St John’s Parramatta
Celebrating 220+ years
Your Community United by hope.
In the heart of Parramatta, St John’s Cathedral is Australia’s oldest church site in continuous use. It was established in 1796 as a makeshift timber building.
The site on which the church stands has been used continuously for a house-of-worship since 1803. The foundation stone of the first church on this site was laid in 1799, during Governor King’s term of office. It was the only church in the colony until 1809.
The twin steeples were completed in 1819. The building fell into disrepair and it was found necessary to completely rebuild the church. Only the steeples and tower remain today as part of the earlier church. The north and south transepts were added in 1883 by Colonial Architect, Edmund Blackett.
Now with public plans of a $400m proposal, set to feature two towers, an aged care centre, student accommodation, three auditoriums and a public square. St. John’s Anglican Church is “the jewel in Parramatta’s heritage crown”.
Rebranding one of Australia’s oldest Churches came with a key component to identifying and retaining the symbolic cathedral and to do so in a modern unique way.
By redrawing the silhouette we were able to reference the unique arched door and create a logo that could be used on its own or with its wordmark.
Referencing the shapes throughout the building from the heritage brickwork, arched and round windows. The buildings sandstone, purple jacarandas, greened cooper roof and coloured stained windows inspired a sympathetic colour palette. A typography system incorporating Noto allowed us to actively interchange between languages within the same font from simplified Chinese, Farsi and English.
Project Overview
Visual & Creative Direction
Typography
Branding & Marketing
A4 Flyers & Brochures
Social Media, Email Graphic
Photography Direction
Poster Design
Advertising and Signage
Website
Client
St John’s Anglican Church Parramatta