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Work Packaging

Manhattan

Two directions inside one packaging format.

Problem
Brand identity had to find room on a pack dominated by mandatory health warnings.
Solution
Two art directions on one structure: beige with architectural lettering, and black with gold script.
Result
Two complete pack directions sharing one structure.

My role Packaging graphics · alternative design directions

Manhattan Original — Script and skyline · flip-top pack

Manhattan Original Script and skyline · flip-top pack

3D model — original artwork Folded from the supplied dieline: every panel turns on its real crease.

Packaging graphics for a flip-top cigarette pack in two alternative directions: script and skyline, or architectural lettering.

Four Manhattan Original packs on a green leather desk, three front up and one back up, beside a brass pen and coaster. Studio composite: production artwork rendered in 3D at the scene's scale and light, laid on a generated top-down scene.Open full-size image
Studio composite — production artwork in a generated setThe black direction: fronts and a back

Part by part

One sheet, folded into a pack

  1. One sheet, one pack

    One sheet, one pack

    A flip-top pack of about 55.5 × 87 × 23 mm, folded here from the supplied dieline.

  2. Script and skyline

    Script and skyline

    Gold script and a line-drawn skyline on black; the mark sits at the foot of the front.

  3. Warnings on every face

    Warnings on every face

    Front and back carry the picture warning; the sides carry the two text warnings and the barcode.

  4. The back

    The back

    The picture warning repeats on the back, above the mark.

  5. The lid

    The lid

    The top of the lid carries the mark and a QR code.

  6. Opened on its creases

    Opened on its creases

    Each panel turns on its real crease: inner flaps first, then the sides, then the lid and back.

  7. The flat dieline

    The flat dieline

    The printed net as supplied: about 98 × 246 mm, with the die-cut outline.

3D: the supplied dieline, folded in the browser

Identity

Colour, type and system

Manhattan mark.
Manhattan mark

Palette

Sampled from the production files

  • #060708 RGB 6 7 8
  • #3A372F RGB 58 55 47
  • #797569 RGB 121 117 105
  • #C3B286 RGB 195 178 134
  • #F6E1B0 RGB 246 225 176
  • #F9F7F6 RGB 249 247 246

Type

Manhattan lettering in use.
The second direction: gold script on black

System

  • Manhattan variant 1.
  • Manhattan variant 2.

Palette sampled from the production files; type and system as printed

Brandbook

The system, board by board

Board: the Manhattan black pack net, flat, with its closed size.Open full-size image
Presentation board — compiled from the design filesThe production net, flat

Design decisions

Why it looks this way

  1. Manhattan Original front: gold script and skyline on black.Open full-size image
    Original artwork

    Script and skyline

    A flowing script and gold skyline on black: a simpler, higher-contrast palette.

  2. Manhattan Original front: condensed architectural capitals on a beige field.Open full-size image
    Original artwork

    Architectural lettering

    Angular, condensed capitals echo the skyline; a warm beige field and diagonal texture add rhythm.

In context

Two Manhattan Original packs folded from the black dieline, one standing and one lying on its back. Studio render, production artwork.Open full-size image
Studio render — production artworkThe black direction, folded: two packs
A Manhattan Original pack in the air, turned to show the front and the side. Studio render, production artwork.Open full-size image
Studio render — production artworkOne pack, front and side

By the numbers

complete pack directions
2
complete pack directions
shared structure for both
1
shared structure for both

Before / after

Two directions, one format

Drag to compare. Brand panels, warnings, side copy, barcode and closure flaps stay in place; only the typography and palette change. These are alternative directions, not a before-and-after.

Beige direction, complete layout
Black direction, complete layout
Production file Beige direction, complete layout Production file Black direction, complete layout
Process & productionFull write-up, print specs, timeline, files, credits

Overview

Manhattan is a flip-top cigarette pack with a large mandatory warning area. Two directions explore different ways to give the brand presence inside the same format; the sources do not say which was chosen.

The challenge

Make room for an identifiable brand inside a warning-heavy pack.

Creative direction

Both directions keep the same broad structure — brand panels, warnings, side copy, barcodes and closure flaps — and change only the typographic voice and palette.

What was delivered

Two original front directions and two complete pack artworks.

Design value

The comparison shows range in art direction within one physical format. It does not establish which direction was chosen or how either performed.

The problem is framed from the finished work, not quoted from a client brief.

Delivered

  • Two front-panel directions
  • Two complete pack dielines

Built to print

Format
Flip-top cigarette pack, about 55.5 × 87 × 23 mm closed
Directions
Beige with architectural lettering · black with gold script
Mandatory copy
Croatian health warnings, side panels and barcode

Evidence

Verified fact
Two complete pack layouts are supplied, beige and black; the black one as a vector dieline.
The dieline folds to a flip-top pack of about 55.5 × 87 × 23 mm, with the lid hinged 11.5 mm below the top of the back.
Design reading
Typography alone shifts the tone between the two directions.

Credits & notes

  • Packaging graphics — Faraz Khadivdjam
  • Studio view — AI-assisted presentation mockup
  • Shown as alternative directions, not a before-and-after
  • Studio composites — production artwork rendered in Blender on background plates generated with Magnific (Freepik) from text prompts, 2026
  • Studio sets — production artwork on the 3D models, rendered in Blender, 2026 (no generated imagery)
  • Flat lays — production artwork rendered in Blender on top-down scenes generated with Magnific (Freepik) from text prompts, 2026

In short

Two complete directions, both working inside the same mandatory warning layout.

Next project Slow Hours Roast level, read like a clock.

Contact

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