As Cosmetics Design observed earlier this year, “effective packaging design is imperative in fragrance and beauty. It stands at the intersection of art and commerce, and yet requires genuine creativity every time.”
Artful
In July, Cosmetics Design spoke with branding and visual designer FangYi Chu, who accepted a merit award this year from the Pratt Institute for her outstanding fragrance packaging design work.
FangYi emphasized that “the most important aspect of design is storytelling.” This helps ensure the complete design package she creates is cohesive: “through the creative direction, including logo, fonts, and color, the [underlying] story can be displayed to everyone,” she says.
An artful creative process, inspired by music, life experience, and daily observations is key to FangYi’s design work. The Allegro concept she created at Pratt “is inspired by the movement and rhythm of a woman walking elegantly and confidently,” she says.
Resourceful
As sustainable sourcing, manufacturing, and packaging materials become more normal than exceptional, designing containers that are functional and elegant is a bit more challenging.
Classic materials like glass (which is recyclable) and wood (which can be renewably sourced) can be put to good use in fragrance, as Cosmetics Design reported in October when Esrawe and Cadena Associates showed bottles designed for Xinú at Design Week Mexico.
The team created two half spheres: the bottle of glass, which rests on the flat side, and the lid of wood, the domed side of which perches atop the dome of the bottle. These are then reusable as vases or sculptural elements. And the more half spheres a consumer has to display, the more artful the arrangement can be.
Economical
Small packages are becoming big business in beauty, personal care, and fragrance. For consumers, small is portable. Small is often less expensive. And, small is less of a commitment.
Eleanor Dwyer, US beauty and fashion research associate with Euromonitor International, spoke with Cosmetics Design this summer and explained that she expects fragrance companies “to introduce more small sizes, such as 30ml (1 fl oz) bottles, to appeal to value-conscious consumers who want to have a ‘wardrobe’ of fragrances whilst maintaining a budget.”
Dwyer went on to note that smaller fragrance “formats, such as roller-balls and solid rings, are also a better match with today’s on-the-go lifestyles, so women can refresh their fragrance throughout the day.”