SLO Farmers' Market
SPRING 2025
BRIEF
In this project, I was tasked with researching and documenting a place/venue in the San Luis Obispo area and creating an informational and promotional campaign targeted towards tourists and local visitors. I created all of the content—type/text and imagery—and applied it to various deliverables to provide an engaging and memorable snapshot of the ‘place.’ I decided to focus my project on the Downtown Farmers' Market, which is one of the most famous and exciting places to visit in SLO.
RESEARCH
To start, I researched the history and unique attributes of the market. I discovered that the SLO Farmers' Market is the nation’s longest-running year-round market and attracts people from across the world. Since 1970, crowds of 5,000 to 10,000 people have gathered downtown every Thursday night from 6 to 9 PM to stroll through five blocks filled with fresh produce, unique food offerings, and live entertainment.
DEFINING THE MESSAGE + SLOGAN
On the surface, the SLO Farmers' Market offers similar goods and experiences to other farmers' markets. However, what makes this market stand out is that it offers locals and visitors an opportunity to meet and get plugged in to the SLO community. Every week, attendees interact with students, families, and community members who greet them with genuine kindness and hospitality. Whether it's someone's first visit or their hundredth, the warm and welcoming spirit of the market never changes, which is why people return time and time again. This is how I came up with the slogan “Sample SLO!” The SLO Farmers' Market gives visitors a "sample"—or, in other words, an exciting and authentic taste—of what it means to be part of the San Luis Obispo community.
TYPE + COLOR STUDIES
Once I defined the message of the campaign, I searched for color palettes and typefaces that reflected the vibrant atmosphere of the market as well as the welcoming nature of the SLO community. After some experimentation, I found the color palette below and decided to use Venice Blvd for my header text and Filson Pro for my body text.
BRAINSTORM
While brainstorming imagery for the deliverables, a friend gifted my family a flat of strawberries from his local farmers' market. As I was taking them out to wash, I noticed how they looked like passengers sitting in their green plastic containers. Since the SLO Farmers' Market is located on Higuera Street, I thought it would be fun to imagine special food items from the market as tourists driving down the street in their green plastic container "cars." It creates a fun paradox: the food items are visiting the market to see and interact with the community, not the other way around.
POSTER DRAFTS
FINAL POSTERS
SOCIAL MEDIA
MERCH
