The Aura Cannabis brand was created with an inclusive voice for female cannabis users. In a marketplace overflowing with antiquated cannabis stereotypes, Aura stands out as a lifestyle brand for confident, empowered customers looking for the highest quality cannabis. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Aura has over 75 years of combined cannabis cultivation experience. They approached Haptik Studio and Zenpack to elevate the brand identity and develop packaging designed to present their products as accessories for life enhancement. The packages needed to be tactile, warm and bold, equally satisfying to open and beautiful while resting on a coffee table. Focusing on Aura's four product lines, Blaze, Roar, Cosmic and Flare, Haptik created distinct yet related color palettes and unified them across sturdy package structures with textured paper and gold foil printing. The family of packages consists of glass jars, boxes, cartons and pouches, including an innovative sliding package that unfolds to reveal pre-rolls in their own compartments. From graphics and printing to texture and structure, the packaging invites the customer to make a deeper connection with the products inside.

The Aura Cannabis brand was created as a direct response to a cannabis marketplace that tends to focus on stereotypical marijuana imagery, graphics, and claims. Currently, the cannabis market is filled with traditional visuals of graffiti, excessive colors, and an array of kraft paper colors that was borrowed from the organic foods industry. Aura wanted to focus on the effects rather than fancy cannabis strains, while still providing essential strain information. We were asked to create a lifestyle brand that presents premium cannabis products to the female audience who is looking for something they actually connect with.

Haptik created a brand identity that positions Aura as a lifestyle brand amidst a homogeneous cannabis marketplace. Aura's four product lines — Blaze, Roar, Cosmic, and Flare — are crafted for their intended effects, and each line has unique traits for customers to identify with. As part of the project, the team developed brand strategy and messaging that captures the passion and knowledge of San Francisco's world-renowned cannabis industry. Working closely with these cannabis experts, the Haptik team studied the cannabis strain characteristics to build aroma, flavor, and appearance profiles for customers to not only make informed purchases, but also to choose products that fit their lifestyle.

The Aura logo is bold, emotional, and distinctive. The logo mark suggests an uplifting movement from an artistic brush stroke. The positive and negative space communicates both energy and calmness, which represents the wide array of products and their effects. The color palette is both functional as product line color codes and emotional as an abstraction for the effects. Overlapping to create new shades of the same color, biomorphic energy clouds flow across the packages, representing the exceptional moment when the customer and product combine to create something new.

The packaging system starts with a cohesive form factor and material to extend and maintain the unboxing experience. We decided to use a textured paper for the entire labeling system, covering boxes, cartons, jars, and pouches. This semi-coated substrate provides a vibrant color palette while keeping the surface matte for the foil finish to come alive. More than a throw-away package, the substantial structure invites customers to cherish each item and look forward to the ritual experience. The reusable pre-roll packaging places each joint into its own sleeve, making each precious and protected. Interior textured paper, unexpected hits of gold foil messaging — every detail is intentional and designed to spark joy.

Combined, the graphic treatment and packaging system convey a personal, almost magical experience that makes the brand instantly memorable, leaving the customer with a pleasant after-taste.

Aura is currently available in select premium dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company has plans to expand their offerings in 2021.