- Visual Identity
The Cenacle on the Lake Retreat Center
The Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center wanted to rebrand to a new name that better honored the Cenacle Sisters who founded it. The retreat center offers a variety of prayer and retreat offerings that primarily serve women.
Client: The Cenacle on the Lake
Scope: Brand Strategy, Visual Identity, Letterhead Suite, Brochure
Overview
The Archdiocese of New Orleans was undergoing a rebirth with a new focus: to provide a welcoming, sacred space for Catholic women to encounter Jesus in the tradition of Ignatian Spirituality. They renamed it The Cenacle on the Lake Retreat Center, as a nod to the Cenacle Sisters who founded it, and were seeking a new brand identity that aligns with its renewed purpose.
The Retreat Center wanted to highlight its strengths: peaceful, serene grounds, a dedication to Ignatian spirituality, and a focus on providing women with a safe and sacred space to get away from the busyness of life and encounter Jesus. They wanted their branding to honor the work of the Cenacle Sisters, but move them into the future and away from a reputation of being stuffy or old-fashioned. They also needed to fill more spots on every retreat, including the newly launched Women of Manresa retreats, in order to keep the Center sustainable.
Beginning with the BrandSpark Brand Strategy, I walked them through a deep discernment process to identify their strengths, their closely-held values, and to build out a brand personality for them that differed from their competitors and highlighted their truest features, such as their feminine nature and dedication to restoration and renewal of soul. I also narrowed their target audience of women age 20-65 down to the portion of it that needed the most convincing but also stood to gain the most from attendance: busy Catholic women ages 25-45.
Once we had their messaging, tone of voice, target audience and brand personality worked out, the visual identity came together. With the word Cenacle meaning The Upper Room, I wanted to depict the feeling of being with Mary in the upper room as she awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit, from the perspective of being in the room. It was important that we did not depict a literal upper room but the feeling of being in the upper room, with hope and movement and anticipation. I chose to use an arch shape to represent a window, through which you can see the lake on which the Retreat Center rests. The depiction of Mary in the logo is a nod to its Catholic heritage, but is also an invitation to the viewer to see themselves in that place, awaiting an encounter with Jesus.
The supporting colors, fonts, sublogos and elements work together to establish a flowy, feminine feel that brings peace to the viewer. The combination of Marian blues and soft pinks are reminiscent of a sunset over the lake, and the brand patterns exude a soft, peaceful, feminine vibe.
The Cenacle has launched their new branding in their newsletter, social media, website and letterhead and is getting a very positive response from their stakeholders and target audience. One viewer remarked, "when I saw the logo I felt tears in my eyes and couldn't wait for my next retreat there." The branding successfully communicates the still, peaceful feeling each woman can expect from their silent retreat, day of prayer, Bible study, or other gathering at The Cenacle on the Lake.
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