BRANDING GUIDE
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
In 2025, the friars of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph will gather in Washington DC for their first meeting since 2016. Like the gathering itself, the associated brand aims to set a tone for the province’s present and future whilst drawing on its rich past.
The event takes as its foundation and source of meditation a quote beloved by Saint Dominic: “...cum Deo vel de Deo” or, “...with or about God”. According to Guy Bedouelle’s Saint Dominic: The Grace of the Word: “This phrase, loquendo cum Deo vel de Deo, was Dominic’s favorite maxim. He had it inscribed in all texts (Bologna canonization testimony, 41), giving it dynamic meaning and greater force by using the participle: the Friar Preacher spends his main speaking to God through constant prayer or speaking about God in his preaching. This was the most profound element in Dominic’s spiritual doctrine.”
In a sense, then, the brand is meant to illustrate and complement this quote, with the assembly itself only as a secondary application or extension of the brand. It is therefore the aim of the design that it would be used not only to mark the 2025 assembly, but as a source of inspiration for ongoing meditation on this great Dominican slogan.
A BOARD MOST MOODY
At the beginning of the design process, this “mood board” was designed to establish a foundational aesthetic. The aesthetic represented here is the basis for the entire rest of the brand, including the logo but extend into all elements. Drawing from key words and themes discussed in the design charette, several sources were explored:
First, in the spirit of prayer, traditional religious imagery was examined. The Dominican colors of black and white were seen throughout the referenced iconography to be rendered in muted hues of deep gray and an almost linen-colored o -white. To represent the themes of prayer and preaching at the heart of the brand’s guiding quote, the liturgical importance of hand gestures were also referenced by way of the inclusion of clippings from Chirologia, or, The Naturall Language of the Hand (1644) and similar documents.
Second, in the spirit of gathering and brotherhood central to the Assembly, aesthetics relating to “family dinner” were explored. This theme led to surprising elements, like pasta and tomato sauce brands, as well as German beer halls, all of which have already captured the “family gathering” spirit sought after by this brand, and even with a similarly desired old-world approach!
Finally, in the spirit of humor, “renaissance festivals” were discerned as a prime example of how an event like the assembly could both draw on its history and bond the friars in prayer and fun.
REFINED SYMBOLOGY
The final logo incorporates the themes from the mood board in several key ways. First, and most obviously, the entire piece is reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts and renaissance festival-esque renderings popularly associated with the medieval period: the logotype, for instance, is hand-copied from an illuminated manuscript, while the three-pointed shield serving as a containment shape further hearkens back to heraldry while also rooting the mark in important Trinitarian symbolism.
The base of the logo - its literal foundation - is a black-and-white checkerboard pattern found ubiquitously throughout medieval heraldry but most commonly associated with the Order of Preachers themselves. In that same vein, two members of the order - one old and one young - can be seen illuminated within the capital ‘D,’ representing the generations of the order coming together for the Assembly. They are rendered “in action” at prayer, preaching, and blessing.
Finally and most subtly, the spirit of the event itself is encapsulated by the botanical pattern found within the logo’s upper third. This combination of grapes and hops juxtaposes the prayerful, Eucharistic aim of the Assembly (grapes, wine) against the fraternal and bonding aim (hops, beer), with wheat serving both literally and symbolically as the common element between the two .
THE WHOLE FAMILY
The logo is available in three color types and three use-versions, adding up to a sum of nine total variants. The three color types are full-color, which is considered the “master” or “primary” version and which should be used at the largest scales; dark, a simplified version for use at comparatively smaller scale on light-colored backgrounds; and light, also for smaller scale but on dark-colored backgrounds.
