Mendez Freedom Trail

The Mendez v. Westminster case of 1947 predated Brown v. Board of Education by seven years, declaring school segregation unconstitutional in California. The Mendez Tribute Monument Park, completed in December 2022, established a permanent space honoring Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez and the five families who challenged school segregation — featuring bronze statues by sculptor Ignacio Gomez. The Mendez Freedom Trail, a two-mile interpretive trail along Hoover Street, was the culmination of that broader vision — bringing the story to life through interactive stations and augmented reality panels with narration in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

In April 2026, the City of Westminster celebrated with a dedication ceremony for the Mendez Freedom Trail. As the sole communications and design professional for the City, Sofia developed campaign collateral within the visual identity established by MIG Consulting — ensuring every piece felt cohesive with the trail’s permanent educational panels while serving distinct functional needs.

Working within MIG Consulting’s established visual identity for the trail, collateral was designed to feel cohesive with the permanent educational panels while serving distinct functional needs — from a folded event program printed and assembled in-house to permanent light pole banners installed along the bikeway. Each deliverable required balancing the weight of the subject matter with clear, accessible design for a general public audience.

The project also included digital and social components — a trail preview Reel shot on location before the opening, a post-event recap Reel, social media announcements, and web publishing of the press release and event information on westminster-ca.gov.