Office of Overview digs into the science of the smoke in their identity for cannabis brand 23°

23° is an innovative range of CBD flower and cannabis hardware products, featuring a precision flower mill and a humidity-controlled stash box, otherwise known as a Cannador. The challenge for the London-based branding studio Office of Overview was to build an identity that educates audiences about the science behind their smoke, thus elevating the experience. “Whilst the cannabis world is full of antiquated and pre-legalisation ideals,” explains Founder James Sedgwick-Taylor, “people’s perception of cannabis use is always changing. What was once a stigmatised habit, is now celebrated across the world.” In collaboration with the 23° team, Office of Overview identified what matters to the modern cannabis consumer – knowledge, and having the information they need to improve their smoke.

The studio adopted a unique approach, recognising that “how you smoke is just as important as what’s in your joint.” They carved an identity that echoes this conviction, placing education at the heart of the brand. This was accomplished through a modernist-inspired design system that accentuates the scientific elements inherent to the product, from the technical vibe of the brand’s typeface, Swiss Typefaces’ Simplon, right down to the name itself. “23° comes from the perfect temperature to grow cannabis,” Sedgwick-Taylor reveals. Constructed with a 4x4 circular grid, the logo puts this fact into perspective – visually symbolising the product with a ‘23°’ that also forms a flower, or ‘bud.’

When it came to the rest of the visual language, the team delved deep into the anatomy of the cannabis plant. Cloaked in a timeless black-and-white palette, the brand draws its library of shapes from trichomes, the storehouse of the cannabis plant’s flavour. These cell-like protrusions at the end of buds and leaves sparked the idea to construct a directory of flavours, where each CBD flower boasts its unique profile.

Utilising the same 4x4 grid as the logo, Office of Overview drew directional connections between the circles to mimic the trichomes. The result is a customer-focused directory of flavours, with each individual strain described visually on the packaging through its own terpene profile, working like a ‘code’ for each strain. As uniformly-scaled assets, these can be interwoven to create a series of geometric patterns. Ultimately, the modernist and technical aesthetic employed by the brand invites audiences to reinvent their ritual, through a heightened understanding of it.