Two of the use-versions are di erent only in their “subtitle”: one uses “Provincial Assembly AD 2025” and the other uses the English translation of the event’s motto: “...speak only with God or about God”. The former will be used prior to and during the Assembly itself, with the latter coming into e ect after the event or for non-event-specific uses. These are used as “brand extensions” the same way a pasta brand would alter its primary logo slightly with di erent variants to di erentiate di erent types of pasta. In other words,”Cum Deo vel de Deo” is the “brand,” whereas the Assembly or the English translation are the individual “products.” The third of the use-variants is an isolated version of the illuminated ‘D’ in the logotype, which can be used in very small spaces. The full color version can be used for social media profile pictures, since it fits within a circle as a result of the left-hand flourishes on the ‘D’ being removed. The dark and light variants can be used as favicons or on the bottom of posters, etc.
Each version is available in either PNG or Vector (SVG) format, with the former being used for standard print and for digital documents and the latter being used for web or for large-scale prints.
PATTERNS AND ILLUSTRATIVE ELEMENTS
In addition to the logo variants, the brand includes accompanying graphic and illustrative elements. First, the vector parchment texture seen left can be used to add a historic feel to various media, and can be squashed, stretched, or scaled to any size or dimension without losing its resolution. However, it should be used sparingly lest any application begin to look like the Vatican website (bad design!). See here how it is used on only half the spread, set refreshingly against the starkly white opposing page. When applying these brand elements, one must resist the impulse to over-decorate with them. Plenty of white space is key to these elements feeling clean and uncluttered.
In addition to the parchment texture, one will find at their disposal a version of the “grape and hops” pattern seen throughout this document, as well as isolated versions of our friar characters (in color, dark, and light variants). While playful, these too should be used sparingly and discerningly.
COLORFUL PERSONALITIES
This brand includes a very broad and rich color palette. Each color is pulled from real shades and materials used in illuminated manuscripts throughout the middle ages, a ording a historically-fitting tone to the palette of rich yet muted hues.
The logos are only available in full color, charcoal (heretofore referred to as “dark”) and white lead (heretofore referred to as “light”), but all the colors are available to add colorful diversity to any poster, web page, or email blast.
That said, as with the other elements, these colors must be used sparingly in order to be used e ectively. See the example below, in which a single block of color makes up only the lower third of the page and no more. This in general is a good ratio: blocks of color no larger than a third of a given surface, and patterns/illustrative elements no larger than a quarter of that same surface.
Minium #CD584B
Charcoal #2B2A29
White Lead #FCF4E8
Indigo #43647C
Sepia #BB8D51
English Green #5B6A5F
Burnt Umber #675C58
Cochineal #997375
A THOUSAND WORDS
When photography is called for, candid shots of friars gathering should be prioritized over posed images. Furthermore, natural or tactile backgrounds (green outdoors, stone walls, etc) should be chosen over more modern scenes. Extreme closeups (as on the left) or wide shots (as below) provide a sense of general anonymity rather than focusing on a specific friar, thereby emphasizing the spirit of community.
Photos should be placed in a similar grid orientation to color and pattern, making up a third or a half of the image. Placing them catty-corner to one another evokes the Dominican checkerboard pattern in the logo, and pairs with the illustrative elements.
FONT OF EVERY BLESSING
Finally, two fonts have been provided to the brand: Eckmann, for heads and captions, and Grenze, for body copy.
The font Eckmann is named after its designer, Otto Eckmann, and appeared with the Klingspor font foundry in 1900. The influence of the Jugendstil is clear to see in the flowing floral contours of the letters. This font was made for larger point sizes, like on posters, and while relatively legible, it is not meant for smaller print. The font was often used in book titles and advertisements of the 19th century and today Eckmann is often used to suggest a feeling of nostalgia and is often found on the Jugendstil facades in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It calls to mind the breweries that in part inspired this brand.
Grenze is a free font designed by Renata Polastri and the Omnibus-Type Team, and available on GoogleFonts. It is a hybrid development between Roman and Blackletter styles, in search of combining the impact and attraction of texture with the readability of classical forms. Grenze Light is used throughout this document and is the most readable option.
When used in accordance with the various instructions of this guide, the branding elements can combine to create beautiful print and digital materials, as seen in the hypothetical standing banner examples on the opposite page.
ECKMANN, 12 PT CAPTIONS
Grenze Light, 10 PT, body copy
