Cigar Chef is an independent cigar aficionado organization coming out of Atlanta, GA, founded by Deondre Nabriet, army veteran from Chicago, IL.
Deondre spent several years traveling the world experiencing various cigar shops, lounges and festivals that increased his desire to create something of his own to bring value to this world. From there, birthed Cigar Chef.
In light of their recent incorporation, Cigar Chef needed help with establishing a striking brand identity, in order to attract their ideal clients and solidify their exclusive community.
We helped Deondre and Cigar Chef take off with a lofty brand by developing a smart, timeless identity system, designed to communicate their purpose, vision and values through carefully selected brand touchpoints towards carefully selected clientele.
The challenge
• Develop brand identity for exclusive cigar aficionado community
• Position Cigar Chef as a leader in the cigar industry
• Emphasize brand personality through an exclusive look
• Emphasize brand personality through an exclusive look
• Develop brand touchpoints: stationery, signage, iconography, social media, merchandise
• Develop brand assets and guidelines for creating future brand touchpoints
Our solution
Brand personality
After a thorough discovery process with Deondre, we've learned that Cigar Chef's brand attributes - leadership, noblesse, reliability and confidence - best fit Carl Jung's RULER archetype and the BELONGING dimension of Ipsos' Censydiam.
Brand identity
Our team helped Cigar Chef create a buzz around their newborn brand with an exclusive, timeless brand identity, featuring a clever illustrated icon combined with tall eccentric font and a flamboyant color palette.
Defining a clear set of rules and guidelines to ensure proper usage of the Cigar Chef brand identity is vital for maintaining consistency in developing future brand touchpoints. The guidelines manual we delivered along with the logo suite is built to help the client manage and use their brand identity assets with proficiency.
Brand touchpoints
Physical and digital applications of the Cigar Chef brand include business cards, envelopes, new member invitations, iconography, social media, signage and merchandise.
Priorly developing brand guidelines has been a tremendous help in maintaining visual consistency across all Cigar Chef touchpoints.
About the client
An exclusive community for cigar aficionados, Cigar Chef promotes communal and professional fellowship in two aspects:
1. Cigars On A Boat - an environment that provides a unique and tranquil experience on Lake Lanier, one of the country’s most renowned lakes;
2. The Lounge - an environment where every cigar aficionado is welcome to explore a distinctive and aesthetic ecosystem that includes Southern hospitality-centric concierge service from arrival to departure.
“It’s more than a lounge; we’re trailblazing a culture of authenticity, sophistication and commitment to one another all under the guise of a cigar. Becoming part of the Cigar Chef community will open doors for cultivating careers, personal relationships and burgeoning businesses. Welcome to our ecosystem.”
Client testimonial
If you're building a brand from scratch and you want to create something people resonate with and attract the right clientele, then you need to look no further than Andrei and his team at Serchis Creative.
Andrei is a master brand strategist - the best in the business. You're going to get someone who takes your brand from nothing that no one knows about to something that everybody remembers.
Timestamp: June 2023
