It’s been a few weeks now since we started this thing here at New Media Ministry. It’s been a few years, however, from the beginning of my time as a designer. For the few years that I’ve been designing, my main market has been the Church and ministry organizations. What I’ve heard from our new friends (via the site, Facebook page, Twitter, etc.) about their perception of design is not much different than what I’ve heard along the way from my clients and friends in ministry.
I Know It’s Important, But I Can’t Afford It
The overwhelming consensus is that great design really does matter. People know (without maybe being able to articulate why) that design has an effect on their audience and there is an understanding that relevant and great looking promotional materials make a difference in the response they get from the people they’re ministering too. Unfortunately most of the time, this understanding is coupled with the reservation that spending time learning design concepts or even hiring someone to help make materials is just too expensive and too time consuming. So how can it be that a fundamental part in the process of evangelization isn’t worth investing in? I think there’s a relatively simple explanation for this.
Let’s Break It Open…
We all know the difference between a good commercial and a bad one; a well-made movie poster, and one that makes us think ‘low budget’; or even a well-designed piece of clothing versus something we’d never wear. Whether or not we can articulate exactly what it is about the design that makes or breaks the product for us, I think it’s safe to say we can all agree that the ‘packaging’ of the product help to make our decision for us. The more difficult part, however, is understanding everything that goes into that packaging: the research, message, and purpose of the design and the costs necessary for these things to happen. That thirty-second TV spot might really make us want the newest Subway sub, but do many of us know how much the writer of the commercial made? Or how about the guy who stood there with the microphone for ten hours?
In the same way, we all know that spreading the Gospel is one of the most essential roles in our ministries. We understand that how we speak to someone or convey our message can make or break their perception of the Church and Jesus. Again, I think it’s safe to say that we can call agree that the ‘packaging’ of the product (this time our faith and our beliefs) helps to make people’s decisions for them. This time however, we have to understand the amount of effort and resources that go into our thirty seconds with people, because sometimes that’s all we’re going to get.
Some Good Insight
Brian Clark of LifeChurch.tv was interviewed by Collide Magazine recently on the issue of why design matters to the church. Here’s what he had to say:
“There are three reasons why I think design matters to the Church. First, design speaks to those who aren’t listening. Whether it’s right or not, many people will judge your (our) church without ever setting foot in it. A lot of those judgments, sadly, will be something along the lines of “there’s nothing for me there,” “those people are completely out of touch,” or “they can’t possibly have anything interesting to say.” A well-executed design, though, can speak volumes to someone who won’t give you a chance to say anything else.
Second, design is so much more than marketing. Yes, our job is to get people in the doors to hear the teaching, but it’s also more than that. Art can enhance the teaching by penetrating areas of consciousness and emotion that spoken word cannot, giving the message an even greater impact. Design can even make teaching resonate longer by providing a visual reminder of the thoughts and feelings experienced during the message.
Third, design is damage control. What we represent is important—more so than some product or company. If products and companies devote resources to protecting their image, why doesn’t the Church? Frankly, there are plenty of people out there giving us bad PR. I consider it a personal goal to tear down misconceptions and deliver an accurate representation of what it’s like to follow Christ. I can do that through design”
Working Within A Budget
All of that being said, I know that most of the time design work is the very LAST item on the budget for ministries. So how do you and I make quality materials on a nominal budget? Very carefully and with much thought. It’s COMPLETELY possible to make awesome fliers and posters in Publisher (in fact that’s where I started). And if you’re looking for a little more ‘oomph’ out of a program, you can head to:
- For some great photo manipulation techniques: Photoshop.com or,
- GIMP is an open source FREE program that emulates Adobe Photoshop. It does it fairly well (if you’re used to Photoshop, GIMP will seem awkward or a bit backwards) and is a relatively good alternative to spending the money on Photoshop: Gimp.org
- CrowdSpring is an online market where buyers (that’s you) post projects for designers to bid on. You set the parameters; they give you a bid price to complete the project. Check out how it works:
- Lastly, feel free to ask any of the contributing bloggers here at NMM.com for advice or help. We make our living as designers, writers, website builders, etc. We’d love to help you.
