Blog

Jonathan Malm writes and speaks about the creative process. He created and edits ChurchStageDesignIdeas.com and Sunday|Magazine–a free online magazine about the creative side of Sunday mornings at church. Jonathan and his wife live in Dallas, Texas. 

Captivating Presentations

• It’s not about being cool.  That draws people to you, not to Christ.  That doesn’t mean you can’t be creative.
• It’s not the graphical elements that will be memorable. Think outside of the screen and the bulletin.  Your personal interaction will always be best.  Ushers help find sets.  Pastors can preach a great message.  Engaging worship experiences.  Lighting can enhance the experience when used well.  It can also distract when not used well. 
• It starts with the user.  We’re called to connect with people and communicate the message of Christ.  If we’re trying to put on a cool event, we miss the point.  It starts with story.  What story are we trying to tell?  We don’t always plan that way. We say, “We need a sermon and 5 songs” without thinking of a story to tell. 

Typography/Fonts

• Fonts are design elements. 
• They can conflict with other design elements in the work you do.  One may look cool but does it fit what you’re doing?
• Don’t overuse them or use too many.

Floor Plans

• IKEA.  They create a path so you to go a certain way through the store.
• In the church, we don’t really think enough about how we want people to move through the building.

Information Design

• Infographics. 
• You don’t always have to create paragraphs.  Simple designs can say more than a bunch of sentences.

User Experience Design (UX)

• How easy is it for people to interact with your church?  Does someone know how to get involved?  How are people engaging in worship? Do they know what to do? These are things to think about especially is you care about visitors.
• This is about removing obstacles so God can work in your church.  God will draw people.
• “The design process doesn’t start with making something beautiful.”  The design is the vehicle.  Something beautiful won’t change lives if there’s no message behind it.

Environment/Atmosphere

• Abercrombie & Fitch.  The make you feel like you play polo or run around near the lake.
• Why can’t we create an atmosphere where we’re connecting people to God.
• Flatirons Church (Masculine).  They want guys to feel comfortable coming to church.  They found women don’t mind the masculine design because they want their men to be involved in church
• Potential Church (Magenta Miami) They always use magenta because it has energy.

Motion Graphics

• Adds an element of life especially if you don’t have fancy lighting.
• It’s not about distracting people, but matching the feel of a song, etc.
• Helps you feel the words.
• Plenty of examples at WorshipHouse Media

Things You Put In Peoples Hands

• Minimize what you say. 
• The less you say the more people will listen.
• Bulletins don’t need to be a folder filled with tons of stuff.
• What if you are quiet more and talk when it’s important.

Live Illustrations

• It often beats video.
• We often turn to technology as the answer.
• People are not used to live interaction and they will relate to it.

Sermon Branding

• Do a unifying theme in a series.
• Name it and use graphics that make sense
• What are the actionables?  What do you want people to go home with?  You’ve got to talk about the why before the how.  When you know the goal, you can design to it.

Visual Theme

• Is there one illustration that can bring home the point of the whole service?
• One illustration is better than three most of the time.

Distinction

• You’ll never be able to own the cross or a compass as your logo.

Emotion

• A picture of a flower may look nice, but it doesn’t necessarily carry emotion.

Pop Culture

• Avoid design that rips off something in popular culture.
• Modern Family may be a cool TV show, but you don’t own it.  You endorse the show by using it and you don’t know what they’ll do in the future.  It shouldn’t be a sermon series title.