I’m Carolina Viganó, a senior graphic designer based in Costa Rica with 25+ years of experience in branding, logo design, hospitality marketing, web design, and e-commerce. I work directly with businesses to turn complex information into clear, professional visual communication that supports sales.
The premium cigar industry is a specialized niche with a significant presence in Central America. I entered this field through a printing company specializing in cigar bands, where I gained hands-on knowledge of the technical requirements behind these highly detailed pieces.
Working closely with the printer, I learned how to prepare complex, production-ready artwork for specialty printing processes. This included the correct use and separation of metallic colors and foils such as gold, copper and silver, as well as embossing, debossing, raised details and other premium print finishes.
One of the greatest challenges of cigar band artwork is its extremely small format. A limited surface must accommodate branding, typography, ornamental elements and product information while remaining legible, balanced and suitable for precise printing and finishing.
Successfully producing these pieces requires more than general graphic design experience. Every line, color, layer and typographic detail must be carefully prepared according to the printer’s technical specifications. Registration between inks, metallic foils, embossing and die-cut elements must also be considered from the artwork stage.
This experience developed my specialization in cigar band artwork, small-format print design, prepress production, metallic foil preparation, embossing and complex final artwork for the tobacco industry.