boundries of the dot array are psychological. The only way to solve the puzzle is to extend the lines beyond the artificial boundry created by the nine dots.
In our church God wants us to extend our boundaries. The new symbol on the right appears to be more rigid, more defined, more limited. Perhaps this the new reality of the church, I hope it isn’t!
Jesus’ teaching was full of symbolism and creative imagery. He presented Himself as a Shepherd, a Sower, a Bridegroom, a Door, a Cornerstone, a Vine, Light, Bread, and Water. He likened the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast, a seed, a tree, a field, a net, a pearl, and yeast. He was so totally out of the box in his communication. For Adventists we also think of the expression “boxed-in,” or having reduced choices. In the fast-paced world of information technology, churches can say they are looking for persons who “think out of the box.”
New is not necessarily bad. I’m a bit surprised to see such resistance to change especially on Spectrum’s website.
Pro: I like the simplified font because the old font is a challenge to use and modify if you don’t just copy and paste the logo with text. This becomes an issue when you want to add your church name into the logo, as in, “Centerville Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
Con: I think the box may limit creativity in how the logo is artistically incorporated. But then, in general, I’m not a fan of the more boxy shape that is so popular these days. I would suggest an optional outlined box if they think that is necessary.
i think the proposed changes to our logo are HORRIBLE…hopefully they’ll be voted down in october…i don’t know if the yellow and blue color scheme will continue to hold if our logo is changed, but this black and white version, dominated so thoroughly with black, looks positively creepy and cultic…my first thought is of something to do with witchcraft…
The South Pacific Division have spent several years tweeking the colour scheme of the logo. The intention is to use the logo in a concerted effort at corporate branding. For local churches the colour scheme is to be backgrounded in orange with white for the logo itself. Educational institutions will use the logo with a different backgrounding colour. Ditto for health-care institutions and for administrative offices.
I think it is a worthy initiative to try and create some corporate brand recognition.
When the logo of the German train changed from serif to sans-serif … hardly anybody would have noticed the difference. Yet it costs about 1 Mio Euro as far as I remember. … I hope this particular change cost a few zeros less.
I can understand the thinking behind it … and yet for me it looks more “black and white” (the original was more diverse and playful with colours) and rather constrained (a box you don’t dare to go beyond).
Fair enough - that shift in logo may have become necessary…
Well this is a sign that Adventist has entered a new phase. From its early expansionist dynamic phase, of a judgment hour message and calling the world for obedience to the Commandment of God—now Adventists has become more institutionalized. More concerned about image rather than message.
No one is concerned about the millions to be spent in building, maintaining and certain expansion of hierarchy in the new NAD headquarters. Gone is the awareness in the leadership that only those connected with Christ in His work of self-sacrifice and self-denial will be known by the world.
It is almost as if it is mission accomplished and now it is time to settle back and build on the gains. Globally Adventist congregations are growing in South America and Africa. Once the WO issue is settled with new younger leadership, I predict that hierarchy will become more political, concerned about appearance, modern looking buildings, and job security.
“Why was it the world did not know Christ? It was because He brought meekness, purity, and virtue into the world, and the world understood it not. Men could not harmonize with this purity. And those who are connected with Christ in His work of self-sacrifice and self-denial will not be known by the world.” EGW
The interpretation is very simple and obvious. The new logo represents a complete reversal of the direction of the denomination with the black changed to white and the white changed to black. The changing of the fonts to identical font sizes represents a drive towards uniformity and a suppression of diversity. The logo changes are a public expression of what we all know has taken place since the first election of Ted Wilson. Symbollogy has long been used to telegraph to the subconcious a message that if written verbally would be rejected outright.
Pleased to hear the Spring Meeting has something to discuss after flying in from all over the world at great expense. I can’t imagine what else there would be to talk about. And I’m sure the Lunch-a-Lots will enjoy their lunches at our expense.
I prefer the “old one” one on the left “Out of the box” is an expression that describes non-conformal, creative thinking. The term is used as an adverb to describe the thinking or as an adjective to describe the ideas. The term is said to derive from a famous puzzle created by early 20th century British mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney, in which someone is asked to interconnect nine dots in a three-by-three grid by using four straight lines drawn without the pencil leaving the paper. In order to be successful, the puzzle solver has to realize that the boundries of the dot array are psychological. The only way to solve the puzzle is to extend the lines beyond the artificial boundry created by the nine dots.