BrandKnew September 2013 June 2014 | Page 36

6 Branding Lessons from the Pioneers of Weed Design Four experts in cannabis culture explain how to brand a high-demand, once-illegal product. Carey Dunne he marijuana industry never had room for professional design while stuck in the criminal sector. For decades, goofy stoner iconography, such as pot-leaf decals and so much tie-dye, were the de facto brand of marijuana in the popular imagination. Product packaging was limited to cellophane baggies and the tools of commerce (head THE POT INDUSTRY shops, guys on bicycles) IS POISED TO GROW operating discreetly. FASTER THAN THE But in the wake of Colorado’s historic SMARTPHONE decision to legalize marijuana for INDUSTRY. recreational use, states are lining up--and so are designers, entrepreneurs, architects, and advertisers. An estimated $2.34 billion worth of legal weed will be sold in 2014. The pot industry is poised to grow faster than the smartphone industry. We’re at the cusp of a gold rush to commercialize the plant and create products for emerging marijuana markets like health care and luxury accessories. We’re seeing the emergence of everything from diamond-encrusted vaporizers to cannabisinfused pet food. For designers and branding professionals, landing a marijuana account may become as coveted as landing a liquor or car account. So what do designers need to know about this emerging marketplace? Co.Design culled insights on the burgeoning industry from four cannabis industry experts: David Bienenstock, a cannabis consultant and former editor at High Times; Cheryl Shuman, an L.A.-based PR and marketing consultant known as the “Martha Stewart of Marijuana Branding;” James Kennedy, founder of Apothecanna, the first U.S. skincare company licensed to use cannabis flower extracts in its products; and Ryan Mungia, author of Pot Shots, a book about California’s marijuana dispensaries.