New handle design

Here's the same logo but with a slightly different handle. Definitely looks more door like now.

Finished logo

Interestingly enough, the font for Hope Fellowship is called Dominican. Hmm.
The font for the h, well, that's my own, Bodoni, slightly modified, if you want the truth.
The wood effect has to be exaggerated because if it's too fine then it won't show well enough if the logo is produced small.

The h

Here's a look at the h and the bit that makes it look like a door standing ajar.

Fine tuning the logo

So we established i think that the h on its own as an icon is really strong. Only trouble is, neither of the h's from Lafayette or Buena Park work well in presenting a strong door shape. Not as well as Bodoni.

Either of those two fonts will work well for the type underneath and do give that vintage feel. I think we either need to find a decent vintage h that looks like a door or, modify or stick with Bodoni.

A few typefaces and how they fit

I found these three fonts which have the old, vintage feel. We're looking for a font that has a good 'h' that we can make a door out of...

Lafayette Extra Condensed ($40)

Buena Park ($49)

Baltra ($39)

I've traced the fonts in Illustrator as best I can to get an idea of what they might look like in a logo. Unfortunately as they're so small they come out a bit funny but you get a good idea. It's a case of looking at the logo arrangement then looking at the font above to get a better picture of what it would really look like.

Personally, I harken back to the icon below and use one of the fonts above for the h. The above logo communicates a 'house' rather than just the idea of a door.

Sketches round II

Here I'm exploring some vintage/rustic type fonts for treating the word hope. The desire is to still keep the h as a door. Here's some more ideas and inspiration:

 www.importantpaperdesign.com

www.bittbox.com

www.book-by-its-cover.com

28.media.tumblr.com

28.media.tumblr.com

as-i-am.fr

igraver.com

roadsidescholar.com

Simonswork.com

vintage.com

Iterations of the door idea

Here's a couple nice iterations using a slightly modified Bodoni:

The 'h' is actually an upside down U. By doing this you get this door standing slightly ajar look which seems very inviting. The handle is an oval because the door is standing at a slight angle. The combination of a simple sans serif typeface underneath compliments the Bodoni serif.

The 'h' on its own can be used as a logo mark, writing the full name underneath. Quite a nice little symbol, very strong.

More to come...