Below are Bethlehem Lutheran Church, West Dundee, IL, logo files. Use of these logos without written permission is a violation of copyright law.
If you have received written permission to use these logo files below, significant restrictions apply. For consistent branding and protect our logo, there are strict rules you must know and follow. These include:
Read and Comply with All LCMS Guidelines
Before using Bethlehem’s Logo, read and comply with all LCMS Brand and Logo Center requirements and guidelines. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has specific rules to follow for use of the Synod Cross Logo, Color Luther Rose Logo, Black and White Luther Rose Logo, Stained Glass Luther Rose Logo, Woodcut Luther Rose Logo, the Brand Signature, Brand Statement, Brand Marketing and specially colored Logo variants for special applications, approved Logo Configurations for a variety of print and display color capabilities, Color Palettes, Fonts and more.
A great deal can be learned and must be learned by comprehensively going through all of the references on the above LCMS web page. Much of the same concerns apply to the use of the Bethlehem Logos. These also have Conditions of Use, Restricted Users, Restricted Uses and a strictly controlled File Release and Usage Agreement with specific terms of use. For example, use by a private individual or business is strictly prohibited. Using non-standard colors, sizes, scaling, alterations, fonts, margins, placement and more are all also strictly prohibited.
Read and Understand Key Logo Design Elements
We have designed and approved a full-color Logo, a gray scale Logo and a black and white Logo. We have designs and examples also showing proper usage for applications where Logo is used alone, with specific approved text and used with companion text that is not part of the official Logo.
One set of versions of the official Logo contains no text. These are used where text isn’t needed because it is communicated elsewhere on the printed item or website (e.g., on a letterhead) or where text won’t fit or where adding text will force the Logo to be smaller than minimal size requirements or where the use of text is deemed unnecessary in writing (e.g., a banner always displayed in church may not need a Logo accompanied by the church name text while a banner displayed at a festival booth or draped on a float would require the Logo graphic plus the church name to be effective).
Logo Cross Figure
The Logo graphic is comprised of a view of a cross figure from below. The cross figure is in perspective with a vanishing point in Heaven. The cross figure can be seen as a cross or possibly a figure. The cross figure is always white and never transparent to convey both a cross silhouette and a figure in a white robe with outstretched arms.
Rippling Living Water Trinity
The cross figure overlays a trinity of rippling water rings ala the Holy Trinity with additional symbolism of Living Water, Spreading The Word, radiating rings of light from the lighted cross on our over-100-year-old church and more. In color versions, the bands exactly match the Synod Cross Logo colors.
Living Water Drop
From the cross figure’s right arm there is a single drop of Living Water. This is always white and never transparent to always symbolize Living Water. Blue or black or partially see-thru versions of the Living Water drop are never permitted.
Cupped Hands Receiving Living Water
Receiving the drop of Living Water is a pair of cupped hands. The hands are always white, never transparent and always outlined as in the design. The hands are never fully outlined so they draw in the viewer and do not appear as disembodied hands or a hand statuette. The hands are always receive a new, pristine drop of fresh Living Water and never holding a “puddle” of Living Water. The hands are never colored to match any given race or never resized to match any specific group. The hands are always white and unisized, not to match any given race or individual but match any member of the church or any member of the public viewing the Logo.
Subtle 3-D Shadow Color
The white cross–which might ordinarily be wood-colored–and white drop–which might be rendered in water-blue–are white and so are the hands in a purposeful effort to make all the design elements colorful yet color-free. Other than the blue Living Water ripples and the black outlines, the only other color gives a subtle 3D effect to the cross figure. In keeping with the color-blind Logo and dual purpose of the cross figure, the shaded portions of the cross/robe are again in a hue that exactly matches the Synod color palette. Since Bethlehem is in the family of Missouri Synod churches, our Logo colors all draw from the family of Synod Logo colors.
Taking any liberties with our official Logo versions would undermine some or all of the above symbolism, consistent branding, copyrights and future trademarks and service marks so no liberties on Logo usage are permitted without express written consent by the church and its Logo and Branding Administrator.
