PROJECT DETAILS
CLIENT: Liquefied Extracts
INDUSTRY: Cannabis Product, Retail
Design Process
Understanding that the medicinal marijuana industry is in its early stages, the stigma of a company the deals with weed was a unique challenge. Because of its negative associations, I focused my concepts on more of the scientific and natural side of the business.My first presentation offered 3 concepts. Concept one was a clean, bold icon that really embodied the idea of extracting. The idea had animating potential, while being very modern and simplistic. The second concept focused on typography and the purity of extraction from a natural source. I created badge like concepts to reflect an authoritative tone. I sampled text such as, “100% Pure,” and “No Other Additives.” The last concepts were based on the scientific side of extraction. The concepts were very graphic, I wanted the designs to relate to the essence being extracted on a molecular level.
The Funnelling Design Process helps ensure that the client and I are always on the same page. The different stages of the process can help uncover new things about the company, often defining or reshaping the message. We ended up with a strong logo set for Liquefied Extracts. In this process we created 3 final logos. An icon, a stacked logo, and a rectangular logo.
The icon is composed of dots in a halftone pattern in the shape of a droplet. With a heavier concentration of dots to the bottom right and varying sizes of dots throughout, this design is meant to give the droplet a shadow, alluding to a 3D appearance. This notion of physicality is juxtaposed by the composition of dots that represents the essence of the extracted item.
The stacked logo places the icon above the text, centering the composition of elements. The typography highlights the word Liquefied by using a bolder weight. While Liquefied Extracts is left aligned, the rectangular based logo places the icon to the left of the text.
Each logo is used in different ways sometimes depending on the application or the allotted space. While on most documents, the stacked logo is the default option. However there are some cases where all an asset needs is the icon.
As their first product, Liquefied Extracts produced Purple 7s disposable cannabis oil vaporizers. See that project here.
Branding
Concepts were derived from the Funnelling Design Process. As the stigma and legal status for cannabis related businesses still hovered in the grey zone, it was important that Liquefied Extracts was branded as a scientific company as opposed to a drug company. We created a professional image using dot patterns to represent molecules and particles of the extraction action. When the icon is seen at a distance, the icon appears three dimensional.
Illustration
The sheer graphic nature of the brands visual vocabulary allows it to be subtle or extravagant depending on the amplitude of the patterns used. With so many possibilities, Liquefied Extracts offers a vast array of looks based on a series of repeated circles. Together with metalic gold and silver, the brand's apprerence can sometimes be rather luxurious.
Product Design
As Liquefied Extracts branding was concluding, we set out to create their first product. In association with Apollo Medical we created Purple 7s. Purple 7s are disposable vaporizors that contain concentrated CO2 cannabis oil. They are offered in individual packs and are inconspicuous and easy to use.
