06/24/2026
To the Avardens — board game makers, goldsmiths, and perpetual tinkerers — cannabis is a connector. When done consciously, it’s an empathy-enhancer that calls us back to nature and to our loved ones.
Enter the Lost Loon.
“When a loon calls out at night, it is searching for others,” Brad wrote, “Lost Loon is a call to community.”
Now, about the subject matter: one does not simply make a loon logo in Minnesota without running into headwinds. They’re everywhere and in every style and, as a result, quite tricky to pull off while commanding attention.
When Lost Loon called out to us, the ask had a clear frame: create a visual identity that felt premium, carefully crafted, and environmentally conscious, all organized around a loon that doesn’t look like anybody else’s.
To achieve that, we named our aim this way: whimsical yet streamlined. Something free and playful, evocative of the groovy feeling of the 1970s, while also feeling spacious, controlled, and like high craftsmanship.
The mark presents the bird with body low, wings slightly raised, and looking decidedly different than loons you’re used to seeing. The pose says confidence and craft to its conscious consumer audience, and the angular wings play their part in giving the body a cohesive and visually striking feel.
It’s built in a color palette that takes loose inspiration from nature, but with hues and saturation tweaks that feel both groovy and premium. And while the loon is not a dead ringer for an actual loon, the red eye in the middle keeps just enough of the signature look to be recognizable.
We played with the blend of positive and negative space in a number of our illustration styles, a subtle way to reference the boundary-blurring decade of the 70s without collapsing into cliché.
The Avardens were drawn to circular shapes that felt botanical, so we lent the design some curves to give it an organic feel. Typography pairs Season Mix — an elevated yet organic serif — with the Halyard family for body and subheads, giving the system range without losing cohesion.
That cohesion happens to be the whole point of Lost Loon. Pulling isolated parts and bringing them back together through thoughtfully crafted cannabis. People to nature. Nature to people. And, as the fire crackles and dusk fades on an evening by the lake, maybe even bringing people back to people again.
Case Study: https://malley.design/work/lost-loon/
