STREET VENDOR PROJECT
Giving a vital NYC workforce a voice
The Challenge
The Street Vendor Project (SVP) is a membership-based collective of more than 3,000 champions of street vendor rights. The role of NYC street vendors is often misunderstood, and they are victims of misinformation by the press. SVP needed to raise awareness and improve understanding of the economic impact of street vendors.
The Solution
In collaboration with SVP Deputy Director Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, Thought Matter evolved their brand toolkit and messaging. We developed a unified visual system and messaging framework that the collective could use across its communications.
The work included a secondary logo to unify and strengthen their campaigns. It combines two elements: a street sign that evokes place-based belonging, and a protest sign saying “power” proudly held aloft. Together, they act as an uplifting reminder of the collective’s rights.
The system allows for a variety of implementations that reflect the diversity of the community and the daily rhythm of the city. A complementary set of icons spotlights the many wares the vendors sell.
The color palette was inspired by New York City taxis, construction barriers and street signs. The all-caps sans-serif echoes the typography of commercial signage and product packaging.
The final toolkit included social media templates to amplify facts and statistics on social media, and posters and sticker designs to help vendors feel pride in their work.
Impact
The toolkit is helping the small team at SVP build clarity, conviction and leverage at a moment when immigrant rights, labor protections and the appropriate uses of public space are in debate. The unified visual and messaging system, including templates that turn data into advocacy, is being used effectively on social posts, on stickers and posters at rallies and protests, and on documents in rooms where policy decisions are made.
The design language reminds everyone that street vendors are not simply working in New York, they are part of its very fabric. This is truly work that meets the moment, moves with it and stands its ground.
