The Espoo Evangelical Lutheran Parishes have been heavily involved in the development of the common visual identity of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. As a result, the adoption of the new visual identity is going forward rapidly in Espoo. 

– The renewal makes the Church identity more recognizable, says Communications Specialist and Graphic Designer Tiina Kemilä from the Communication Department of the Church in Espoo.

The logo update clarifies the Church in Espoo affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The color of the cross in the logo is green, and the cross is now be placed slightly larger in front of the parish title. Alongside this, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland  circular logo with the Martti cross will be introduced as well. This connects the parish or branch to the visual identity of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Parish’s own logo will highlight the Parish in question where needed. If the circular logo is not used alongside the Parish title, the abbreviation "Suomen ev.lut. kirkko"  in Finnish and in English the title Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland will always appear underneath the Parish title.

The new color for both the Parishes and the Parish Union is also green. This also means that the individual Parish colors are abandoned, alongside with the orange color of the Parish Union. The new visual identity will use an accessible colour palette, as well as graphic pictograms and new background patterns.

The identity renewal has been a major effort for the whole organization. Over one hundred employees from the Church in Espoo participated in the visual identity training sessions in Autumn 2024. The transition to the new identity will be gradual, and during the transition period, the old and new identities can be seen side by side.

The Visual Identity Renewal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

The Plenary of the Church Council approved on September 17th, 2024 the second phase of the "Towards a Common Visual Identity" project, which includes the renewed logo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the new logo model for the Parishes.

The shared visual identity supports the recognition of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and its Parishes. Building and adopting a common identity is cost-effective for both the entire Church and individual Parishes, compared to each Parish developing its own visual identity. Local elements are highlighted in the shared identity.

The identity has been developed collaboratively by the Communication Specialists working in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The project has been coordinated by the Communications Department of the Church Council. The development of the visual identity has been led by Communications Designer Claudia Treuthardt.

Building and adopting the common visual identity is also highly cost-effective for the entire church and individual parishes, compared to each parish developing separate visual identities. Locality is expressed through many elements in the shared identity.