Chillville
Chillville is a Washington, D.C. cannabis, wellness, and creative space tucked away in a cozy spot formerly occupied by a neighborhood bodega. They move beyond the standard dispensary model and focus on engaging the surrounding community. Along with its cannabis offerings, Chillville curates a selection of wellness products and art sourced entirely from local indie makers and artists, and hosts art shows, pop-up markets, and workshops.
THE PROJECT
Brand identity, illustration, merch, packaging, marketing materials
Chillville represents a shift in how dispensaries operate and show up in their surrounding communities. Being artist-run and people-oriented, the look and feel of the brand needed to reflect its unusual positioning as both a community and retail space, Chillville refuses the standards of a cookie-cutter dispensary (cold, sterile, corporate). The visual identity needed an organic feel that pays tribute to the roots of cannabis culture: underground and community-driven.
To adapt to a DIY space, the visual assets had to operate in an evolving retail environment, and lend themselves to an ever-changing flow of custom merch and changing packaging needs as the product line grew. The overall strategy centered around word of mouth and guerrilla marketing, which involved tabling, wheatpasting, stickering, and hosting block-party-style events featuring local vendors, growers, live artmaking and music, and workshops. The team was looking for flexility, creative freedom, and a personality that was joyful, eclectic, and funky, with a little touch of mischeif.
In a twist on the usual brand discovery process, we started with color. We began the project during the initial buildout of the space. The previous occupants had painted the facade a bright, unmissable chartreuse, and the big question of the moment was, “Do we keep this insane color?”
The owner opted to keep the green facade as a nod to the original character of the block in a rapidly redeveloping neighborhood. We leaned into a bright, psychedelic color palette, which fit perfectly with the free and playful approach to the space itself.
Custom merch is a big part of the Chillville brand. As a professional printmaker, the owner wanted to bring in his passion for screenprinting as part of the way the shop engaged with clientele. We created several merch suites, mostly limited edition posters, tees, and totes. Merch often features a custom character created as an unofficial mascot. Whenever possible, merch items are live printed on-site during events, giving community members a rare opportunity to be a part of the production process and reinforce the DIY spirit of the Chillville experience. Posters were sold at events, as well as wheatpasted around the city.
