Conrad Aleshire
CREATOR SPOTLIGHT
What inspired you to become an artist for a church, and how did you find your path to this role?
The Churchies
It’s actually sort of a miracle story. I was working for a multi-million dollar digital marketing & ad firm, got caught up in some bad stuff and prayed for God to rescue me from a tough situation. He came through, and landed me as a graphic designer, at the massive Woodlands Church. That’s how I got into the Church design scene. Since then I’ve been clean & sober and have been working pretty much exclusively to advance God’s kingdom. I now help lead a team of 30 or so people at The Woodlands Methodist Church, which is the largest Global Methodist Church in the world.
Conrad Aleshire
Can you describe the artistic style and vision you bring to the church's creative projects and visual identity?
The Churchies
Sure. So everything I do is built first on utility. I ask, “What does this piece need to do or accomplish?” then start from there. If it’s a promotional piece to get people to an event, it will be more design centric and have the proper details. If it’s a sermon series artwork, It will depend on what the pastor is speaking about and preaching on and the style of worship. But my native style I guess could be described as “cinematic” and I really enjoy minimalism.
Conrad Aleshire
What are the key responsibilities of your role as a Design Director for your church, and how do you collaborate with other church teams and leaders?
The Churchies
It might be easier to list what I don’t do. But I would say I am employed to be as creative as possible and to lead the charge not only with visuals, but with emotion, different ways to view a concept and I speak into experiences as well. I set the main theme, get that approved with stake holders to make sure we’re moving in the same direction, then I get the rest of the team on board to help fill in the gaps. I work in between the pastors and our creative team to help make their vision come to life as well as to help make it scalable and sustainable. I try and massage what is being asked of us into “how can we do this for multiple churches and make this sustainable at scale?”
Conrad Aleshire
What tools and resources do you typically utilize in your role, and how do they aid in your creative process?
The Churchies
Adobe for the win. I’ve been using Photoshop since I was 11 or 12. Photoshop is my jam, Illustrator, InDesign, just depending on the project. I’ve been using a lot of Mid Journey and Chat GPT, I try to stay up on the trends. I’m also a big fan of pencil and paper. I carry a Rotring 800, 2mm lead clutch in my pocket pretty much everyday. Great for sketching, carpentry, making signs, marking on walls, jotting down notes and doing installs. I don’t leave home without it. These are just different tools that all lead to the same place, a creative execution of some kind or another.
Conrad Aleshire
Could you walk us through the typical creative process for developing visual materials and designs for the church's events and services?
The Churchies
I typically start at the brief level, figure out what is being asked of me, then follow the 7 steps to the design process. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do, and other times I have to sort of figure it out. In college I took four semesters of drawing, and there is a quote that has stuck with me, “the search for form will find form.” So in that sense it was a visual search while drawing, but there is also something biblical about it. Ask.. seek… knock.. You have to pursue an idea or concept when no clear path is available. Being in the design game for 20 years, I kind of just follow my gut. Of course there are outside constraints out of your control like how many words or letters are in the title, so sometimes you have to get creative. But most of the time it’s like a small voice or hint at something and I just follow it.
Conrad Aleshire
Are there any notable artists or designers, either within or outside the church community, who have significantly influenced your artistic direction?
I’m a sucker for the Bauhaus movement, they produced so many legendary designers back then. Josef Müller-Brockmann is someone I adore, his Grid Systems book is a must have for all designers. Fundamental for designing complex systems and brands. If you can design a brand and incorporate grid into the branding, you really know what you’re doing. I also love the Swiss International Style, even though I struggle to even mimic it myself. I also learned color theory from Josef Albers, another Bauhaus great. The assistant to Josef Albers, taught one guy and that guy taught my professor. I loved color theory so much I took it twice in college because it also counted as a water color course.
Conrad Aleshire
How do you draw inspiration for your art within the context of a church, and are there specific sources or themes that consistently inform your work?
The Churchies
I’m very observant. I tend to find money or coins on the ground fairly regularly, I see a lot of things that others don’t. Of course if my copywriter is reading this, she’ll laugh and say I’m half her job (Sorry Carole). But I look at everything. I wanted to make super bowl ads when I was a kid, I grew up in a great time for advertising and it’s what I went to school for. So I look at everything from packaging design, magazine layouts, how type is set on a shampoo bottle, I look at subway maps, and look at how the greats did it before the digital age. In my younger years I would look at something and copy it, then once it sort of registered, I’d move on to something else. It also helps the bible is full of amazing imagery and just far-out stories. It doesn’t take much to come up with a killer visual on most things. But to answer the question, I just look at what other creators are doing in other spaces and try and translate that into the church space.