The following are highlights of key Logo usage requirements.
Use Only Approved Artwork
The official logo files found below may be used only with express written permission from Bethlehem Lutheran Church, West Dundee, Illinois’ Logo and Branding Administrator. Use the CONTACT US form if you need to contact the administrator. All usage requirements highlighted here and more must be met or the Logo may not be used.
All versions of the Logo may NOT be used without express written permission. Just as you cannot use McDonald’s or Coke’s name or logo or Nike’s graphic logo swash on your website or printed materials, you also may not use Bethlehem’s Logo on your website, banners, signs, cards, TV ad or other printed items without express written permission.
Also, getting written permission for one application does NOT mean you can use the Logo freely anywhere else. By comparison, if you partner with Pixar to make a movie and have permission to use the Pixar logo on your DVD case, this does NOT give you permission to use elsewhere, such as on toys or T-shirts you want to sell. Written permission must be obtained for each and every placement of the Bethlehem Logo.
NO liberties may be taken with the offical Logo versions. No color changes are allowed. No design alterations are allowed. No substitute text is allowed. No approximations or stylized versions of the Logo are allowed. No Logos scaled below the minimum size are allowed. No enlarged Logos are allowed where the resolution compromises the integrity of the design like you sometimes see when a Logo or graphic breaks down and smooth lines start displaying ugly artifacts (e.g., when lines or text edges become rough and “jaggy”). No reproduction from unoffical Logo artwork is allowed. For example, if Logo is printed on a handout, it is NOT acceptable to scan the handout or take a photo of it and then pass the 2nd-generation reproduction off as an official Logo.
The Logo files are Portable Network Graphic (PNG) files. These are, obviously, very portable so multiple designers with multiple toolsets should be able to work with our official Logo PNGs. PNGs are designed to also be lossless. This is critical for Logo files. Other common formats, like JPG/JPEG, reduce file size by sacrificing quality. The P in JPEG stands for Photographic and it is a compression standard for making photo files smaller by discarding image content that is least important to the human eye to perceive an acceptable quality photographic image. Given that PNGs are lossless and that JPG/JPEG lowers quality to lower file sizes, PNG must always be used when supported by a website, browsers, banner printer, etc.
When a certain printer or media outlet does not support PNG files, printers or outlets that do support PNGs should be sought. If PNGs are not supported by a given printer or other partner, again special, written permission must be sought and extra requirements must be met. These include Logo-quality-ensuring measures for applications where non-PNG files are the only ones accepted by the third party. For example, if a JPEG is required, special rules and guidelines are necessary since photo quality loss is typically much harder to detect than Logo design quality loss. As another example, if “printer” is really a cutter that needs a vector-version of our Logo, that is a completely different technology and process and a PNG or even JPEG will not typically result in a satisfactory, high-quality job.
Assuming PNG is an acceptable file format, there are several variations of Logos to consider before using for a specific application.
The full-color version should be used for multi-color applications. These include Bethlehem’s official website, FaceBook and other official social media sites as well as multi-color printed items like announcement cards, rack cards, business cards, banners, signs, etc. The full-color version uses multiple blue hues that echo the Missouri Synod Logo colors exactly. Color calibration to precisely match the colors in Bethlehem’s Logo and the Synod Logo are required.
For applications where no color is supported and gray scale artwork is supported, the gray scale variant should be used. The gray scale values have been designed to map to the value of the colors used in the color Logo. The gray scale values should not deviate from the official gray scale logo.
For applications where no color and no gray scale values are supported, the black and white version of the Logo should be used, again only with written permission and adherence to all usage requirements. Black and white must always be used unless special permission has been obtained in writing. For example, the black and white Logo should NOT be printed as a red design on a white background or a blue design on a black field.
Use Only Approved Fonts
One set of versions of the official Logo contains no text. These versions are comprised of a view of a cross figure from below. The cross figure overlays a trinity of rippling water rings that match the Synod Logo colors. From the cross figure’s right arm there is a single drop of Living Water.