The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the world's largest Gothic cathedral located in Manhattan, New York City, has unveiled a new brand identity in collaboration with design studio selman.
This refresh, presented with the campaign slogan 'It's Your Cathedral', visualizes the spirit of the cathedral as a space open to all. The project began in close collaboration with Brand Federation, a branding strategy specialist, and was brought to life by design studio Selman. The typeface was developed by Frere-Jones Type in New York, adding depth.
The Selman team visited the cathedral several times, taking inspiration from the physical and spiritual fabric of the space. The new wordmark is based on the bronze type inscribed on the pilgrim’s floor inside the cathedral, and a new typography system was developed to complement the “Divine” typeface, which is derived from the Gutenberg Bible, a classic printed Bible. This was a choice that respected tradition while also considering readability and scalability in a digital environment.
Colors are drawn from natural light filtering through stained glass and from the hues of the artwork, while graphic elements draw on forms inspired by the cathedral’s arches and sculptures to convey deep meaning to familiar visitors and a consistent, welcoming impression to newcomers.
Usability and accessibility were also important criteria. The cathedral marketing team asked for a flexible design system that could easily be integrated into existing systems like Canva, and Selman built a visual architecture that could accommodate a range of complexities, from everyday bulletins to large-scale events.
“The new identity conveys familiarity to the cathedral community and freshness to first-time visitors. It is a way for the cathedral to connect with the wider world through design,” says August Kissl, communications manager for the cathedral.
“Selman is not just a design agency, they’re a partner who embodies our identity,” says marketing director Christine Pottinger. “They rubbed the bronze letters by hand, walked through the crypt and really tried to understand the essence of the cathedral.”