Conrad Aleshire
Can you share insights into how you handle creative challenges or obstacles that may arise while working on church-related projects?
The Churchies
Pass… No it just comes down to knowing why you’re there. It’s an honor and a blessing to be able to design in or for a Church full-time. Specially at the size and scale that I am at. I try and find solutions to big problems, and let the rest slide. Just keep moving. The church is made of people and people aren’t perfect so there is grace. Now doesn’t mean I am happy about it…. but I try and still get the job done.
Conrad Aleshire
Could you recount a memorable or impactful moment in your journey as an artist for the church that left a lasting mark on your work?
The Churchies
I’ve seen a few other churches copy my work. That was a cool moment. Another when a designer I looked up to was familiar with my work and complimented it was also really cool. He also pointed out that other churches were copying my work was even like “wow” for me that he was keeping up with what I was doing. Now that I’m at the biggest GMC church I think a lot more people see my work than I could ever even know about. It’s pretty interesting.
Conrad Aleshire
Do you have a favorite project or artwork you've created for the church, and what makes it particularly meaningful to you?
The Churchies
Some art I did for Woodlands Church, the yellow Missions “Love Where You Live, Love Where You Go” work is pretty timeless. Every time I see it, it makes me happy. Every time I see another church copy it it makes me laugh. It’s meaningful because I was pretty much given full freedom to just create, and be myself. It won a design award in branding and I think the fact that other churches copy it speaks to the work.
Conrad Aleshire
Are there recurring visual or thematic elements in your church's visual identity that hold personal significance or convey a particular message?
The Churchies
Not in the brand identity but in the unspoken theme I have for Harvest at The Woodlands Methodist Church. It’s very ethereal and dream-like. Very Spirit driven in look and feel, most of the time. I typically add dust particles to a lot of my work, it’s my calling card these days. It wasn’t until we had a big LED Wall rented in a space where some other people on my team were blown away about the small details I add to each piece of work. But they could never see it on the old projectors.
Conrad Aleshire
How does your faith or personal beliefs influence the artistic choices you make as a design director within a church setting?
The Churchies
I’m huge on efficiency so I’m a stickler for “how do we replicate this at scale?” or “How can we do this faster?” I think part of that is growing up poor and doing the best you can with what you have, and the other part is being a good steward of what is given to you. But working for a church is harder than working in the secular world. We are limited by appropriate visuals and language. I had a client who’s website says, “We make damn good videos” and I had to stop and think when was the last time I got to say something like that in a project. But my faith leads the designs, if I don’t know enough about a topic, I get to dive into the word and learn more so it’s fun.
Conrad Aleshire
What emotions or spiritual messages do you aim to convey through your visual designs and creative direction for the church?
The Churchies
Depends on what the project and what the client needs or who they are. For students is visually loud. For traditional service it’s like “old school” art. For contemporary it’s very cinematic or dream-like. But I always try and fit the mood for the message being taught.
Conrad Aleshire
In your view, how does the role of a designer contribute to the church community's worship experience and mission, and how does your work align with that mission?
The Churchies
Our mission is to Reach People for Jesus, Disciple them in Faith and Help those in Need. I make the content that reaches, disciples and sometimes helps. I get to entertain, I get to teach visually also. We had a series called “Influencers” that basically was about being a catalyst for others and living a life that led others to live a life for Christ. So the image I chose was the Newton’s Cradle. One ball, with momentum added, passes energy through the next ball and away they go, back and forth passing energy through one another. So it is with influencers. It wasn’t my favorite design, but I did love the concept. And great concepts executed poorly are always better than poor concepts executed greatly.
Conrad Aleshire
Balancing the demands of work and personal life can be challenging. How do you manage your responsibilities as a design director for the church alongside other aspects of your life?
The Churchies
I’m very good about not thinking about work when I’m off. I have a wife and two kids to keep me busy. In the growing season I’m in the garden or yard doing lawn mowing or gardening. Playing with my kids, reading to them, we go camping, I work on my 4x4 truck. So many things to do other than think about work. I do consulting and freelance work as well so I’m always busy. I try and make sure my work gets done 9-5. I eat a small lunch that takes maybe 5-15min, I get there early so I get a lot of work done before anyone can show up and “bother” me or slow me down. Then I get to leave early and see my girls before they go to bed. I average 9-10 hour days so I don’t feel bad about not thinking about work when I get home. As long as everything is covered though…
Conrad Aleshire
What advice or guidance would you offer to individuals interested in pursuing a similar role as a designer for a church or faith-based organization?
