Behind the Scenes at the Veritas Cannabis Design Studio

Step inside our cannabis design studio and take a tour with Art Director Sarah Egener.

At Veritas, we’re inspired every day by the incredible crop of artists who call Colorado home. Wherever you look—from the ski slopes and hiking trails to the city streets—local art is peeking out, from outdoor gear to urban alleys.

And we love to elevate the talents blowing us away in our own backyard. Creativity and cannabis go hand in hand, after all.

You can’t spell Veritas without “art.” As part of our quest to collaborate with local creatives for custom skis with Icelantic, eye-catching graphic T’s and new murals in our community, we knew we’d need someone on our team who could bring our vision and aesthetic to life. 

Lucky for us, we found Sarah Egener. As our Art Director, she quickly established our brand guidelines before turning to graphic designer McKeever Spruck to flesh things out further. Together, this pair is responsible for crafting most of our visual brand. That means unique designs for special Veritas packaging, merch, stickers, collabs and much more.

Here, Sarah talks about her approach to cannabis design, why partnering with local artists rocks, and how Veritas’s signature dime jar design came to be.

Q: With the exception of guest artists, has design at Veritas always been done in-house?

Sarah Egener: Before I joined, Veritas had a logo, a typeset and a few merch designs. That was basically it. For my interview project, I was asked to design a label for pre-packed eighths. The label I made for my interview project is actually the classic black-and-gold label you’ll see on Veritas eighths today! To create the larger visual brand of Veritas, I brought on Mckeever, who specializes in graphic art, and I continue to source local artists wherever possible as well.

Q: What’s your process for determining and approving new design ideas?

SE: We work as a team to brainstorm product development. Once we’ve done that, the design team starts getting creative and drafting up looks. Though everyone on the Veritas marketing team is creative, McKeever and I are the ones tasked with turning our group’s vision into a reality.

Q: How would you describe your approach to cannabis-specific design?

SE: Art is really fun to look at after smoking—or however you may choose to consume. I think anybody can attest to that. It can evoke a deeper, more emotional experience and connect the dots of our memories. I try to focus inwards and look deeply at art when I consume cannabis. We’ve actually commissioned several art pieces from our artist family to create a gallery of work at Veritas HQ. We are really passionate when it comes to ensuring cannabis transcends the “stoner stigma.” We’re here to show that you can be a stoner and enjoy collecting, making or appreciating incredible art too. We also want to support local artists in their careers because we appreciate what they do. 

Q: What inspired the artwork used for Veritas’s Dime Jars and Pheno Hunt packaging?

SE: In cannabis culture, back in the day a dime bag was $10 worth of random flower in a plastic baggie. The idea is that we’re bringing people back, but now they're getting a great product in a nice glass jar with a nice silver label on it. It’s meant to remind people about how far we've come as an industry. 

Pheno Hunts are special box drops, so we like to go more strain-specific with the art and brand the entire pheno hunt. It just makes it more special and allows us to show off our artistic talent as a brand.

Q: Are there any hidden meanings or easter eggs in your designs?

SE: I love how art is open to interpretation and making your own connections. Some of our designs do take inspiration from other Colorado brands and outdoors brands. For example, our “Support Your Local Grower” design pays homage to Patagonia's look.

Q: What is the intended reaction you hope to elicit when a customer sees Veritas packaging?SE: It should look clean, sleek, professional—and most importantly, informative. Our strain chart, for example, provides info on everything from category experience to lineage to weight. It’s important to educate, whether we’re speaking to connoisseurs or inspiring future connoisseurs. Packaging should serve to welcome people into the cannabis community. It doesn’t have to be loud or aggressive. As we’ve proven, cannabis can be sold in elegant, professional packaging and succeed just fine.