It's been a long time and I stop working on this material.
The Bible offers no precise physical descriptions of Jesus, aside from passing down that he had olive skin, dark hair, and Middle Eastern features. Furthermore, no additional details are highlighted in historical records. Meanwhile, ancient relics offer us some clues—for instance, the Holy Face imprinted on the veil in Manoppello, a town in Abruzzo, Italy. These relics, among others, have become subjects of in-depth study thanks to advancements in technology.
See Jesus Soldier Journal, where this brand identity has been applied
Before diving into illustrator, I had to go through some research.
According to a cross-referencing of digitally applied 3D data, it has been possible to visually project what a face with Middle Eastern features might look like. Yet, to this day, the image of a Caucasian man persists in the collective imagination. This is due to the powerful influence of Catholic iconography, which dominated the Western scene throughout art history.
Art history teaches us that, before the Renaissance, Jesus' head was painted as that of an adult with a serious expression. In fact, according to some at the time, it was erroneously believed that the scope of his great message of salvation could not be contained within the face of a child.
But let us not dwell too much on the appearance of His face, as interesting as the speculations may be (discussed by many). In the Bible, in Isaiah, it is said that Jesus had no beauty or majesty in His appearance to attract attention. But perhaps that is precisely the point. Jesus did not come as a celebrity or a king in golden robes. He presented Himself as an ordinary man, someone who would likely walk down the street unnoticed. Jesus did not come to impress us with His looks. He came to change the world.
✝️ 1 Samuel 16:7
The Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
The Jesus Soldier Brand Style Guide follows a high level design according to the methodological and technical framework of process, including the color system, the typographic scale, the payoff, the contrasting variations and general conditions of use.
I created a personal and modest digital depiction of Jesus to be used as the profile picture for soldatodigesu.org. The trademark and logotype have been designed to be reproduced on different scales, for example from the icon of a browser shortcut link to the printed poster. Just like my trademark iSpartakos, i always prefer a close-up. The style is intentionally simple. Without any outlines, the areas are defined by the contrast of soft colors using an sRGB profile. The red color in the background represents the cost of His sacrifice for all of us. The construction grid is based on the 8-pixel unit, allowing scalability across today's vast array of screens, most of which are divisible by multiples of 8. The pictogram can be enclosed within a square or a circle—the latter being recommended, as it is the perfect shape even in nature.
Stationery item image coordination is key to building brand identity (and most of all to spreading the gospel) by ensuring all branded physical items, like business cards, letterheads and even patches consistently use brand elements like logos, colors, and fonts. This consistency creates a professional and cohesive image, making the brand more recognizable and building a strong, unified perception in the minds of customers.
