Every August, Central Market celebrates the arrival of Hatch chile season with its annual Hatch Chile Festival, a storewide event dedicated to the beloved New Mexico pepper. For 2022, my concept, Hatchstock ’22, was selected to bring a vibrant, playful new identity to the annual celebration.

Inspired by the psychedelic art and expressive typography of the 1970s, I created a groovy celebration of all things Hatch. The visual identity combined peace-and-love symbolism with playful pepper imagery, transforming familiar motifs like peace signs, flower power, rainbows, and psychedelic lettering into a distinctly Hatch-inspired world. To pay homage to the pepper's New Mexico origins, I incorporated regional imagery such as the Zia sun symbol, red desert mesas, hot air balloons, and traditional adobe architecture. I also developed a custom, proprietary typeface inspired by the exaggerated, undulating letterforms of 1970s poster art, giving the campaign its own unmistakable typographic personality.

I illustrated every element of the campaign, bringing the identity to life through a vibrant palette of electric greens, hot pinks, oranges, and yellows. The artwork extended throughout Central Market stores across oversized hanging signage, outdoor banners, promotional posters, custom price sign stock, and a sticker sheet that was dropped into shopper's bags. I also designed a psychedelic Volkswagen bus photo-op display, translating the campaign's playful visual language into an interactive experience for shoppers.

The result was a bold, immersive celebration that captured the spirit of Hatch chile season while giving Central Market's annual event a fresh, memorable personality.