Root for Hemp
Helping earth-lovers get their hands on hemp for everyday household and lifestyle needs
The Design Project
After working in the cannabis industry for over a decade, Lauren Gibbs noticed that while marijuana was becoming more mainstream, industrial hemp was being left behind — and she had an idea to help change that.
Lauren wanted to make hemp-made home goods accessible while “educating consumers and change-makers on how to be an everyday advocate for the plant.”
From the beginning, Lauren knew that this brand would be rooted in advocacy. She knew she wanted to incorporate a red barn, a classic symbol in grassroots movements that represents tradition, pride, and perseverance. The goal was for the brand to feel nostalgic while inspiring action.
Bringing the Brand to Life
After my Brand Questionnaire & Vision Board Exercise, Lauren was clear on what she wanted — she just needed a creative partner to help make it real.
Since Lauren likes to sleep on her decisions, we split her VIP Design Day into two parts with two weeks in between, giving her time to live with the concepts before committing.
She wanted a full logomark (instead of a simpler wordmark logo), so the first Half VIP Day was spent exploring fonts, barn styles, and layouts. On the second Half VIP Day, we applied color and locked in her supporting fonts to finish her final brand guidelines. What came out was an iconic barn landscape with strong lettering that feels equal parts farm stand and protest sign, rooted in tradition and ready for what’s next. The color palette pulls straight from the farm: barn red, golden-hour yellows, and field greens.
Built to Run Solo
This was not Lauren’s first business. She was confident in creating her own marketing materials once she had a framework to build in — so my job was to set her up with the templates and guides she needed to stay cohesive and on-brand.
With the brand identity in place, we worked on business cards, email signatures, profile pictures, Mailchimp email templates, and social media templates built in Canva — all the basics for a successful launch. Then we moved on to merch: ashtrays, lighters, storage tins, stickers, pencils, postcards, journals, toker pokers, bookmarks and more. This became the “Merch on a Mission” collection, part of the first product lineup on the Shopify site I built for her.
For the website, I focused on setting up the overall structure and style specs. The website needed to drive sales and educate, so I spent time building comprehensive templates for product listings, blog posts, and about pages. I added a few products, then handed off customized tutorials so she could manage the website herself.
Since launching in 2024, Lauren has continued growing the Root for Hemp brand on her own terms — no designer on speed dial required. (Though I’m always happy to hear from her!) She still gets regular compliments on the branding, which is my favorite kind of update. That’s always the goal: a brand strong enough to speak for itself, and a system simple enough to keep it that way.
“Working with Lauren was a reminder that the best brands start with conviction. She knew exactly what she stood for, and that made every design decision easier. I’m so proud of what we built together, and even prouder of what she’s built since.”
