Carnaval San Francisco, the largest multi–cultural celebration on the West Coast, cultivates and celebrates the diverse Latin American, Caribbean and African Diasporic roots of San Francisco’s Mission District and the Bay Area. Operating for 48 years, they accomplish their mission through dance, music, the visual arts; creating spaces for community learning, school–based education, and advocacy. Highlighting their mission is their 2–day family festival in San Francisco’s Mission District where they showcase the very best Latin American and Caribbean cultural arts and traditions.
Working in tandem with theme artist Vanessa Agana Espinoza, the artwork was designed specifically to express not only the meaning of Carnaval’s 2025 theme, but to also be flexible enought to be utlized in multiple print and digital platforms.
Paying homage to the vibrancy of the Afro Caribben Diaspora, a warm and colorful pallet was selected for the lettering and a cool yet calming color was selected for the background.
The imagery was separated so that the various assets– the dancers, the theme title, and the leaf and shell embelishments could be used in various formats. This lead to a consistent look and feel to the 2025 Festival and Grand Parade marketing, including posters, flyers, the website, newsletter, and social media.
Carnaval San Francisco, a decades–long series of cultural arts events, topped by it’s two–day festival and grand parade, not only needed a website that spoke to its multiple audiences, but also highlighted the multiple events outside of the traditional spring worldwide carnival season. With a year-round calendar, fundraising events, pre-Carnaval parties and community projects, the new website needed to meet the needs of the organization, its sponsors, its participants, the community, and the media.
The concept was to “split” the website into two sources of information; one for stakeholders, and one for the public. Organizing the website audiences into these two categories proved to be the foundation for the redesign. Two menus were created and color coded, so that each group of stakeholders could easily identify where to look for information.
Prioritizing pieces of information for each section was key to information architecture; the public section, capturing the overall excitement, activities & events, and family friendliness; and the business section, a portal of information for stage performers, parade participants, and sponsors.
Working hand–in–hand with Carnaval San Francisco’s executive team and volunteer committee was an insightful and fun process, and the resulting design is one the organization is truly proud to boast.
With it’s many advertising platforms, CSF needed a brand package that was flexible for print and digital, in varying sizes and formats, that can be finessed for each year’s theme. The package was designed to meet the needs of a dynamic social media landscape and tradition print while preserving the look and feel of the brand.