The Churchies
Assuming you have the skillset and can keep up and do the actual job. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to remind you that the church is not perfect because people are not perfect. Don’t let your faith get messed up because your logic is faulty around it. People make mistakes, the church can be messy and sometimes brutal. If you’re there to get fed spiritually, you might re-consider or at least set a very healthy work/faith balance.
Other than that, learn as much as you can and try and match as many styles as you can because once you can do that, you can do just about anything. And let me tell you, anything is fair game to ask for on a church creative team.
Conrad Aleshire
Can you share a particularly challenging or spiritually rewarding experience you've had while working on a church-related artistic project?
The Churchies
So we operate as like 6 or 7 churches in one, but we staff like we’re one church. We got down to two designers and It about broke me. I wasn’t a director then, just the senior graphic designer at the time and I remember walking into the building asking God to put a team under me. To send the right people. And bam, they came. So just knowing how I got to the church in the first place and that God cares about the work I am doing because he sent reinforcements.. Just a cool experience.
Conrad Aleshire
How do you approach the use of color, symbolism, and aesthetics in your creative direction to enhance the church's worship environment and messaging?
The Churchies
Color for me starts with, “What mood or emotion am I trying to convey here?” once that is understood I can start to add other elements. I’m not really big on symbols so you don’t see too much of that in my work. I really like abstract or objective art. I don’t care for the in between. Most people have their opinions and symbolism lends to more critique than it’s worth in my opinion. That could be a symptom of my current circumstance, but if we get a series called, “The Cup” you best believe I’m submitting art with a literal cup. I work with the video team and the lighting team to make sure not only the art but the space is sending the right message for the mood as well.
Conrad Aleshire
Are there any specific artistic techniques or design styles you aspire to explore further within the context of church-related projects?
The Churchies
I’ve been enjoying and also fearful of A.I. Like it blows me away that it works in such a similar manner as a painter. I’ll take a concept, try and get A.I. to do it, then add text or elements on top of that to make it my own. But I really want to lean more into fine art, sculpture or experience driven artwork. I have some really cool ideas that I’d love to see completed, but it’s always a matter of time and money unfortunately.
Conrad Aleshire
Can you pinpoint a moment when you realized that serving as a design director for the church was your true calling or passion?
The Churchies
Nope! Ha I’m always second guessing it. I enjoy it tremendously, but I know I have other talents and skills that have yet to be put in the right place. I’m a huge fan of strategy and systems and I don’t get to do that as nearly as much as I would like. I love designing, but If I could do more strategy I would. Solving specific problems verses just making graphics is where my heart really goes.
Conrad Aleshire
How do you engage with the church community and congregation through your artistic direction, such as creating visual materials for worship services or events?
The Churchies
I’m a behind the scenes kinda guy. I wear a lot of black, maybe it’s off-putting and that’s why people leave me alone haha but people typically don’t know who I am unless I make an effort to tell them. I will say that anytime I speak to a lay leader or congregant and they realize who I am and what I do, they are always so gracious in their compliments. I’m always told that the work is amazing and that the church is so blessed to have me and my team on staff.
Conrad Aleshire
What are your expectations for the evolution and development of your role as a design director within a church in the future?
The Churchies
I’d like to collaborate more with other church creators, The Churchies is a good tool for that. With my scalability model and specific softwares, I’d like to see my artwork become a resource to other churches who don’t have or can’t afford award winning artists and staff.
Conrad Aleshire
Are there any specific goals or aspirations you have for your role at the church long term?
The Churchies
Do more strategy. Guide more ministries outside of just graphics and visuals. Empower more people to realize they are actually creative because we are made in God’s image and He is creative. I can’t stand the “I don’t have a creative bone in my body” type stuff. You don’t get on benchpress and try and lift 500lbs the first time… you work up to it. The same with creativity. If all you can draw is a stick figure, draw 100 more and your 100th will be better than the first
Conrad Aleshire
How does your work as an artist within a church contribute to your own spiritual well-being and sense of fulfillment?
The Churchies
God saved me from a life of drugs, drinking, sin and craziness. I was in a much different place before working for churches. So it helps me to be stable and sober. Spiritually I’m not sure. I very much feel like a modern day Michelangelo. But if I can help others straighten their life out with my work, then I’m happy to be of service.
Conrad Aleshire
Lastly, what message or spiritual impact do you hope the congregation and community take away from experiencing your artistic direction and visual creations within the church?
The Churchies
God is real. That’s about it. I mean, we can’t prove it, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it. So I hope my work helps to get people to that place in their faith.
Conrad Aleshire
Conrad Aleshire
Design Director at The Woodlands Methodist Church