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A few days ago, I received a message on Twitter from a concerned graphic designer. He had just discovered a church using an obvious knock-off of the Game of Thrones logo for a sermon series.

My eyes rolled.

“Isn’t this considered stealing,” he asked. In short, after seeing the design, my answer for this particular case was a no. US copyright laws can be relatively liberal on what’s considered “parody” and it would require the author to press the issue for any legal issues to arise. However, it did leave me shaking my head.

In my time working in graphic design, I’ve had my fair share of requests for parody pieces and for downright copying. I’ve been that guy making a “Joy Story” design for a kid’s event and a “Faithbook” graphic for a youth camp. (Try not to think too less of me. Sometimes parody pieces are what pay the bills.) But as I’ve matured as an artist, I’ve realized that copying/stealing will only take you so far.

Don’t get me wrong. You’ll never meet anyone more in favor of pulling inspiration from various places. I love getting inspired by designs in television, movies, websites, stores I visit, and even other churches. But, I believe there is a key to pulling inspiration from other designs that many inexperienced artists miss. To go beyond simply mooching off of someone else’s hard work, you must make it your own.

Whitney George once said, “Originality doesn’t exist. It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing new under the sun. Authenticity is what matters.” Great artists are able to see good designs and envision how they can be used to fit their context. This subtle difference in approach makes a huge difference in execution. It’s what takes you from creating identical copies to designing legitimate works of art. When someone looks at something you’ve created, they should be able to see you in it. Your art should reflect your creativity and tailor fit the goals of your project.

I’ve long preached that, as followers of Christ, we should be the most creative people on Earth. After all, we are connected to the Master Creator. It’s because of this that it pains me to see the Church stuck in a habit of simply duplicating whatever’s trending.

Here are three tips for being inspired by other designs without stealing:

1. Regularly Visit Places of Inspiration

Make it a regular, if not daily, practice to visit various websites for design inspiration. My favorites include Dribbble, Behance, and Designspiration. Sometimes I’ll even find things I like on Instagram and Pinterest. The more ideas you take in, the more references you’ll have in mind when it comes time to design.

2. Combine Several Ideas Into One

"The Blessed Life" Sermon GraphicRather than copying one specific design, find two or three pieces that reflect the style that you’re going for and combine them. Examine the individual components that make these designs great. It’s common for me to pull a color palette from one piece, a shape or pattern from another, and a font from a design I saw six months ago. After the design is complete, you’ve created an entirely new piece that looks nothing like your initial inspiration.

3. Look For Inspiration In Other Industries

Light Bearers LogoOne of the easiest traps to fall into as you design graphics for your ministry is only looking to other churches for inspiration. While there is value in seeing what other ministries are doing, there are a million other industries that are making great designs, too. Some of my favorite projects have been inspired by designs that have nothing to do with Jesus. You may find a great design for a restaurant and repurpose it for a sermon graphic, or turn an online ad into a kid’s ministry logo.

Overall, I would simply challenge you to go deeper in your designs. You’re better than mooching off of other graphics for everything you do. Be creative. Be unique. Be you. I give you permission to copy from other great designs, but I encourage you to put in the hard work to do it the right way.

Kendall Conner

What do you get when you combine production, design, and communications together with a passion for the Church? It turns out, this is the precise formula to make up Kendall Conner. For over 20 years, this Christ-led creative has been bridging the gap between media and ministry. In addition to serving as the creative pastor in his local church, he is the Chief of Operations for Church Motion Graphics, a ministry-focused design studio that serves thousands of houses of worship around the globe. Kendall specializes in equipping church media leaders and volunteers to utilize creativity in their services to share the hope of Jesus.

10 Comments

  • Faye says:

    Great article…confirms what I have been doing (without any training…but Spirit-led!)
    Can you share with me / us the in-house procedure at your church by which you are given notice of events/sermons/series etc. to be promoted? One church I have worked at uses “Green Sheets” but often the update process was skipped (creating graphic redo).

    Thanks!

    • Kendall Conner says:

      Hi Faye,

      I currently work in a new church plant that is preparing for a September 7th Launch Day. That being said, a lot of our procedures have not been solidified. I can, however, point you in the direction of a post I wrote awhile back about the procedure a client (church) of mine uses. Hope that helps!

      http://www.thecreativepastor.com/dirt-sermon-series-graphic/

      Blessings,

      Kendall

      • Hey! I was really excited to see the link to the media procedure that another church uses (in hopes of creating something the rest of our staff is capable of using) and the link was broken… Can you lead me to a link that works with that?

  • “we should be the most creative people on Earth. After all, we are connected to the Master Creator.”
    Yes!!!! One day in a fit of discontent over vanilla Christian media, I wrote down in my idea journal almost those exact words. I got really excited when I read them in your post. So cool to see that there are other creatives out there with the same mindset and conviction. Keep preaching it brother!!

  • Duncan Campbell says:

    Some great places I’ve found inspiration:
    http://hatchshowprint.com
    http://www.graphic-exchange.com/home.html
    http://www.logolounge.com especially the “current trends” page. Always worth a look.

  • Trent says:

    Hey Kendall, kinda funny but I have found myself in an identical situation. Im pretty new in the game as far as church design and one of the first series graphics I am being asked to make is for a series titled Game of Thrones. What is you opinion on parody series titles in general? Am I wrong to feel like it leans a little too far on the wrong side of cheesy?

    • Kendall Conner says:

      It’s a little cheesy, but not the worst. I’ve heard of many Game of Thrones sermons.

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