Few people overseas know that China also makes cigars, an industry that can be traced back to the special offerings made to Mao Zedong, the first leader of the new China, about 80 years ago. With only four cigar manufacturing companies in China which are all directly owned by the state, together they produced 9.58% of the world's cigars in 2020. Fierce competition between four state-owned enterprises in the face of huge domestic market potential, all seeking to make their brands and products engaged and accepted by consumers, who typically prefer imported oversea brands over locals.

Among which, China Tobacco Shandong is renowned for its blending and craft techniques, but weak in terms of branding and marketing strategy. Started from late 2017, I was commissioned to create a groundbreaking and experimental new brand, which later became the first award-winning Chinese cigar branding, and my following redesign for old brand has made it the No.1 trending cigar of 2020-21.

The name 'EL MONO' comes from the Spanish word for monkey, under the brand of China Tobacco Shandong called 'Mount Tai', the 'king's mountain'. “Cigar is an art of finding balance through change, a concept shared with the traditional Chinese philosophy of Tai Chi. There is no formula for blending the best cigar, you can't have a theory, it's more of an intuition and free cigar from format.”said the technical director.

By using generated patterns of gradated dashes, like the formation of a magnetic field, naturally manifesting the idea of 'finding balance through change.' It also bares a resemblance to the tip of a lighted cigar and taste buds upon which the flavor of our cigars shall be bestowed. Instead of traditional luxurious and intricate design styles, the cigar band opted unusual asymmetrical ring design based on the famous Taiji of Ying and Yang to accommodate the thumb and forefinger holding the cigar.

The packaging design attempted to incorporate the '气Qi: air, breath’ of the Eastern philosophy. The arrangement is inspired by the traditional latticework pattern surrounds a central window in which can be found the humidifying materials and forms a windmill structure, the windmill being an important symbol of breath in Chinese culture, used to signify immortality and the endless flow of wealth.