BRANDING: Gilroy Downtown Business Association

GDBA’s previous logo had multiple aspects keeping the brand from reaching its intended audience in an authentic way. It read as “Downtown Gilroy Business Association,” which caused name confusion. It had thin serifs and script text, which were difficult to read when scaled down. The layout and typography felt stiff and the “g” was out of alignment with the rest of the word. “Business Association” didn’t have a connection to the rest of the logo and felt like an afterthought.

The new logo does a much better job of conveying the vision and mission of the brand for a number of reasons. Right off the bat, the name reads properly, as “Gilroy Downtown Business Association.” The well-established “g” from the original brand, along with the signature green color, helps carry brand recognition through to the new design. Stronger serifs help with scalability. Including the word “downtown” in the main portion of the logo and connecting it to the “gilroy” with the garlic bulb emphasizes the focus on the downtown area. elements that touch, overlap and reach for one another enhance the brand value of community and connection.

EVENT: Downtown Live, presented by Gilroy Downtown Business Association

Downtown Live is an annual summer music series, organized and presented by Gilroy Downtown Business Association. The mission of GDBA, and Downtown Live by extension, is to build community pride by re-stablishing Downtown Gilroy as a safe, revitalized, livable and economically vibrant area, rich in diversity of people, unique restaurants, specialty retail, community events and entertainment.

In 2023 Sour Pea Design took on promotion of this 8-week event. Over the course of the 8 weeks, the event has seen substantial growth in all measurable areas of success, including attendance, drink and merch sales, engagement on social and feedback from the community.




BRANDING: Sour Pea Design Brand Refresh 2023

Take a sneak peek at the 2023 Sour Pea Design Brand Refresh.

bright, fresh moodboard including several shades of green and yellow, plus pink, aqua & lavender

Sour Pea Design moodboard - bright, energetic, fresh, unique, eclectic, imperfect, strong, retro, imaginative, thoughtful, organized, playful, fun, welcoming, warm, open - grass green, pastel green, lime greenish-yellow, baby pink, aqua, rich yellow, light yellow, yellow-tan, lavender


k with some work-in-progress sketches for sour pea design's 2023 rebrand

Sketchbook with working ideas for the 2023 Brand Refresh of Sour Pea Design