Hugs
DESIGNED AT A.P. KEATON
BRANDING & IDENTITY DESIGN
An emerging dispensary in San Francisco's Leather District came to us in search of an identity—they needed to fit into this avant-garde neighborhood, yet remain approachable.
We chose to merge charm and rebellion by designing HUGS as though the store were the living room of a well-traveled, retro art aficionado.
ILLUSTRATION
I designed a custom HUGS mark to anonymously build their presence in the neighborhood before launching the brand.
Once launched, the symbol would live on merchandise, print pieces, and even packaging as an alternative logomark.
Through these pieces, the store's interior design, and community outreach programs, #HUGLIFE would be born.
PACKAGING AND MERCHANDISE DESIGN
I pulled from local streetwear influences to create the HUGS lifestyle. I wanted their ideal customer to be effortlessly cool and grounded in community.
This first drop would be HUGS's introduction to the neighborhood so I opted to stay mysterious. I set their primary colour against neutral black and stuck with a clever, positive message.
Our packaging, along with later merch drops, would be warmer and more representative of what HUGS truly is—a community-focused dispensary with a deep love of both art and music.
BRAND BOOK CREATION
I leant into that warm, eccentric, and slightly retro feel to create their typographic system, colour palette, illustrations, brand guide, and other materials.
I developed type-based illustrations that reference vinyl grooves, tying into their focus on retro and punk music. These feature in the brand book and later on, throughout their digital presence.
WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN
To successfully curate their online identity, HUGS needed to stand out among a sea of cool dispensaries in California.
We chose to highlight the qualities that make HUGS most special—their community outreach programs, holding space for local events in their store, and their commitment to donating part of their profits to various charities.
We took their mission statement and ran with it. We created “the dispensary where everybody’s welcome.”
OTHER BRAND ILLUSTRATIONS
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OTHER BRAND ILLUSTRATIONS ✺
