Colorful, stylized text that reads 'MICROSTRAIN' on a pink background.

IMAGINARIUM

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Brand Identity
& Design Thinking

2020

FROM PROBLEM
TO DESIGN

Our Process

Employing both Graphic Design and Design Thinking, Marion Design Co. worked alongside Imaginarium, an organization seeking a new model of ministry rooted in design thinking and social innovation, to develop a brand identity and educational materials. As a result, we not only designed a new brand for Imaginarium, but also a wide variety of materials ranging from booklets to board games.

Imaginarium began when Rev. Dr. Amanda Drury, with Indiana Wesleyan University’s School of Theology and Ministry, applied for a grant to fund an idea to redesign the teenage experience within the church and to develop innovative means of discipleship for upcoming generations. Imaginarium began as a program to aid churches in forming the habit of thinking creatively about the Bible. The program soon shifted to specifically engage youth in the church, seeing young believers as the key audience for adopting design thinking and sharing it beyond the church. Fundamentally, Imaginarium aids churches in their ministry to young people, strategically implementing design thinking exercises with the end goal of empowering young people, and consequently their families, in faith, theology, and creativity.

Our work for Imaginarium may be divided into two categories: brand identity development and design thinking curriculum.
As we developed a brand for Imaginarium, we focused on the following objectives:
- Reflect the earnest nature of the Gospel while embodying the whimsicality of the creative process.
- Encapsulate Imaginarium’s goals of building community, sparking creativity, being spiritually formative,
  and implementing sustainability.
- Encompass a playful yet inspiring tone.
- Be accessible and memorable to younger generations.
Overall, we sought to create a brand that may support and embolden churches.
Our design process began with both primary and secondary research. We pulled from literature reviews, ethnography, observations, and demographic data, and performed audits of similar companies and churches.
The team then developed a set of themes including versatility, flexibility, dynamic, and playfulness to encapsulate the program and keep in mind as we moved forward with our own design thinking.

As part of the brand identity, we created seven key ideals for Imaginarium, and created seven metaphors to correspond with each ideal. The ideals and metaphors are as follows:
01: Social Innovation, represented by the adaptability of Sand
02: Love + Empathy, represented by accommodation of a Rubber Band
03: Missional Presence, represented by the unity of Stained Glass
04: Missional Imagination, represented by the imaginative world of a
Geodome Jungle Gym
05: Build Community, represented by the nature of The Trinity
06: Spark Creativity, represented by the ingenuity of Magnetix Toys
07: Generate and Sustain, represented by the strength of a Geodesic Dome
These seven ideals and their corresponding metaphors informed our design choices as we moved forward in our design process.

Using color theory, we chose a set of colors for the brand that would appeal to a younger generation--the primary audience of Imaginarium. We intentionally selected colors to inspire playfulness, one of Imaginarium’s key themes.
We also identified verbal characteristics to be used in Imaginarium materials moving forward, ensuring consistency in language, tone, and ultimately the narrative of Imaginarium.
Our process was always guided by Rev. Dr. Amanda Drury’s vision for Imaginarium, using her sketches as inspiration for the brand and all materials to follow.
Visual Brand Identity
The brand identity we created for Imaginarium balances playfulness with the sacred, subtly referencing the brand’s ideals and mission. Our design appeals to both church imagery and the aesthetic of the broader community, engaging both groups as part of Imaginarium’s audience. The unity of the design encourages collaboration and the whimsy of the design encourages creativity, directly alluding to Imaginarium’s mission to lead groups to work collaboratively to discover creative solutions. Physically, the brand identity includes a mark, color palette, typeface, secondary imagery, and brand language.
Design Thinking Materials
Beyond the brand, we worked with Rev. Dr. Amanda Drury to design curriculum materials for churches, teens, and families journeying through the Imaginarium program. Some of these materials took the form of booklets, in which we joined the brand’s identity with theological content. We also created an app, a website, journey maps, theme boxes, guided worksheets, activity pamphlets, a board game, and more. Whichever form they take, these materials employ both design and discipleship principles to guide students in learning about Scripture, their communities, and themselves. With every material we created, we underwent a process of sketching, drafting, prototyping, critiquing, and editing before finalizing the material.