Branding, Packaging, Website Design & Development
Atsiniki Cigars
Atsiniki Cigars, is a premium Nicaraguan cigar company that celebrates the time-honored traditions of Native American, Cuban and Nicaraguan tobacco culture. Their cigars were painstakingly blended by Cuban master blenders Arsenio Ramos and Eradio Pichardo to reflect the spirit of their Native American namesakes — Nanaiya (Peace), Imaiya (Victory), and the soon to be available Tashka (Warrior). Though the company is based in Franklin, TN, all cigars are produced in Nicaragua, with the mission to provide fair wage employment and excellent benefits for their workers.
Atsiniki sought Visualink’s expertise in branding for development of their identity, including both their logo, tagline and brand voice. This endeavor also included art direction, web design and development, social media branding and consulting, product packaging, custom illustration, brand apparel design and marketing collateral.
Atsiniki’s website reflects the essence of the brand and the three different cultural perspectives of the founders. Though the site prominently features the Atsiniki product, the importance of the human connection of each hand-made cigar is equally represented, with a focus on the founders, master blenders, and the factory workers in Nicaragua. Visualink provided full site design and content development, including a Shopify store integration, as well as photography art direction
Visualink was tasked with “Discovering Common Ground” and creating a distinctive logo for Atsiniki Cigars. Our design aimed to honor the Blackfoot tribe, who throughout their history followed the migration path of the buffalo. The brand aims to standout in a sea of highly traditional cigar companies through their messaging, visual identity and their grassroots efforts to improve working and living conditions for indigenous people in both the cigar makers’ country of origin and native tribes across the US and Canada.
Packaging
Packaging design for Atsiniki is multifaceted with distinctive cigar rings and boxes, speciality gift packaging as well as on-site point of purchase items.
Social Media
Visualink creates artwork for Atsiniki’s social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We work within the brand’s guidelines to balance engaging and informative copy with striking photography, visual quotes, availability announcements, and opportunities for learning more about the brand’s mission and the storied tradition of cigar-making.
