Case study • Branding & Packaging

Secreto de Talamanca

A secret from the volcanic highlands of Panama, told through a legend, a painting and a name.

About

Secreto de Talamanca is the debut cigar line of Panamanian Tobacco, a premium brand from the volcanic highlands of Chiriquí, Panama. The line was developed from the ground up: an original legend built around Volcán Barú, the name, a central painting, two hand-drawn letterings and the complete packaging system of band, lid, box seal and warranty. The project went beyond the design files, guiding the client through printing, materials and production for the launch of the company’s first product.

Client

Panamanian Tobacco

Scope

Naming, narrative, identity, packaging

Deliverables

Painting, lettering, cigar band, lid, box seal, warranty seal

Craft

Legend → digital painting → hand-drawn lettering → foil and emboss

01 / 07

01  •  The legend

A myth written for the brand

The mythology behind Secreto de Talamanca was written specifically for this project, as the foundation for its image and narrative. It starts from a real place: Volcán Barú, the highest peak in Panama, where on clear days both the Pacific and the Caribbean can be seen from the summit. Barú is a volcano that sleeps for centuries between eruptions, its last around 1550, and in the legend that quiet fire makes it the resting place of Vulcan, the god of fire and the forge. Away from his forge, he descends to Barú, drawn by the rich volcanic soil of the Chiriquí highlands. In classical myth his consort is Venus; here he finds a new muse in the tobacco grown on his slopes. The scene was hand-drawn and digitally painted, with the palette moving from a calm Renaissance range in the first draft to saturated color in the final. The original artwork runs over two meters wide.

An original legend that turns the product’s real origin, the volcanic soil of Barú, into a story the brand can tell for years.

02The muse

03The name

04Cigar band

05Packaging

06Brand in use

07Lettering

‹ ›

First draft

Final

Central painting: first draft in a Renaissance palette

The full scene: the muse on the path through a hidden plantation, Barú behind her. Final in saturated color.

The muse and Volcán Barú, composed to read as one

‹ ›

Lid label print

Final Painting

Lid label: printed version with foil and emboss, and the final painting

Cigar band: the muse, the house seal, and the two oceans meeting at the name

The band on the cigar: front and side views

Inside lid art applied to the box

Round box seal: name, house mark and shell ornament

Warranty seal

The closed box, sealed and certified

The open box: the lid painting revealed

In context: the box in a smoking lounge setting

Detail: the round seal and warranty on the closed box

The band against the brand palette

The band in repetition, a row of cigars

Pattern built from the band: the muse, the name and the two oceans

The Panamanian Tobacco house seal against the painting

Lettering process for the alternative logo applications

Main lettering: the summit of Barú, sunrise and waves, previewed in gold foil

Alternative lettering, previewed in gold foil

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