I came across this article in Print Magazine and thought it was pretty interesting when you think about the design elements. Basically Print asked four design firms to come up with the design for packaging and branding a pack of dubes. Besides the fact that it is a cool idea in general, when you actually step back and think about it, this is uncharted territory. Nobody has ever really tried to brand Marijuana and so these guys were playing in a completely new ballpark. Of course you can go to Amsterdam where coffee shops have different names for their marijuana but even there almost nobody advertises and the closest you get to branding is the coffee shops themselves becoming chain-like. Therefore, it was interesting to me to see four graphic design firms get a chance at “building a better baggie.”

The four firms chosen for this little task were – Lust, a graphic design practice in Amsterdam established by Thomas Castro, Jeroen Barendse, and Dimitri Nieuwenhuizen; the New York office of Base, which worked with its branches in Europe; the Oslo firm Strømme Throndsen, winner of the 2009 Award for Design Excellence for its flour packaging; and The Heads of State, a two-man operation run by Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers in Philadelphia.  The brief was simple: What would a legal pack of marijuana cigarettes look like?

So here they are, let me know what you think. Personally if I was walking by the Heads of State would win. Base looks like something I could get today and put a sticker on, the one by Stromme I think is cool but it looks a bit too much like the packaging for an energy powder (or crack) to me. The one by Lust, well I guess it’s good to know what you’re inhaling.

As always, I am interested in your comments and please RT this if you’re on Twitter.

Base - Click To View

HoS - Click To View

Strø - Click To View

Lust - Click To View

If you enjoyed this post I recommend:

• July 10, 2009 -- I, Too, Drink The Mayor’s Water
• January 29, 2010 -- Foursquare & Loyalty Programs – Tastes Like Success
• August 19, 2009 -- Branded Sports – New York Googles vs LA Microsofties?
• July 4, 2010 -- Boost Your Local & Social Marketing Simply & At No Cost
• January 1, 2010 -- 5 Business Lessons from Canada’s Hockey Team Selection