Independent retail events
The Mercantile
An evening market with an identity of its own and a clear way in for everyone.
A distinct online setting for an independent evening market. Event information and routes for visitors and merchants sit within a recognisable identity of its own.
Context
The Mercantile is an evening of independent merchants, supper, drinks and a workshop under one Warwickshire roof. Its website has two audiences: people deciding whether to come, and businesses hoping to trade.
Design direction
The identity borrows from printed ephemera — numbered editions, italic display lettering, deep brown grounds, ruled panels and a single red for the main action. It gives a one-evening event the presence of an occasion.
The website in practice
The homepage leads with the essential facts — date, sittings, venue and admission — then offers clear ‘ways in’: attend, trade, or sign in for organisers. A merchants page lists each stallholder with a link to their own website. The captures show the site presenting its first edition, No. I, scheduled for 3 September 2026.
- 01
Facts first
Date, two sittings, venue and admission limit sit together in one ruled band directly beneath the introduction.
- 02
Separate journeys
Visitors and merchants are addressed in their own numbered panels, each with its own wording and next step.
- 03
A directory that sends people on
The merchants listing links out to each business, so the event website also works in favour of the people trading at it.