After the legalization of medical cannabis in California, ASD / Emerald Expositions aimed to enter the market by evolving their already successful tobacco show. Unable to overtly brand themselves as a ‘cannabis’ show due to the stigma around marijuana and their corporate status, ASD challenged me to create a brand that resonated with the authentic lifestyles of the smoke/vape/cannabis tribes without using the words cannabis or marijuana or any of the typically associated imagery of the substances.

I leaned into the lifestyle and came up with the name: Culture+. The ‘plus’ represents the cross that, at the time, was associated with medical, while also using it to symbolize the idea of ‘more’. As in, there is more here than just tobacco and vape accessories.