Nick Adam

Visual brand identity for 
the 2024 Slow & Low,
Chicago Lowrider Festival



Design Studio

Span

 Clients

Slow & Low, Chicago Lowrider Festival
Navy Pier

Community

Cultural, Entertainment, CivicServices

Branding, Environmental Signage, Exhibition Design, Campaign, Print

Credits

Nick Adam
Design Direction, Design

Kevin Moreland
Design
Project Partners

Lauren M. Pacheco
Peter Kepha
Edward Magico Calderon
Curators

Ed Calderon
Max Herman
Nick Lipton
Katrina Nelken
Mike Pocious
Photographers

Designed while at Span. Slow & Low is Chicago’s largest independent arts festival, drawing a diverse, multigenerational audience to celebrate a uniquely American art movement born of the Chicano community. As the Midwest’s premier lowrider festival, Slow & Low is deeply rooted in art, tradition, and community, blending culture and family into a singular arts experience. Far more than a car showcase, it unites metalworkers, painters, upholsterers, textile artists, mariachis, DJs, and folkloric performers in a vibrant display of creative expression.

Founded in 2011 in Pilsen by curators Lauren M. Pacheco, Peter Kepha, and Edward Magico, 2024 marks Slow & Low’s third collaboration with Nick Adam’s team at Span, resulting in the festival’s most significant turnout yet, with over 15,000 visitors in a single day. Over the past three years, Navy Pier has been the iconic backdrop for Slow & Low, with car club members likening the experience to the “Grammys” of the lowrider community.

For the 2024 festival, Span collaborated closely with the curators to craft a gala-like visual identity. This process began with co-founder and curator Peter Kepha’s sketches of chain motifs in archway form, symbolizing growth and achievement—ideals central to Kepha’s life in the Chicano community.

The 2024 Slow & Low identity that Span designed amplifies a story of exquisite craftsmanship and celebration, drawing inspiration from the intricate artistry of lowrider culture. The typographic palette features a customized version of Lucas Sharp and Wei Huang’s blackletter typeface, Respira. Adding a layer of joyful elegance this scribe-like blackletter is complemented by Alejandro Paul’s Burgues Script, based on master calligrapher Louis Madarasz’s work. Rounding out the collection is Lucas Sharp’s limited edition Sharp Freehand, a calligraphic typeface inspired by the master letterer, Oscar Ogg and Sharp’s Greenstone that is connected to the tradition of tombstone carving. Together, from chains to script, the festival identity offers a striking, refined edge that mirrors the masterpieces showcased at Slow & Low.





Nick Adam, Design Director 
and Associate Partner at Span.Studio

New business inquiries
Nick(at)Span.Studio


Chicago, South Side 
Kenwood Neighborhood

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Enjoy the day.



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