The Hackney Church rebranding displays its place because the "Cathedral of Creativity".
According to the studio's director James Kape, the church needed updated branding that could be "flexible in many different ways" to capture the wide range of the organization's activities and the mix of formal occasions, life events and celebrations. "We see it as a cathedral of creativity," says Kape.
It comes at the same time as a huge restoration project for St. John at Hackney Church led by John Pawson.
Omse borrowed a well-known religious motif for identity and designed a logo in the form of a radius window – based on the church's stained glass windows.
This is then adjusted to reflect the various activities of the Church. It becomes a flower that represents the brewery and a set of stacked loaves for the bakery.
The domed shape also appears in the launch campaign, which includes images of churchgoers photographed by Vicky Grout and Toby Thomas, as well as slogans designed to emphasize community focus. Omse even designed a series of illustrated beer labels that include details from the building's history.
According to Kape, the identity was three years in development and coincides with the rapid expansion of the organization's members, employees and locations, as well as its business scope. It might not be what you would expect from a church, but identity does a good job of balancing the more sober religious elements with a very welcome sense of playfulness.
omse.co