SAINT PAUL SEMINARY FOUNDATION

Lalaan I, Silang, Cavite

Grapikatolik: The Guidelines For Social Media Page Graphic Designers

Resty Aballe Jr.

Edmund Caldea

Jervin Medina

Richmon Rey Jundis

Introduction

In the digital age, social media has become a powerful platform for communication,

connection, and community-building. Among the various types of content shared on these

platforms, graphic design plays a crucial role in capturing attention, conveying messages, and

creating an impact (Gao, et al., 2021). This is particularly true for religious pages, where the

content needs to resonate with the beliefs, values, and sensitivities of the audience.

Churches that stream their services online have become a prevailing trend in which they

predominantly use the digital world such as websites and other social media platforms as

advertisements with the noble intention of getting either message across without truly

understanding the impact of their online sites (Potgieter, 2020). This digitalization had been

triggered by the restrictions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic (Riedle, 2020). It has been a

pivotal step for all the churches to deal with the ban on gatherings because of health restrictions

to avoid the spread of the virus (Elsner, 2020). Pope Francis, remarked the book entitled, “La

Chiesa nel Digitale” (The Church in the Digital) on its preface, “the difficult period which

humanity is going through because of the pandemic has made us realize how useful

technological tools and social networks can be.” (Mayaki, 2022).

However, creating effective graphic designs for religious social media pages presents

unique challenges. These include respecting religious symbols and texts, understanding cultural

nuances, and balancing creativity with reverence. Moreover, the rapid evolution of social media

trends necessitates continuous learning and adaptation (DesignGuru, 2023).

When it comes to guidelines in creating graphic designs there are differences across the

types of religious pages. The technicalities of rebranding, creating contents and usage of signs
and symbols can vary according to the nature of each page such as a page that is supervised by a

Parish Priest, a page that is supervised by the Diocese’s Ministry of Social Communication, a

page run by a group of people and a page run by one person.

While the importance of graphic design in capturing attention and conveying messages

on social media platforms is acknowledged, there seems to be a lack of understanding about the

actual impact of these designs, especially on religious pages. The challenges in creating effective

graphic designs for religious social media pages are mentioned, but there is no clear

understanding or guidelines on how to overcome these challenges and create impactful content

(Parish, 2020).

Recognizing these challenges, our Community of Practice (CoP) Proposal in Knowledge

Management aims to establish a Facebook group dedicated to social media graphic artists

working on religious pages. This group will serve as a platform for sharing knowledge,

discussing graphic design principles, and providing guidance on the principles and guidelines for

creating graphics for religious social media pages.

Logo and CoP Name

 The word Grapikatolik is formed by taking the first five letters of Grapikero, the first

two letters of Kabataan, and the six letters from Katoliko. The logo symbolizes the youthful

and creativity and it reflects the artistic talent, and the young energy of Filipino youth as well as

their passion and commitment to God and to His church.

Statement of the Problem

It is stated that the guidelines for creating graphic designs vary across different types of

religious pages. However, there is no comprehensive study or guidelines that consider these

differences and provide a unified approach to content creation for various types of pages.

This CoP aims to formulate guidelines for religious social media page graphic designers

that discusses on graphic designing principles, the digital tools or application for creating graphic

designs, the elements needed in doing the graphic designs, the use of logos, the process of the

graphic designing and rebranding for personal page, group page, and for a page under a

supervision of the Social Communication Ministry of the Parish or by the Diocese.

Participants

This CoP aims to gather young Catholic artists who are at the same time also run

religious social media pages. It is vital to gather diverse individuals, groups and organizations

that have different and unique skills, perspectives, and experiences when it comes to creating

graphic designs. These different pages are selected to provide various insights for this CoP to

create a thorough and unique guidelines.

● Dakila- Dakila is a collective of artists and individuals in the Philippines, committed to

advocating social consciousness and human rights. This page’s practices are on the

values of compassion and social responsibility inherent in Catholic teachings, making it

an inspiring model for young Catholic artists seeking to effect positive change through

their art.

● Katolikha- Katolikha is a Catholic Graphic Design Blog based in Manila, Philippines,

that explores the intersection of design principles and Catholic themes. They have unique

focus on Catholic-inspired art and design, providing a platform for young Catholic artists

to explore their faith through their creative work.

● Carissimae Dei- Carissimae Dei is a Catholic online apostolate that focuses on the

spiritual growth of Catholic followers, as seen on their Facebook page. It provides a

platform for young Catholic artists to explore and strengthen their faith, and to help other

women uplift their morale, aligning with the community’s aim to gather and inspire

young Catholic artists.

