The Weed Center

In Norway, cannabis use among people under the age of 18 years is increasing for the first time in ten years. Simultaneously, many in this age group find it difficult to tell credible information from less reliable information. Our client, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, ordered us to design og develop a website with a clear purpose: To fill this knowledge gap with up-to-date information on cannabis, including health effects caused by cannabis use. The overall goal is that visitors uses this information and make the right decissions for themselves.

Cannabis is a topic that the health authorities have shared very little information about in the past. Therefore, we wanted to provide the target group with comprehensive knowledge through this interactive website.

To succeed, we had to walk a tight rope and create a site which took the target group seriously. On the one hand, we could not use a top-down tone of voice, where the user feels she or he is judged by the authorities. On the other hand, the content could not in any way advocate or condone drug use.

The site we created uses information which is visualized in 3D (WebGL) and in real time. The reason for this, is to give the user an immersive experience when navigating the site. A lot of resources were also put in the visual aspects, as it was important that the elements presented always reflected our client’s position. By avoiding playing on traditional tools often associated with cannabis (portraying it as "cool / relaxing"), we chose to use the Norwegian Directorate of Health's own profile combined with soft transitions and animations, and interesting scenes and camera runs to give the content a more serious, neutral appearance.