Redesigning the future image of Cannabis in Québec
Disclaimer: I have personally been really critical about that project but let’s try to remember here that we were not there during the overall design and research process. And we all know, many things can happen between point A and point B. So yeah, the brand is not at its best (remember taste is subjective) but let’s try to see what could be done.
Afew days ago, the first logo for legal distribution of marijuana in Quebec province came out.
As for the alcohol (SAQ) the government chose this revolutionary acronym SQDC for what would become the new thing in Canadian drug consumption.
However, as visionary as the project may seem in a relatively conservative country, I (and many others), find myself really disappointed with the final result.
The overall thing looked like a cat’s bottom. Sorry guys, it does.
As a young designer, I never took a chance to rethink or redesign a well-known product like so many other did with Twitter, Facebook or Instagram interfaces. Mostly because I am more attracted to brand design rather than UI.
In that particular case though, I felt pumped and wanted to try something just for the sake of it and for the deep respect, as I said before, regarding this tremendous step taken by politics from Québec.
So I decided to do a quick rework of the SQDC logo.
I don’t have either the client in front of me or the initial brief. What do I do?
I began asking myself these really simple questions :
Does the government want a true representation of cannabis?
Probably not, the more abstract, the best.
Does this need to be 100% corporate or can we go somewhere else?
It is a phenomenal project, it is government owned, products will be carefully selected as well as the products. Let’s make it pro but not too tight.
Whom is the talking to?
A large spectrum of consumers, but probably people already knowing weed a lil’ bit or a lot. From 21 to 60 or more. We talk to aficionados, patients, occasional users and even skeptics. So overall, this has to be friendly /comforting /reassuring convincing.
Where is the brand going to live?
On storefronts, printed pamphlets, digital formats, website, app. Mostly everything the SAQ already does. So it needs to be simple, readable, distinctive, and adaptable.
How much time do I have?
Not a lot. I have two jobs and just an hour or two per day so let’s make the most of it.
Where do I save some time?
Well, I won’t start at the very beginning, I’ll just limit myself to improving what has already been done as if I was part of the team on the last round of corrections. I will mainly focus on the logotype itself, the rest is only gravy. So don’t be surprised not to see sketches, intense research, and mood boards.
On a big scale project such as that one, my usual workflow would have been :
1- Reading on the subject
2- Mind/ word mapping
3- Moodboards
4- Sketches
5- Quick drafts on the computer
6- Three different visual solutions
7- Corrections
8- Final logo + brand guide
Let’s hustle!
First thing first, what do I keep? What will I remove?
I sense the wish to make a capital Q out of the logo is too much and doesn’t really add value to it, even worse, it makes it more complicated. So let’s get rid of that.
Secondly, the symbol. As simple as it is (which is good) I can’t see anything else than a cat’s asshole. But even there, I might be biased by the fact that I am a cat owner.
I thus transformed it into a more “vegetal” form. Here again, I am not 100% satisfied because it looks like the top of a palm tree. BUT it also looks a bit like the Canadian leaf or the flower present on Quebec’s flag. And we LOVE to be local.
Now. What do I do with these 4 letters. I am not that a bigger fan of dividing them into 2 lines. I’d rather be able to read it easily as far as it is something new, similar to the SAQ but with one letter more. So let’s make a simple line.
Typography? As far asthe Q went away in the symbol, I, at least want it to be expressive in the 4 letters signature. I thus chose Trade Gothic Extended for it’s “wavy” capital Q. An indirect reference to smoke or organic matter is always welcome.
Regarding types combinations and my titles. I went all in with a clean, light, classic family called Elemental Sans Pro. Once again, the capital Q of the type has something particular. Looks like a smile.
Assemblage. The thing I liked right from the beginning though was the circle around the symbol. I’ll keep that because it allows us to stay away from the good old squares of old institutions. Now, I took the initiative to have 2 variables of my logo. One horizontal, the symbol on the left, type on the right. One vertical, the symbol on top of the naming. That will make it simple to use on a wide range of formats. One more goal : I wanted to be able to have the symbol living alone with no circle in order to use it as a pattern or on responsive design for the web.
Now that the logo is done. What about the colors? I liked the initial green but it was not contemporary enough and definitely not representative of this major historical and political moment according to me. Also, the SEPAQ and Desjardins are already using a whole lot of green.
When I think about weed I think about warm colors, love, spirituality, creativity, social gathering and most of all Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix.
Final choice: peach and purple. Comforting, peaceful, reassuring summer sunset. Everybody loves the summer down here.
I know for sure however that the client would never have agreed on that.
Photography? It can be focused on the plant itself or derivatives at the moment. The government wouldn’t want to display images of potential users or in action pics. This is the part I spent the least time on I must say. Once again I was mostly interested in the logo itself.
Playing with it:
Is this going too far?
Visual is ok. How do we talk to the public? It is a new thing, buying weed in a shop in Québec. Do you want people to be afraid and see yourself as a pharmaceutical company or do you want them to learn and talk in a friendly yet secure environment?
I’m no copywriter but I found some interesting lines in french canadian(sorry for you English speakers), mainly play on words, with the lexical field of the marijuana consumer so that they can identify, relate or simply have a laugh. ex: We exhale in what we do.
Fun is good but let’s not forget that on the legal side, we need to prevent people from getting stone all the time or at least teach them the best way to consume marijuana.
Personal mission completed
I have a new version of the logo made in 4 to 6 hours. It is not made on Fiverr (even if it’s been a quick article, you witnessed there were thoughts behind it, not machines). The look of it is modern, simple, it can work in many supports and should be able to live for a substantial number of years.
My take on it, I must say, might appear as too classy or artistic but once again, once the logotype is done, we can always adapt.
Thanks for reading,
Please note that it’s my very first story on medium so it would mean a lot to me to get feedback on both my poor English and the project itself.
What a great time to be alive!
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