● St.Joseph Parish and Bamboo Organ Ministry page- St. Joseph Parish and Bamboo

Organ Ministry is a Catholic parish based in Las Piñas City, Philippines, known for its

historic Bamboo Organ Church

● Pasca – Pasca is a newly organized parish based facebook page run by a youth admin.

This page posts contents about Catholic saints and uses the page to announce events and

updates of the events in the local parish of Balingasag, Misamis Oriental.

● Fratter Rhexx – This page is run by a seminarian who passionately fights for the identity

of Roman Catholic Church.

 ● Let Me Love You – This is a page run by a young priest from Quiapo Church. It uses

creative graphic designs to convey daily Gospels.

● Maria Mater Amoris – This page is run by a group of youth that shows passion and

devotion towards the Blessed Virgin Mother.

● Likhatolika – this a group of Young Catholic Artists that advocates social media

platforms as means for evangelization. They believe in the power of graphic designs to

lead souls to heaven. They offer many free trainings for graphics designing.

● Ministry Of Altar Server - Nuestra Señora Dela Paz Pantihan IV Chapel page- This page

is run by the altar servers of Maragondon. This page is supervised by the Parish priest

and by the Social Communication Ministry.

Comprehensive Summary of the Findings

The data are gathered through the use of two KM technologies namely Facebook group

and Google Forms. The following summary of all the gathered data are synthesized and

summarized that are used for the creation of the comprehensive guideline for graphic designing.

On the process of the graphic designing and rebranding

1. Brainstorm Design Ideas
2. Creating Draft and consultation from others
3. Finalizing and Final Checking of all the content in the graphic design

On graphic designing principles

A. Content
 The elements of the design must speak about its content. With the assistance of powerful
images, colors, and layout, you can deliver strong messages.

B. Typography
Typography is used to create a visual hierarchy, guiding the viewer’s eye through the
design. Typography can help to establish the mood and tone of a design.

C. Color
Color evokes emotion, communicates without words and can be associated with the
brand.

Suggested Color For Some Specific Church Celebrations and Saints

i. Advent Season
Purple symbolizes royalty during Advent. Pink/Rose often used on the thirdSunday of
Advent (Gaudete Sunday) to symbolize joy and anticipation. Blue: Some churches
use blue instead of purple to represent hope and expectation during Advent. White:
Often used on the third Sunday of Advent (Shepherds Sunday) to represent purity and
the joyful anticipation of Christ's birth. Gold: Symbolizes the glory and majesty of
Christ as the anticipated King.

ii. Lenten Season

Purple: The primary color representing penance, repentance, and preparation during
Lent.Black: Sometimes used on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday to symbolize
mourning and solemnity. Red: Symbolizes the blood of Christ and is typically used
on Palm Sunday and during Holy Week. Gray: Represents humility and restraint
during Lent and is often used alongside purple. White: Used on Easter Sunday to
signify the resurrection and victory of Christ over sin and death.

iii. Solemnities of Jesus

White and Gold that symbolizes purity, righteousness, and innocence, reflecting the
sinless nature of Jesus Christ. Purple: This color signifies royalty, power, and
 authority, representing Jesus as the King of kings. Red: This color represents
sacrifice, love, and the bloodshed for the redemption of mankind, reflecting Jesus'
crucifixion and resurrection. Blue: This color symbolizes heaven, spirituality, and the
transcendence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to earth to bring salvation
to humanity.

iv. Marian Colors

Marian Blue: This is the classic and most well-known Marian color. It is a rich, deep
blue reminiscent of the sky and often represents the Virgin Mary. Mary's Rose Pink:
This color represents the delicate and feminine nature ofthe Virgin Mary. It is a soft,
rosy pink that symbolizes love, compassion, and tenderness. Lily White: This color
represents purity and innocence, qualities often associated with the Virgin Mary. It is
a bright, pristine white that evokes a sense of holiness and divine grace. Gold: Gold
represents the glory and majesty of Mary. It symbolizes her exalted status as the
Queen of Heaven and is often used to adorn icons and statues of her. Gold adds a
touch of elegance and regality to any color palette. Heavenly Purple: This color
represents spirituality and the divine connection with the Virgin Mary. It is a deep,
royal purple that signifies wisdom, faith, and the mystical nature of Mary's presence.
It adds a sense of mystique and reverence to any design.

