Press & Media
Humberto Areas
Founder & Creative Director, Cigar Package Design
Humberto Areas is a Nicaraguan-born designer whose studio creates award-winning packaging for premium cigar brands like Villiger Cigars. His work is rooted in childhood memories of his cigar-loving grandfather.
Short Bio
Humberto Areas is an award-winning designer and the founder and Creative Director of Cigar Package Design. Born in Managua, Nicaragua, he grew up sharing stories with his cigar-loving grandfather, Renato. Since 2010, his team has designed bands, boxes, and brand identities for premium cigar makers. The team has earned a Cigar Journal Outstanding Art Award and two IPCPR (PCA) Best in Show honors.
Full Bio
Humberto Areas is an award-winning designer and the founder and Creative Director of Cigar Package Design, where he leads the company's creative and strategic direction.
Born in Managua, Nicaragua, Humberto grew up around cigars. Some of his fondest memories are of sharing stories and laughs with his grandfather, Renato, a lifelong cigar lover. That bond still shapes how Humberto approaches his work. He believes storytelling sits at the heart of cigar culture, and that the best packaging tells a brand's story before the box is ever opened.
Humberto holds a bachelor's degree in graphic design. In 2008 he co-founded Can I Have Your Attention, a Miami creative studio focused on branding and packaging. The studio took on its first cigar project in 2010. In 2014 Humberto launched Cigar Package Design as a dedicated practice. It creates bands, boxes, labels, and complete brand identities for premium cigar makers, including Villiger Cigars and Duran Cigars.
The team's work has been recognized both inside the cigar industry and beyond it, including:
• A 2020 Outstanding Art Award from Cigar Journal
• Best in Show honors at the IPCPR trade show in 2014 and 2018
• A 2014 Beverage World Global Packaging Design Award
Humberto also hosts a video series on the craft of cigar packaging design. He speaks on premium branding, packaging as storytelling, and building a niche creative business.
In His Words
"The smoke and aroma of a cigar reconnects me to my birthplace, my grandfather, and his passion for cigars. I bring this experience and passion to every project I take on today."
— Humberto Areas
Speaking & Interview Topics
From my grandfather's cigars to designing for the industry
How a childhood in Nicaragua, and the stories shared over cigars, became a design career. Also, why storytelling is central to both cigar culture and great packaging.
The art of the cigar band
Why a two-inch strip of paper is some of the most demanding small-format packaging in the world. Covers embossing, foils, heritage cues, and what makes a band feel premium.
Designing heritage for new brands
How young cigar brands can earn a look of age and authority without inventing a history.
Packaging as the first taste
How box and band design shape perception before a product is ever opened, with lessons that apply well beyond cigars.
Building a niche creative studio
The shift from a general studio in 2008 to a recognized specialist, and why narrowing the focus grew the business.
Designing for regulated industries
Staying creative within the legal constraints of tobacco and beverage packaging.
Sample Interview Questions
1. Tell us about your grandfather, Renato. How did he shape your relationship with cigars?
2. Does growing up in Nicaragua give you a different perspective when working with cigar makers?
3. How did a general creative studio end up specializing in cigar packaging?
4. What makes cigar packaging different from any other product category?
5. Walk us through how a cigar band goes from first sketch to production.
6. What separates a band that feels premium from one that feels cheap?
7. How do you create a sense of heritage for a brand that's only a year old?
8. What did the award-winning Villiger work involve?
9. How has cigar packaging changed since you started in 2010?
10. What can brands outside the cigar world learn from how cigars are packaged?
11. What advice would you give a designer who wants to build a niche specialty?
Media Assets
• High-resolution headshots [download link]
• Cigar Package Design logo [download link]
• Selected project images [download link]
Book Humberto
Humberto is available for podcasts, interviews, panels, and editorial features on packaging design, premium branding, cigar culture, and the creative business.
Contact: info (at) cigarpackagedesign.com
Booking: [link]
