This edition of XPAND Linked features two distinctive types on the theme of smoking and no smoking.
First, this one.
People brazenly smoking — and flicking their butts — in children’s parks that are clearly marked "No Smoking." Sadly, it’s a sight all too familiar.
Dropping cigarette butts is not merely unsightly. Should a toddler playing in the park pick one up and swallow it, acute nicotine poisoning could result, serious enough to require gastric lavage. It is a genuinely dangerous act.
One could argue it is less a matter of poor manners and more akin to reckless endangerment.
This product is a sign designed to issue a stern rebuke to such inconsiderate smokers — those who are utterly lacking in manners or common sense — and prompt them to reflect on their behaviour.
As the primary target is Japanese inconsiderate smokers, the sign text is in Japanese and English only. Scan the XPAND Code with a smartphone, however, and you will also be confronted by a sharp word in Chinese (Mandarin/Taiwanese Mandarin) and Korean, provided by professional translators.
All other languages are rendered via automatic translation from English.
Next, this one.
A complete change of tone — this one is a celebration of cigars.
Cigars are a world apart from ordinary cigarettes. The variety of leaf, cultivation method, maturation, rolling technique, and storage conditions all combine in complex ways to shape the flavour. It is a sophisticated adult pleasure.
Each brand of cigar has its own strong character and profound flavour, and both the makers and the aficionados who savour them have rich stories to tell. History is full of famous cigar lovers.
Cigar culture is, in its own right, a genuine cultural heritage.
This product is a sign that, out of deep respect for that culture, actively proclaims the message "Cigars Welcome" and aims to spread awareness of the cultural value of cigar smoking.
Incidentally, the cigar pictogram was inspired by a Padrón from Nicaragua — though it ended up bearing little resemblance to the original (^^;