West Harbor isn’t where LA ends, it’s where the rest of the world begins.

Situated in the former Ports-of-Call, this 42-acre development reflects an ambitious re-imagining of the port of LA into a vibrant food, beverage, and entertainment district. We worked with the development team and major stakeholders to uncover the deep cultural and historic context of the site and developed this into a pervasive research document that was distributed to the primary and consulting teams.

The Place

San Pedro, the home of West Harbor, has a historically shipping and fishing dominated economy that has inextricably tied its culture to the sea and linked it to the broader world. We used this connection to craft a visual identity and brand that was anchored in a sense of place. Inspired by the gritty history of the working port, the artful nature of the San Pedro locals, and the melting-pot of diversity that made the place special, we created a mark and brand system that were at once fresh but instantly endearing due to their imperfect and hand-painted nature.

The System

The area has a rich history of hand-painted, large format typography that we celebrate through a custom proprietary typeface, San Pedro Sans. Designed to be as distinctive and well-weathered as the place that spawned it, San Pedro Sans is made to live at large scales and designate the structures from both the land and sea. Additionally, we crafted a set of iconography specific to the features of the site. This system has, and continues to build upon itself to highlight the uniqueness and rich culture that San Pedro offers.

From Physical to Digital

These systems created the foundation for spatial and digital applications - guiding the graphic makeup of the wayfinding and signage system and influencing things from supergraphics to site pieces, art programing and furniture. We also extended the brand into the digital sphere creating a custom-built and comprehensive web platform for West Harbor that allows them to use shipping-container-like building blocks to build pages and assemble information. The digital experience is intended to be both straightforward to use but also be the first in unique experiences that visitors will unlock. 

The project is ongoing with the first phase launching mid-2025.