NORTHSTAR C H U R C H
C R E A T I V E STYLE GUIDE
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Our logo represents the church, its people and its values. It is to the NRV what the bat signal is to Gotham City. It works as a standalone graphical element; in most situations, the logomark and the wordmark should be used together. The wordmark should always be used in combination with the logomark.
Many various color combinations within the brand’s color palette can be used, depending on the background and the context. Never use textures on the logo. It should be kept simple and clean at all times. Never crowd or layer images or text on top of the logo. Never size it too small (to the point where the “don’t go” slogan is illegible.) When in doubt, simplicity wins.
L O G O + W O R D M A R K
This is the primary version of our logomark with the wordmark. This version should be used as much as is possible. It needs a bit of white space whenever it’s used with other images or text.
This is the secondary version of our logomark with the wordmark. This version serves as an example of the logo’s appearance when used in black and white print.
This is the tertiary version of our logomark with the wordmark. This version should only be used on opaque backgrounds.
S T A N D A L O N E L O G O
This is the primary version of our logo, which uses three of our four colors.
This is the secondary version of our logo, which uses our darkest blue.
This is the tertiary version of our logo, which is white and should only be used on opaque backgrounds.
F O N T S We use two font families for our official church documents and publications. Futura and Futura Condensed Medium are our primary fonts. Use them as title fonts and as body fonts. Try not to use Futura Condensed ExtraBold for body text or titles. Avenir, Avenir Next and Avenir Next Condensed are our secondary font families. Again, these can be used as title fonts or body fonts. 11 pt is the default body text font size, unless the specific publication calls for it. Our leading is set at 13 point for body paragraphs. The tracking is zero. The kerning is set to Metrics. The text is justified left.
PLEASE AVOID USING >3 FONTS IN DESIGNS.
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Futura Condensed Medium 11pt for body text “Cup instant breve grinder ristretto ut espresso variety froth. Foam grounds cup, galão, shop organic sugar and wings eu medium cortado. Dripper strong, cappuccino id eu cup crema organic aroma affogato. Id, java, dripper, body siphon beans variety ristretto spoon cappuccino coffee aromatic.”
FUTURA CONDENSED MEDIUM TITLES SHOULD BE ALL-CAPS. Futura Medium 11pt for body text “Grounds pumpkin spice, barista, extraction carajillo beans ristretto whipped. Crema blue mountain eu instant to go extraction americano spoon shop acerbic. Mug, extraction affogato frappuccino cappuccino qui filter lungo. Ut and redeye cream doppio cream, id grinder french press.”
FUTURA MEDIUM TITLES SHOULD BE ALL-CAPS.
A F Light Light Oblique Book Roman Book Oblique Oblique Medium Medium Oblique Black Black Oblique Heavy Heavy Oblique
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Next Ultra Light Next Ultra Light Italic Regular Italic Medium Medium Italic Demi Bold Demi Bold Italic Bold Bold Italic Heavy Heavy Italic
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Next Condensed Ultra Light Next Condensed Ultra Light Italic Next Condensed Regular Next Condensed Italic Next Condensed Medium Next Condensed Medium Italic Next Condensed Demi Bold Next Condensed Demi Bold Italic Next Condensed Bold Next Condensed Bold Italic Next Condensed Heavy Next Condensed Heavy Italic
Avenir (Light) 11pt for body text “Dripper et, mug id saucer, to go dripper irish single origin affogato. Pumpkin spice, so plunger pot aroma ristretto coffee flavour. A breve roast skinny so lungo frappuccino latte chicory black body.”
AVENIR HEAVY IN CAPS. Avenir Next (Medium) 11pt for body text “Grounds pumpkin spice, barista, extraction carajillo beans ristretto whipped. Crema blue mountain eu instant to go. Mug, extraction affogato frappuccino cappuccino qui filter lungo.”
AVENIR NEXT HEAVY ITALIC IN CAPS. Avenir Next Condensed (Regular) 11pt for body text “Grounds pumpkin spice, barista, extraction carajillo beans ristretto whipped. Crema blue mountain eu instant to go. Mug, extraction affogato frappuccino cappuccino qui filter lungo.”
AVENIR NEXT CONDENSED BOLD ITALIC IN CAPS.
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Northstar caters to a variety of demographics that process messages differently. Whether the message is being shared in an office email or shared with the church body in a weekly bulletin, our style guide is designed to help them be consistent.
WRITE INFORMATIVELY, INCLUSIVELY & INVITINGLY. Generally, you can appeal to the office’s copy of the AP Style Guide if you have specific questions. It’s designed for written, printed publications, and will be used most often for Northstar Magazine.
WRITING TIMES AND DATES
Abbreviate times using a.m. and p.m. Write out noon instead of 12 p.m. to avoid confusion. Full dates are written without the “st” or “nd” or “th” after the number. Months may be abbreviated.
WRITING QUOTES
Jess Groves, who wrote this style guide with the help of Cody Davenport and Courtney Edwards, said she introduces a person with relevant information before quoting them. “Write quotes with commas following the first full phrase,” Jess said. “Keep the comma inside the quotations. If you’ve introduced the speaker, their name comes before ‘said.’”
WRITING TO THE CHURCH
What’s the best channel to reach people? How much time do they need in advance? What action items do they need to complete after getting your message?
WRITING FOR THE WEBSITE
Give as much information as you can in the first two sentences. Include links. They come in handy when mentioning ministries, leaders, public locations and sign-up sheets. End with a way for people to contact us with questions.
WRITING FOR THE BULLETIN
All of the above applies. Brevity is more important in the bulletin, so avoid overloading blurbs with too much information. Bold information about dates, locations and contacts so information is easy to find.
C O L O R
As mentioned above, Northstar works with a limited set of colors. Feel free to move outside of these when creating graphics, but adhere to them in the case of logo creation and website design. Need to create a cohesive color palette for an image? Try ColourLovers.com.
PANTONE 647C CMYK: 96, 54, 5, 27 RGB: 35, 97, 146
PANTONE 543C CMYK: 37, 9, 0, 1 RGB: 164, 200, 225
PANTONE 430C CMYK: 33, 18, 13, 40 RGB: 124, 135, 142
PANTONE 7541C CMYK: 7, 1, 3, 2 RGB: 217, 225, 226