What should it look like?

All too often, a video or website’s overall look is left up to the pastor, pastor’s wife or church administrator. While it’s perfectly normal for administrative staff to make such decisions, they should be armed with plenty of knowledge to help them make decisions that will produce the best results for their ministry’s investment.

Certainly, projects should maintain consistency with the ministry’s official colors, logo and theme when appropriate.

One often overlooked rule is the likes and dislikes of the intended audience. There are many variables that determine the interest of an audience. Elements such as: colors, fonts, type of animation, style of background music and overall graphical style are or should be determined by the general audience’s age, gender, etc.

What do you know about your project’s audience? Do you know the type of audience they are, what attracts their attention and what it takes to keep them interested?

Although there is no one perfect answer to any of these questions, there are simple general rules that can help you keep your message on target.

For example, a soft, subtle color scheme may present a warm and fuzzy feeling. Yet using light brown text on a beige background may prove difficult for an older viewer whose eyes can’t decipher between the two similar colors. A video with fast moving, sci-fi style graphics may grab the attention of a youth or even an older male viewer while “turning-off” most female viewers.

Let’s not get so focused on the elements that we forget the message itself. After all, every website, video and graphical image should have a message. They are all forms of communication in one way or another.
While good looking graphics and animation can grab a viewer’s attention, they don’t guarantee the message will be communicated clearly and efficiently. So, keeping your message clear and simple should rank among the most important rules.

What are some ways you can insure your message is being communicated well. Poll various people within the scope and demographics of your project on how it communicated to them is one way although this would most likely be done after the project is complete. Employing the knowledge of sales and marketing professionals before and during project construction will go a long way to insure you project is both effective and efficient before you shell-out any money.

We all like to be “wooed” and entertained, but we must remember that form and function must work together to make an effective communication tool.