Mar Vista Farmers' Market Recognizes Students from The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles

Mar Vista Farmers' Market Recognizes The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles for Encouraging Student Work in the Community

Ceremony includes dedication by Councilman Bill Rosendahl

(MAR VISTA, CA - February 25, 2009) - The bustling Mar Vista Farmers' Market, not yet three years old, has received a little design help from Graphic Design students at The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles. Students, under the direction of Graphic Design Instructor Richard Khanbabians, created a new graphic identity for the Mar Vista Farmers' Market, which will be unveiled at the market this Sunday, March 1, 2009, at 11:00 AM.

As a part of the graphic design curriculum, students in the Branding and Corporate Communications classes work with nonprofit organizations to help them develop a graphic identity. Over a series of weeks, students meet with these clients to get a feel of the clients' needs, history, and visions and ultimately at the end of the course, the clients are presented with a series of comps to review and select from.

"As our market has grown and become part of the community we decided to work towards a new identity for it. We are a farmers' market and our goal is to promote local produce, so it was a natural tie-in for us to involve local students and artists," said Ian Votteri of the Market Board.

"I was impressed by the students' interest in the subject, and the market itself," said Khanbabians. "As an instructor, I required my students to observe the market first-hand and do demographic and historical research on the area prior to developing concepts for the branding. Through the process, we were able to determine that figs, lima beans, and corn had been farmed in Mar Vista extensively, and is part of Mar Vista's legacy."

The new Mar Vista Farmers' Market logo, created by student David Rivero, accomplished all of these elements. "In meeting with the students, and seeing the different angles that were presented, we realized that we had the opportunity to include a portion of Mar Vista's history within the logo to brand the market for future years.  Throughout the process, we learned so much about the area that we felt it had to be included.  We couldn't be happier with the final product," commented Votteri.

In the spirit of cooperation and community, the market is holding a recognition ceremony with Councilman Bill Rosendahl at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 1, 2009, where the new logo will be revealed.  It will include an exhibition of all of the submissions from the Branding and Corporate Communications classes. In addition, there will be a cooking demonstration from Chef Christophe Bernard, academic director of The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles.  Using local produce from the Mar Vista Farmers' market, Chef Bernard and his students will demonstrate and prepare two vegan soups on Sunday - butternut squash and split pea soup with smoked tofu.

Mar Vista and other local area nonprofits are invited to apply for graphic design services from The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles as part of the school's community service initiative. Groups may apply for assistance in areas such as logo development, stationary, poster and brochure design, flyers, postcards and other marketing collateral material.  To apply for design services, nonprofit groups should contact academic director for Graphic Design at The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles, Susanne Manheimer at smanheimer@aii.edu or 310-314-6002 for more information.    

For more information on the Mar Vista Farmers' Market, please contact Diana Rodgers at 310.861.4444.

Mar Vista Farmers' Market Time and Location
Sundays:  Grandview at Venice Blvd., 8:30am -2:00pm

About The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts and culinary professionals.

# # #