Designer: Michael Ulrich

Independent Bible Church (IBC)—a nondenominational place of worship in Washington state—is searching for a new identity. Church officials are currently redesigning everything from bulletins and brochures to their website.

But to find the right look for their newsletter, Tanya Engel, assistant to the executive pastor, called on DG for our assistance. She says the current design is “a hodgepodge,” and its large physical size (17 x 11 in.) can be overwhelming.

Engel says of her vision for the perfect redesign, “It would tie into the other materials. People would instantly recognize it and would read it for the important news it contains ... [it would also be] easy to read, especially for older eyes.”

The newsletter operates on a strict budget and production is done in-house with a risograph, then assembled by volunteers. But rather than be put off by these limitations, DG creative director Michael Ulrich was intrigued. “I like projects like this—tight budgets, basic production and limited resources—it makes for a real-world solution,” he notes. “It’s easy to fix something by saying ‘spend more money’ or ‘hire more people,’ but when those aren’t options you have to get creative.”

Ulrich would like to see IBC fold pages into a more manageable size of 8½ x 11 in. This would also give the church the fl exibility to vary the number of pages so it isn’t necessary to repeat, stretch or cut information to fit the current three-sheet format. But that will also mean a change in layout from reader spreads—pages grouped in order—to printer spreads, where the front page is opposite the back page, etc. so that it will read correctly when folded.

Ulrich also suggests a different organizational system: two- and three-column grids for paragraph-heavy features, and four columns for shorter paragraphs and items like classifieds and calendars.

Ulrich says the current design has too many fonts; he recommends limiting the selection to two families, a serif and a sans serif. “Both the serif and san serif families should be full—a light face, regular or book face and a bold face, plus the associated italics, alternates and small caps,” he concludes.

1. Original newsletter
Tanya Engel—assistant to IBC’s executive pastor—thinks the large size and lack of organization makes the newsletter seem overwhelming.

2. Fonts
DG creative director Michael Ulrich opted for fewer fonts in his redesign. He chose Bell Regular for longer paragraphs and Trade Gothic Light for shorter paragraphs, lists, calendars, etc.

3. Grid
The designer says longer paragraphs belong in two- and three-column grids, while shorter paragraphs like event calendars should go in a four-column format.

4. New format
The newsletter can be made to fit on two sheets (eight pages) or two sheets plus one 81⁄2 x 11 in. sheet in the center (10 pages). Since it can be folded and taped, rather than bound using staples, mailing won’t present a problem.

5. Redesign
The new look is simplifi ed and appealing to the eye. The smaller size also makes it seem more accessible.

6. Content
In the current design, it can be hard to find a specific story. Grouping articles by topics or similar themes, and keeping regular sections in the same place from issue-to-issue, would help people find the articles they are interested in.

7. Clip art
All of the art Ulrich used in the redesign came from www.liquidlibrary.com.

8. Logo
IBC didn’t ask for a new logo, but Ulrich thinks the church’s full name should be in the mark. “It’s OK to refer to it as IBC when speaking about it in text, but it’s not good to do that in a logo,” he explains.