The Ark Church had its main brand done and a children's ministry with no brand of its own. The kids needed an identity of their own, one that read fun, welcoming, safe, and exciting in the church's own survey words, and it had to be on the walls of a new building by August.
We put an arch over the a and let the letters loosen up. One lowercase wordmark, seven colors, two typefaces, and a family of squiggles that can hold a wall on their own. The same files we handed off in June 2023 went onto a sixteen-foot check-in wall in August 2025.
Seven colors with kid names: Clouds, Popsicle, Lime, Leaves, Tulip, Forest, Pine. Forma DJR for the headlines, Funkturm when a line needs to shout, Aileron for everything else.
Logo, color, and type are the baseline. The squiggles are the part that plays. They hold a sign with the wordmark in the corner and a wall with the wordmark out of frame, and every one of them is a shape a kid could draw.
This is how we present a brand. Not a logo on a white page: two full directions, each with its own mark, palette, type, elements, and applications, so the church can see the brand on a billboard and a bucket hat before it picks. Ark Kids got these two on June 9, 2023. Courtney and Clayton had their answer in three days. Cast yours first.

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2397d0182c84a2a8b420_ak-d1-logo-w1600.jpg | The wordmark
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2397d0182c84a2a8b446_ak-d1-palette-w1600.jpg | Clouds, Popsicle, Lime, Leaves, Tulip, Forest, Pine
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad239889d3c514638b1e58_ak-d1-type-w1600.jpg | Forma DJR Display, with Funkturm for the subhead
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad1d1261a847fc51e15c41_ak-three-posts-w1600.jpg | Three posts
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad1d0f99dccb64e46e0081_ak-little-world-changers-layout-w1600.jpg | Little World Changers
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad1d11eb7ee1f79887c685_ak-your-future-awaits-tee-w1600.jpg | Your future awaits for you
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad1d12eb7ee1f79887c6fe_ak-tote-w1600.jpg | The tote
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad1d10887f84e9f8f3ed17_ak-floor-2a-directory-w1600.jpg | Floor 2Ahttps://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2398e9eed3efaef9f325_ak-d2-logo-w1600.jpg | The badge: Little Leaders, Ark Kids, Big Futures
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad239806541819af3bf41c_ak-d2-palette-w1600.jpg | Sky, Woods, Cream, Blueberry, Grass, Flower, Sun, Strawberry, Rock
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad23986723109f158feede_ak-d2-type-w1600.jpg | New Spirit, with Alkaline for the subhead
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2399564a9c9727599ac9_ak-d2-three-posts-w1600.jpg | Three posts
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2399d36617e24af3a9ba_ak-d2-little-leaders-layout-w1600.jpg | Little Leaders, Big Futures!
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2398d0182c84a2a8b496_ak-d2-billboard-w1600.jpg | Little World Changers
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2398d0182c84a2a8b4ae_ak-d2-flag-w1600.jpg | Big Futures, on a hanging flag
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad239906541819af3bf4ba_ak-d2-bucket-hat-w1600.jpg | The AK badge on a bucket hat
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2399bb0b1cec0e6b8478_ak-d2-buttons-w1600.jpg | Fun Faith Love
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66f43e55ceeb126d7ecd953a/6aad2399564a9c9727599ab4_ak-d2-wayfinding-w1600.jpg | Big Dreamers, AK, Little Leaders: the cube signThe lines came with the brand. Little Leaders, Big Futures. Little World Changers. Join the fun. They went on a parent card, a sticker sheet, and a hallway wallpaper the first summer. The room walls got lines of their own two summers later: I am loved by God. God is my helper. I follow Jesus. A verse under each one.
I love our kids brand. It looks great on so many applications!
Sub-brand identity: wordmark with the arch, seven-color palette, type system, brand elements, and a brand style guide.
Launch collateral: parent card, diaper bag tag, baby-hallway wallpaper, elementary vision wall, and a first-time visitor pack (sticker sheet, coloring sheet, postcard, Love like Jesus tee).
Ark Kids page and video on the church website.
New building, 2025: two check-in walls, six room vision walls (four installed), three stretch displays, three handheld check-in signs.











































The Challenge
The Ark Church had its main brand done and a children's ministry with no brand of its own. The kids needed an identity of their own, one that read fun, welcoming, safe, and exciting in the church's own survey words, and it had to be on the walls of a new building by August.
Deliverables
I love our kids brand. It looks great on so many applications!
Courtney Small, The Ark Church, August 2025