Local Belfast based firm, Paperjam Design, rebrand The Bishop and Diocese of London

Paperjam Design started working with the Church of England’s Diocese of London in 2010, working on small design projects such as posters and email templates.

When Paperjam asked for the original Diocese of London logo to use on their artwork they received a low-resolution jpeg (an unusable blurry image). So Paperjam gently persuaded the Diocese to consider redrawing and refreshing their branding. 

After Paperjam had made this suggestion the Diocese realised they needed both a refresh of their branding and they also needed to separate the Bishop of London from the Diocese brand. The Diocese of London and the Bishop of London had been sharing a brand so it was suggested that it might be better to create new brand identities for both.

Paperjam initially began work on the Bishop of London’s personal brand. As their first step in the creation of his brand researched the Bishops of London’s Crest. They contacted the Royal College of Arms and consulted the Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms to find out some useful information about the history of coats of arms and family crests.

The Bluemantle Pursuivant advised that the Arms of Bishops are quite often shown on shields in front of a crozier, or a pair of crossed croziers, which are a form of shepherd’s crook carried by bishops and conferred on them at their consecration. 

From this advice Paperjam decided to recreate a historical crest using a modern illustrative style that brings the crest up to date but at the same time reflects the heritage and authoritative qualities. Paperjam employed a professional illustrator, Marcelo Oliveira, from Portugal to help create a coat of arms that contained Amor Vincit Omnia "Love Conquers All". At request from Richard John Carew Chartres himself.

Throughout the process of the design Paperjam consulted the Bluemantle Pursuivant to ensure that the crest they were designing adhered to the Bluemantles advice. 

The colour was also an integral part of the crests. Following additional advice from the Bluemantle Pursuivant as red being the colour of London; Paperjam decided a red would be the perfect colour for the new brand. But they didn’t want The Post Office red or the red associated with London Transport instead they wanted a red with deeper tones and settled on PANTONE 186.

The Bishop of London, Richard John Carew Chartres, now uses the exact Pantone colour of red as his writing ink and signs all his correspondence in the brand colour.

As Richard John Carew Chartres is a keen environmental campaigner Paperjam suggested that all his printed materials were printed on a sustainable source and suggested Conqueror Bamboo that while retaining a traditional feel is kinder to the planet.

The biggest challenge facing Paperjam was how do you create a modern brand while still referencing its historical roots. The font for the brand was created by Paperjam and was based loosely on a copperplate Type; Paperjam felt this reflected the history of the Bishop’s role in this incredibly historic organisation that dates back to a pre-roman era.

 Paperjam presented the final brand to The Bishop of London in the Deanery near St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Bishop was delighted with the modernized crest that referenced one of the history and importance of his job. 

“We have appreciated their enthusiasm; their talent for both somber and playful design; and their love for selecting just the right materials for each” Robert Hargrave - Communications Manager, London Diocesan Fund 

The Diocese recognised the quality design Paperjam produced for the Bishop and decided consult the company about getting the Diocese of London brand updated and refreshed.

Paperjam were originally briefed by the Diocese to create a brand that was modern, not overly pastoral and that would appeal to young people. After an initial meeting with all the Bishops it became apparent that the brief needed to be changed. 

In consultation with the Bishops, Paperjam discovered they wanted a brand that acknowledged the history of the organisation and a brand that would sit comfortably with the Church of England’s branding.

After the initial briefings Paperjam presented three design directions to the key Bishops in the Diocese including the Bishop of London. Paul Malone, director of Paperjam, flew to London and had a thirty-minute window to present the three designs to the Bishops of the Diocese.

When the final design had been agreed at the presentation meeting Paperjam quickly began work on all the marketing collateral the Diocese would need with the new branding, including a fresh new website that will launch early in 2013.

Paperjam have also just finished creating a further third brand for The Bishops Charity “The Bishop of London’s Mission Fund”, which will be used throughout all the charity's materials from running tops to reports.

“The team at Paperjam have really helped us to transform our visual identity. We initially asked them to design a single poster for us. It soon became clear that they would make excellent partners in a full-scale rebrand.”

 Robert Hargrave - Communications Manager, London Diocesan Fund 

www.paperjamdesign.com