LEX12® Little Cigars in Premium Tins

Breaking onto the scene in 2011 as a premium little cigar, LEX12 is one of America’s fastest growing brand lines. This was a new market for S&M Brands, Inc., who had previously produced cigarettes, and they wanted something that stood out against the crowd. They take pride in creating products that are "delicious beyond compare" and they wanted this new line to really stand out in the market and create a lasting impression.

This project involved researching the tobacco and cigar industry in order to create packaging for this product that stood out against its competitors. I designed the tins to have a very organic and modern pop-art feel. We wanted something that people would want to pick up and look at. After coming up with the overall color and layout the next challenge was to find a medium that fit the clients needs. They wanted something that the consumer would find edgy and want to keep even after the product was gone. We came up with the idea to use metal tins to house the product. This fit both a practical need for the client because it kept the product from getting smashed or damaged in peoples pockets like you have with paper packs. It also meet their desire for a package that stood out against the competitors because a tin would give the colors and design a real edge. From there the designs took off as I used the positive and negatives of the raw metal with the inks. 

We wanted to give a nod to the old cigars that had hand dipped seals. The way I did this was to come up with a seal to carry the brand and make it look three dimensional and jump-off the tin by having it embossed.

This was a fun project that challenged me in terms of learning new mediums, creating die lines to fit the printing and distribution needs, and coming up with a design that captured the clients vision.