CHALLENGE: In 2011, World Vision's leadership formally organized a Church Engagement division to strategically connect with U.S. churches, seeking their aligned support for addressing escalating global humanitarian crises. This initiative required World Vision to develop not only a comprehensive marketing strategy for broad church outreach but also to craft brand messaging and imagery specifically targeting pastoral and church leadership—communicating in ways that authentically reflected their Christian heritage and values.
• Campaign Launch
• Copywriting
• Brand Integration
• Brand Harmonization
• Brand-Centric Design
• Environmental Display Design
• Global Issue Data Sheet Design
• PowerPoint Design
• Social Asset Design
• Website Design
“A church that's lost its voice for justice is a church that's lost its relevance in the world.”
― Richard Stearns,
The Hole in Our Gospel
“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.”
― Frederick W. Faber
SOLUTION: In response to a strategic decision, I was subsequently commissioned to develop a comprehensive branding strategy for 'World Vision Churches,' encompassing website messaging, design elements, and print and social media assets.
Building upon World Vision's established brand mark, I crafted a distinctive, unified identity system specifically for this initiative—an approach without precedent in the organization.
I initiated the process by designing a 'content enclosure' that drew inspiration from the curved shape of the organization's iconic orange symbol, as illustrated in the examples. This system integrated seamlessly across web platforms while providing consistent reinforcement throughout all print materials, including brochures, fact sheets, and promotional advertisements.
To distinguish the brand's visual library from conventional 'third world photography,' I implemented a grayscale treatment for background elements while preserving full color for primary subjects. This nuanced technique directed viewers' attention toward the human subjects, strengthening emotional resonance.
Third, I zeroed in on pastoral mission with the messaging, inviting ministry leaders to not only voice ‘their world vision’ but to take action in a shared collaborative ‘dreamwork’ between the two organizations. Rather than posturing World Vision as the leader in the relationship, we set out to elevate the position of the church in the work. Our goal was to entice the pastoral teams to own the vision themselves, and proactively lead their churches into a passionate ‘shared action’, based on common goals between their respective churches and World Vision works in progress. We wanted to position World Vision as the service opportunity provider that would enable and empower churches humanitarian and gospel missions.
The end result was a marketing effort with a website launch, social media push and print download arsenal that increased church engagement across U.S Churches, informing and inspiring churches to action that is continued to this day.
NEXT STEPS: If you are an organizational leader with a mandate to increase your reach or effectiveness in communication, I encourage you to partner with me for your next endeavor. Whether your need lies within core brand strategy, web development, email design, video storytelling, photography, social media deployment or print collateral, I can help you create a branding strategy that will more strategically engage your target market.