v. Saint Joseph

Deep Blue: Deep blue represents the divine, symbolizing spirituality, faith, and
devotion. It is often associated with Saint Joseph as the patron saint of fathers and
workers. Brown: Brown is often used to represent humility and simplicity, which are
attributes often associated with Saint Joseph. It also symbolizes the earth and the
grounding nature of his role as a protector and provider. White: White represents
purity and righteousness. It is often associated with saints and angels, and it
symbolizes the virtuous nature of Saint Joseph. White also signifies light and
spirituality. Green: Green symbolizes growth, renewal, and hope. It is often used to
represent the life and vitality that Saint Joseph brings to those who seek his
 intercession. Green also signifies the abundance and blessings that come from his
patronage.

D. Negative Space
Negative space allows viewers to create focus and balance, it draws attention to the
positive space or the design elements. It also improves readability and clarity of the
elements of the design.

E. Alignment, Proportionality and Balance

These three related elements allow the design to be seen as organized, to have a proper
and balance scaling.

On the digital tools or application for creating graphic designs

1. Pixabay (www.pixabay.com): Pixabay offers a wide range of free high-quality images,

including religious images, that are free for personal and commercial use. You can easily search
for religious themes, such as crosses, churches, or religious symbols, and download them in
various sizes and resolutions.

2. Unsplash (www.unsplash.com): Unsplash is a popular platform for high-quality, free stock

photos. While it may not specialize in religious images, you can still find a good selection of
religious-related photographs that are free to use for any purpose. Just search for keywords like
"faith" or "spirituality" to find relevant images.

3. Freepik (www.freepik.com): Freepik offers not only high-quality images but also a wide
range of creative resources, including vectors, illustrations, icons, and more. While some content
on Freepik requires attribution, you can filter your search results to find free and premium
resources that meet your requirements. They have a category dedicated to religious-themed
images and illustrations.
4. Pexels (www.pexels.com): Pexels is another great resource for free high-quality stock photos.
While it doesn't have a specific category for religious images, you can search for religious
themes and keywords to find relevant photos. Pexels also offers a good selection of other
creative content.

5. Flaticon (www.flaticon.com): If you're looking for icons and vector graphics related to
religious themes, Flaticon is a reliable source. They have a wide range of icons and vector
illustrations that you can use for free, with proper attribution.

6. Canva (www.canva.com): Canva is designed to be user-friendly, making it easy for anyone

to create professional designs, even without prior design experience. Canva offers thousands of
ready-to-use templates, which can be customized to suit your needs. It has also an AI-powered
tools that can help us create more images and designs faster.

7. eCatholic (www.ecatholic.com): eCatholic offers a variety of beautifully designed Catholic

themes that you can choose from1. You can also let their design team create a completely unique
design just for your parish, diocese, school, or ministry.

8. Church Media Drop (https://churchmediadrop.com): Church Media Drop provides free

media for churches1. This includes a variety of high-quality images that can be used in graphic
design. In addition to images, Church Media Drop also offers audio, video, motion backgrounds,
and more. This makes it a comprehensive resource for all your design needs.

9. Carissimae Dei (Facebook page): Provides free vector images.

10. Likhatolika Creative Pantry (Facebook group): Provdes various vector images from
different Catholic youth graphic designers.

Recommended Graphic Designing Tools

The following graphic designing tools are recommended according to what application that the
respective respondents use:
 1. Adobe Photoshop
2. Adobe In Design
3. PowerPoint
4. Canva
5. GoDaddy

On The Use of Logos

“Visible, but the last thing to notice, especially if you want to convey a message.”
1. Visibility- Logo visibility is crucial as it optimizes brand presence, reinforces brand identity,
and fosters trust and recognition among consumers.
2. Size- The size of a logo in graphic design is crucial as it impacts the logo’s visibility,
adaptability across different platforms, and the overall balance and aesthetics of the design.
3. Placement- Logo placement in graphic design is crucial as it directly influences brand
perception, memorability, and the overall effectiveness of the design.
4. Dominance form other elements- The dominance of a logo in graphic design is crucial as it
creates an entry point into the design and establishes a hierarchy, guiding the viewer’s eye from
one part of the design to the next. It also reinforces brand identity, creating a cohesive and
recognizable presence across diverse platforms. This reinforcement is essential for establishing
brand consistency and fostering a sense of reliability.

Final Output

Access the usable and presentation-ready guidelines for Graphic Designing through this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ac6_OE8WesGwU64D2LebafG1DM5H3BzL/view?

usp=sharing
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