Andy Vera
3 Months, One Craft Weed Brand
Lab 11 is a Chicago-based craft cannabis brand inspired by the creativity of urban subcultures and a nostalgia for the golden era of the industry. We celebrate the legacy of cannabis culture—which has always been progressive, free, countercultural, and provocative—while exploring its impact throughout time by looking back at the cultural moments and experiences that made us first fall in love with the plant.
The Challenge
The burgeoning Chicago weed scene is ripe for disruption and Lab11 was no different. Lab11 is a representation of Chicago itself and the nostalgia of your first high. Their original branding was restricted from use due to tightening packaging laws so they needed a photography and type based branding that could accommodate changing laws. It also had to represent 90's cultures around Chicago.
The Solution
Using photography and flexible typeface choices, we focused on leveraging a bitmap style that modernized 90's computer aesthetics. We also wanted to elevate the brand to the level of Houseplant, Pure Beauty, and others that are in the high end weed space. The retro grunge, forward thinking tech, and familiar but experimental design all lend themselves to the ethos of the brand: progressive, free, countercultural, and provocative.