What’s your name?
Bryen Graver
Where do you serve, what is your title and how long have you served there?
I currently work at Wesco Group Inc. as a Marketing Graphic Designer, but I spent five years at Northshore Community Church as the Digital Communications Specialist. I also do volunteer design and web work for my current church, Quest Church, as well as freelance on the side mostly for churches and ministries.
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t go to church?
I work to effectively communicate and promote the plethora of goings-on in churches through graphic design.
What were some of the things that you experienced that shaped the way you approach your work?
The first thing was how hectic everything was. Between social media, sermon series, Sunday services, digital and print production, website, etc., they were all beasts of their own and I couldn’t innovate everything like I wanted to. So I took to updating one thing at a time, prioritizing certain projects over another and being okay with some projects taking longer than others, if they got done at all.
The other was realizing that sometimes, creativity is in how something gets printed efficiently or how your staff can keep unified under one style. As a result my job became much more people-centric with less of an attitude consisting of “I’m going to redesign everything and make it clean and modern!”
What’s the one thing you wish people knew about your job?
The mental and emotional effort that’s required to design and communicate well.
What is the one tool for your job that you can’t live without and why?
Let’s be honest, I gotta go with Adobe Illustrator. A close second would be my MX Master mouse from Logitech. A simple tool, but something I notice every day I use it.
What is the biggest mistake that you see churches making when it comes to communications and marketing?
Too much content clutter, but that’s really a symptom of a misunderstanding of the power of visual communication. When paired with written communication, you can achieve a more powerful message with less than half the words.
Who is someone that you look up to in the church communications world?
Kem Meyer. I heard her speak once at That Church Conference and have read both her books. Her perspective helped shape mine, it’s one I hope to help other churches and ministries grasp.
A very clear point-of-view from a natural creative person and in a brief but simple words. Thank you for letting us hear you, Bryen! Strive to keep your creative juice flowing to inspire creatives, especially the young ones.
