cegrafica - TCF GROUP

TCF GROUP ;

In-House — Jan 2024 - Sept 2025

Print POS, Brand Identity, 3D & Exhibition Design, Packaging, Email Marketing, UX/UI, Publications, Web & Social Assets

CONTEXT: TCF Group - a fast growing family run business based in Lincoln - producers, manufacturers and distributors of vaping products. A reactive employer within a chaotic industry, with a track-history of constant progress and financial success.

Under the umbrella brand sits; 888 Vapour (retail, B2C) and Juice Sauz Distribution (wholesale, B2B) which operates worldwide. Our in-house brands (Drifter, Dr Frost, V4 Vapour, ONE Eliquids, SALT) are championed through both of those channels.

CHALLENGES: Back in-house. New industry and audiences. Sink or swim business culture. Learn the structure and our methods of communication. The mass catalogue of SKUs and systems of storage. Keeping up-to-date with legalities and compliance. Understand safety data sheets and constantly make updates. Using a label printer for adhoc requests. Learn Blender (3D software) and advance my skills within the Adobe Suite. Become fast paced and reliable. Build on the existing brand identities. Please IQOS/Phillip Morris Int.

CONCLUSION: I joined a team of 2 and left 2nd of 6; I was the understudy and substitute to the Head of Design. I juggled up to 8 projects at a time, managing design responsibilities for key accounts such as Spain / Eciglogistica. I was given the important or lucrative projects that needed doing fast and well. I was given or consulted on all of the big projects. I liaised across the whole business and beyond, from flavorists and compliance officers to external clients, printers and stand builders. I worked with Chinese manufacturers to improve the UI and packaging finishes of new products. My prototypes and presentations were seen by directors and legal ministries. I redesigned the website for our leading brand Drifter, and developed the brands' narrative with a new slogan, logo, and graphics. My exhibition stand design for Dortmund 2024 set the new standard. All-in-all I grew really well into this business and picked up some valuable respect and experience for the next stage of my career.

Note: All work is from projects I have lead on, but in some instances may feature assets of another author.

CONTENTS: (01) PRINT POS (02) PACKAGING (03) EXHIBITION & 3D (04) WEB, EMAIL & SOCIAL (05) BRANDING

(01) PRINT POS

Printed marketing material used throughout both our B2C retail portfolio of 888 Vapour stores and distributed out to our B2B UK and International clients via our wholesale arm. The use cases vary - flavour menu flyers for exhibition stand support, posters for new product launches, table talkers and shelf wobblers for shopkeepers, printed catalogues for sales pitches - but the approach and processes remain consistent. Feature the product, show the brand, communicate the message.

A5 flavour menu for Madrid Expo (front)

A5 flavour menu for Madrid Expo (back)

Drifter x Elf A3 poster

Drifter x Elf table talker

Drifter Bar 6000 bollard cover

Drifter Bar 6000 (France) table talker

Drifter Bar 6000 (UK) A4 menu card

Drifter Bar 6000 (UK) A5 menu card

Drifter Bar 6000 (UK) A3 poster

Dr Frost (Germany) table talker

Dr Frost (Germany) A5 flavour menu (front)

Dr Frost (Germany) A5 flavour menu (back)

ONE Eliquids catalogue for Poundland pitch (UK)

888 Vapour A-Board

888 Vapour Bundle Posters

(02) PACKAGING

As the producer and distributor of several in-house brands selling worldwide, packaging was the bread and butter of the role at TCF Group. The workload purely on labels, boxes and outers was extensive with intensive procedures in place for compliance, language, and print-finishing. As the legalities change around the world - very regularly - updates had to be made. Brands such as Drifter and V4 Vapour each have up to 50 different flavours, available in up to 10 sizes, various strengths, and are sold to 30+ countries which each require customisation and translation for legal & audience/client requirements. It's an incredible amount of SKUs and barcodes to generate with long sign-off waits, yet the time-frame for design was always ridiculously short as we (as a company) looked to react to changes or please high-spending B2B clients within difficult markets.

(03) EXHIBITION & 3D

A pillar of TCF Group's success at expo and across visual communication was our ability to create dynamic imagery and accurate blueprints within 3D software. Blender was a huge part of our processes; from art direction of new campaigns, through to product renders for client's websites.

Dortmund '24 Expo

Art direction for Drifter Bar 6000

Dortmund '24 panel graphics

Art direction for Drifter Bar 6000

Art direction for Drifter Eliquid's launch into USA

Elf Bar model

Art direction for V4 Vapour

Dubai '25 Expo

Dubai '25 Design

Dubai '24 Best of British

Drifter Eliquid CDU

Drifter / JSD gantry

888 gantry design

Colombia '25 Expo

Colombia '25 panel graphics

Colombia '25 POS flyer

Unitas '24 Design

Unitas '24 Expo

Art direction for ONE Eliquids

ONE Elqiuids shelving display for Poundland

(04) WEB, EMAIL & SOCIAL

Assets and marketing communications created for internal and external requirements. Email marketing for Juice Sauz Distribution (B2B), 888 Vapour and IQOS (B2C), built and sent via Mailchimp.

Drifter digital menu card for UK stores