New Work: Midleton Farmers Market

I recently designed a new logo for Midleton Farmers Market, which takes place every Saturday from 10am in Midleton, Co. Cork. The market is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The new logo was launched to celebrate this and to coincide with the Midleton Food Festival which took place a few weeks ago.

So, this is the reason that on the morning of September 11th, I found myself up early, picnic packed and en route to sunny (yes, sunny!) Cork with my Mam on a day trip to visit the market, check out the festival, sample some foods, admire the scenery and of course to see the final products of my toils.

There were a few iffy moments between Cork City and Midleton as I attempted to spot, analyse and then point out every single one of the multiple large one metre signs baring the new logo directing us to the market, whilst simultaneously driving and navigating unknown territories. Hurray for multitasking.

Midleton Farmers Market is known as one of the best in the country, so I was very excited to visit for the first time and see the range of produce on offer. There was a great selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, a coffee stall, chocolates, cheeses, Frank Hederman's renowned smoked fish, delicious meats from local butchers, cakes, stuffed mushrooms, produce from Ballymaloe House and several food to go stalls, amongst others. It was great to see the new Midleton Farmers Market stickers displayed prominently on the stalls - whether stuck on the produce being sold, applied to paper bags or even worn on clothes! These photos are just a few samples of the logo in use:

 

 

 Rolls of stickers, ready for sticking!

  Banners and Signage outside the market

After spending some time in the market we continued down Midleton Main Street to see what the food festival had to offer. The whole street was lined with stalls. Entertainers on stilts weaved their way through the large crowds of festival goers. There were of course many food stalls, but also a craft market, a photography exhibition by the East Cork Camera Club and a mobile farm unit. There were several workshops taking place as well, but unfortunately we didn't make it to any of those. After a quick visit to the Mella's Fudge stall (hopefully I will have some interesting updates on Mella's Fudge for you soon!) we went for some lunch before taking a final wander and heading home again. I'm quite sure I'll be back to visit again soon.

The concept behind the logo is the aesthetic of the traditional market marquee. Originally, traders used different coloured stripes to represent their particular trade. For example red and white may have referred to a butcher. The aim was to produce a logo which is contemporary, iconic and minimal whilst also alluding to more traditional times, which I hoped to achieve through the use of typography and the historical reference to the history of the marquee stripes.