Getting Started at the Market: Brand Design Services for New Vendors and Emerging Designers

A collaboration with Farmers’ Markets Nova Scotia and Off the Eaten Path as part of the 2024 Taking Root Program Pilot.

All participants of the Taking Root Program are invited to work with emerging designers to create a brand identity for their business and display it at the Farmers’ Market as part of their booth design. Off the Eaten Path (OTEP) is a non-profit organization that is closely tied to Lumi Studios, a marketing and production agency based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The goal of this collaboration is for vendors participating in the Taking Root program to be able to access essential brand design components at an affordable price while providing valuable work examples for students and recent graduates with design and marketing skills.

This collaboration includes the following options for set brand items at a fixed cost: 

• Logo design: includes at least 4 ideas to choose from
• Banner design: uses brand-specific fonts, colors, and any other graphics required
• Flier or business card design: similar to elements of the banner, in a condensed format.

Please Note: Vendors should not attempt to negotiate costs, as these rates are at least half of what people can expect to pay for a design agency to deliver the same services.

How it Works

The process to match the designers with participating vendors and develop and refine the design is included in the following five steps described below:

1. Contacting Off the Eaten Path.

Vendors should email alicia@farmersmarketsnovascotia.ca if they plan to use this opportunity. FMNS will notify OTEP and connect you by email to set a date for the introduction meeting. 

2. Sharing Brand Ideas & Matching Vendors to a Designer

OTEP will arrange a meeting with the vendor to understand what materials they have already, their design needs and vision, and summarize their vision for the brand to post on OTEP's website. During this meeting, OTEP will also reiterate the process with vendors to ensure they understand both the opportunity and limitations.Vendors should prepare for the introduction meeting with OTEP by considering the following questions to develop a clear vision for your brand and use examples to illustrate your ideas:

• What are the words that come to mind when you think of your business?
• How do you think other people see your business?
• Who are your customers? Age? Demographic? Interests? Be specific.
• What problems does your business solve?
• What is the experience of your product?

OTEP will post a summary of the items needed and the vendor’s style and ideas to their website and direct interested students and recent grads to browse through each project that is posted. Students will choose to work with the business they are interested in and OTEP will decide on the match between the designer and vendor and confirm all required terms and contracts for vendors and students to work together. 

3. Brand Design & Feedback

Initial Design - After the contract is signed, the designer will have two weeks to create an initial design of the required items. 

Feedback - The designer will meet with the participating vendor and OTEP to review the drafted components. OTEP and the vendor will provide feedback to the designer, including selecting one of the logo concepts and making suggestions for changes to the graphics, colors, fonts and/or social media templates. 

Revisions - The designer will apply the changes discussed during the meeting within two weeks and provide a completed PDF document to the vendor and OTEP.

Completion - The designer will send a completed expense form to FMNS when the vendor and OTEP confirms the work is complete.

Expectations of Designers & Vendors

Designers:

• Complete the initial design and revisions on or before the set deadlines in the contract.
• Create a product that combines the vendor’s vision for their brand with the designer’s creative style and ideas.

Participating Vendors:

• Come to the initial meeting with Joyce with a business name and ideas for the brand.
• Provide all feedback to the designer during the review meeting or shortly after if needed.
• Accept the work as complete if it is aligned with the feedback and ideas provided.
• Work outside of the predefined design package and feedback cycles will be paid to the designer hourly. If the vendor chooses, they may continue working with the student, but it is not FMNS or OTEP’s responsibility to coordinate the contract or payment.

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