The Challenge
Highbury Asset Management needed a refreshed brand identity and strategy for the Ganges Village Marketplace, a well-loved shopping plaza on Salt Spring Island known for its sense of community and local connection. The challenge was to create a brand that reflected the island’s character, unified the plaza’s diverse tenants, and strengthened its position as a vibrant gathering place for residents and visitors alike.
Our Response
Tartanbond conducted market and audience research, analyzed local insights, and developed a strategic brand foundation rooted in Salt Spring Island’s culture and community values. From this work, we crafted a new brand identity and visual direction that honoured the marketplace’s role as a community hub. We then delivered a cohesive brand strategy to guide communications, unify tenants, and strengthen the plaza’s presence as a welcoming destination where community thrives.
Impact
To create a cohesive look and feel among the plaza’s retail subsidiaries, Tartanbond developed an overarching brand for the shopping district and conducted brand refreshes on the stores within the plaza for a consistent look and feel.
Tartanbond developed a brand strategy, including target audience personas for the shopping plaza, which led to its name – Ganges Village Marketplace – paying homage to its nickname “GVM” given to it by Salt Spring Islanders. Tartanbond developed a simplistic identity for Ganges Village Marketplace, using a wave motif as an element to unify its five subsidiaries, while drawing inspiration from traditional public markets and wharfs in the Pacific Northwest. Following the creation of its new brand style guide and brand identity, Tartanbond developed new sales tags for GVM's Country Grocer subsidiary and consulted on a marketing flyer design.
