Colombian Cannabis Industry Observatory

OCIC

Communicating an industry beyond cannabis stereotypes

ClientArteaga Latam

RoleGraphic design coordinator

Contribution Brand identity Art direction

Problem

OCIC sought to present the Colombian cannabis industry through its economic, scientific, and business dimensions. Its communications needed to reach a diverse audience, including investors in the medical sector, export and customs specialists, doctors, government agencies, and others interested in the industry.

We needed to move away from visual language associated with recreational cannabis and show that the observatory worked with information, analysis, and specialized knowledge. The goal wasn’t to hide the connection to cannabis, but to communicate a different perspective on the sector: analysis, regulation, production, trade, and economic opportunity.

Initial sketches: symbol and typography explorations for the observatory.

Logo proposals and the selected version.

Context

A sector exploring new possibilities

OCIC was launched in 2022, as Colombia’s cannabis industry began expanding beyond medicinal cultivation into research, production, exports, and business development. At the same time, the debate around regulating adult-use cannabis was bringing the subject into a broader public conversation.

I coordinated the graphic design work from the start, working directly with the specialists leading the project. I developed the visual identity and communication across social media, reports, campaigns, events, and audiovisual content.

Research

The project leaders were agribusiness experts and held direct conversations with small farmers and entrepreneurs in the sector. My job was to learn from that knowledge, follow their direction on where the project was heading, and complement it with references from cannabis-focused trade media.

Much of the work involved translating technical and economic information into presentations, infographics, and digital content that different audiences could understand quickly.

Piece “Perspectivas & necesidades de los mercados internacionales para productos de cannabis medicinal” (international market outlook and needs for medicinal cannabis products), with data bars formed by a cannabis crop under a blue sky.

Piece “10 años de cannabis legal en Uruguay” (10 years of legal cannabis in Uruguay), with the Legislative Palace, press clippings and a 2013 banner, in blue and yellow.

Piece with a map of Colombia: use of cannabis-based medicinal or cosmetic products was reported most in Bogotá, Antioquia and the Coffee Region.

Event piece: talk “Perspectiva internacional de la evolución del cannabis medicinal” (international perspective on the evolution of medicinal cannabis) with speaker Jesse Stanley, November 3 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom.

Piece “Estrategias disponibles en la regulación aduanera colombiana para promover el comercio internacional: zonas francas” (strategies available in Colombian customs regulation to promote international trade: free trade zones), with an open yellow container in a field.

Piece “¿Cómo pueden beneficiarse las empresas al utilizar las Sociedades de Comercialización Internacional para sus actividades de exportación?” (how can companies benefit from using International Trading Companies for exporting), over an aerial view of a container ship and a green field.

Pieces designed for the observatory’s social media.

Result

Rather than creating a new graphic solution for every piece, we gradually developed a system based on clear hierarchies and visual elements that helped organize the information. Throughout the project, we applied the identity and visual system across social media, campaigns, reports, infographics, events, and audiovisual content.

The value of the system became clear in how it could be used by others. With a brand guidelines document and access to the editable files, other designers and the audiovisual team could create new pieces while maintaining consistency, without relying on one person for every asset. The identity became more than a collection of deliverables: it gave the team a visual language they could keep using and developing.

Cover “Ruta de internacionalización del cannabis medicinal”: an open green container with a person in a greenhouse crop, boxes on a pallet and logos of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and the observatory.

Animation of the Adobe Illustrator screen while the cover is being put together, with a black-and-white background of stacked containers. — Putting the cover together.Event with the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce to build, together with experts, an export route for medicinal cannabis; the photos that follow are from that event.

Photo of five participants seated in chairs in front of a light wall, talking during the panel. — A conversation among the guests.

Invitation “Ruta de internacionalización del cannabis medicinal”: an open cardboard box with cannabis plants on a calendar, November 3 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. — Invitation to the results presentation.

Event photo: three panelists seated in front of an auditorium, with a Bogotá Chamber of Commerce lectern and an observatory banner. — The event at the Chamber of Commerce.

Piece “Bogotá exporta, Colombia avanza”: green background with boxes on a pallet and the event details: November 3, 9:30 a.m., via Zoom. — Bogotá exports, Colombia moves forward.

Cover “Cannabis: Abriendo caminos para la internacionalización”, with an aerial view of a container ship over a green field and the logos of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and the observatory. — Opening paths to internationalization.

Institutional brochure of the observatory open on a green background, next to a square cover with a cannabis plant and the slogan “Fortalecemos la industria del cannabis, promoviendo conversaciones informadas” (strengthening the cannabis industry by promoting informed conversations).

A person in front of a laptop showing the JA&A website, with the slogan “Fortalecemos la industria, promoviendo conversaciones informadas” and the “Sobre nosotros” (About us) section.

Institutional brochure, website and newsletter of the observatory.

Reflections

Greater autonomy, greater confidence in my design decisions

OCIC was one of the projects where I had the most autonomy at Arteaga Latam. As I learned more about the sector and its communication needs, I developed my understanding of the project alongside the team.

It was also a project where I learned a great deal from working with others. I collaborated closely with agribusiness specialists, learning to listen to different perspectives, draw on knowledge outside my own field, and translate it into a visual system that could grow with the project.