Perfume bottle design: from scent to form
You cannot see a scent. The flacon has to make its claim before anyone presses the atomiser. That is why, at SOL LAB u.t.s., perfume bottle design starts not with a sketch but with the question of what the flacon should say about the brand. From 2008 to 2012 Ramon Spaeti was Managing Director Product Design at LHD Hamburg, where he developed flacons for luxury and lifestyle brands together with the brand houses. For niche and indie fragrances, licence and lifestyle brands and cosmetics brands with a fragrance line, the work begins with one day of clarity.
How does a scent become form?
On the shelf, eye and hand decide first: outline, weight, the coolness of the glass, the colour of the liquid behind it. So form, liquid colour and concept are developed together with the brand house, not one after the other.
Glass is more than a container here. It refracts light, carries weight and shows every hesitation in the form. SOL LAB u.t.s. designs the form, not the fragrance. That comes from the brand and its perfumers.
What to decide before the first sketch
Before anything is drawn, some decisions are needed. What does the fragrance stand for, and where does the brand stand? Who is it for? Which glass, which cap, which liquid colour? How much decoration can the form take? And does it need outer packaging that is thought through together with the flacon?
Then there is the basic question: stock bottle or custom bottle. A stock flacon from a glassworks' range can be made your own through cap, decoration and outer packaging. A custom form is more distinctive, but it asks for more decisions, more coordination with manufacturers and more time before it reaches the shelf. Which route fits depends on what the flacon has to carry. That trade-off belongs at the start, not in the third design round.
What six language models answer to the flacon question is the subject of the note «Precisely Into the Bottle Bank».
Three stages
The three stages are the same as in every SOL LAB u.t.s. project (see the home page). Each one can be commissioned on its own.
Clarity
One day to find the real question. A conversation on site or online, and a review of product and process. Result: a written summary with the next step.
Brief
Weeks on the brief, until goal, form and limits are settled. Workshops with the team. Result: a design brief and criteria, with direction in sketches and material.
Collaboration
Guidance from design through to implementation, with decisions at every intermediate step. For a flacon, that means from sketch to mockup to the finished product on the shelf, working alongside the manufacturers. Packaging and outer packaging are part of it if the brand wants them.
Flacons for luxury and lifestyle brands
From 2008 to 2012 Ramon Spaeti was Managing Director of the product design department at LHD Hamburg. The work covered concept, brand, product and packaging development for luxury and lifestyle brands, including Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Joop!, Adidas, Puma and Stetson as well as David Beckham and Kate Moss. Form, liquid colour and concept were developed with the brand houses. For Dolce&Gabbana he designed cosmetic products as well as flacons, and for other brands further licensed products. In those years he also worked with the glassworks Heinz Glas and Bormioli Luigi. The work for J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin, founded in 1856 and revived in 2012, dates from the same years: he co-developed the design under the direction of Lutz Herrmann.
After the LHD Hamburg years he mainly realised designs for niche fragrances. Today he runs SOL LAB u.t.s. in Pontresina in the Engadine.
The brand names refer to work from the LHD Hamburg years, not to current SOL LAB u.t.s. clients.
See the cases: Flacons for luxury and lifestyle brands and J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin. Profile: Ramon Spaeti.
FAQ
What does a perfume bottle designer do?
A perfume bottle designer shapes the form, material, proportions and concept of the flacon, in agreement with the brand. That includes the glass, the cap and how both work with the colour of the liquid. Label and graphics are a separate field: they sit on the form, they do not make it.
Stock bottle or custom bottle?
A stock bottle saves decisions and can be made your own through cap, decoration and outer packaging. A custom bottle is more distinctive and needs more coordination with manufacturers. Which one fits becomes clear in the first two stages.
What does the process look like?
Three stages: Clarity, Brief, Collaboration. The question comes first, the product on the shelf last, with sketch and mockup in between. Each stage ends with a result the brand can use to decide whether to continue.
Which brands has Ramon Spaeti worked with?
At LHD Hamburg, from 2008 to 2012, with luxury and lifestyle brands including Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Joop!, Adidas, Puma, Stetson, David Beckham and Kate Moss. For Dolce&Gabbana he designed cosmetic products as well as flacons, and for other brands further licensed products. In the same period he co-developed the design for J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin under the direction of Lutz Herrmann. After LHD he mainly realised designs for niche fragrances.
Do you work with manufacturers?
Yes. Working alongside manufacturers is part of the third stage. The experience with glassworks comes from the LHD Hamburg years, including Heinz Glas and Bormioli Luigi. Which manufacturers a project needs today is settled in the brief.
How much does perfume bottle design cost?
It depends on the scope. All three stages are on request. The start is one day of clarity; after that, the scope is clear.
Do you work remotely?
The studio is in Pontresina in the Engadine. The first stage, Clarity, takes place on site or online.
Start with one day of clarity
What should your flacon say before anyone opens it? That is where the first day begins.