My New Passion Project Is an ILLUME-Inspired Spring/Summer Candle
Crafting A New Fragrance
Growing up in Minneapolis, my admiration for Illume's dedication to creativity and excellence has been a constant. Seduced by the brand's distinctive flair in scent and design, I embarked on a project to conceive a Spring/Summer candle, complete with bespoke packaging. This endeavor is not merely a creative undertaking, but a profound homage to Illume's philosophy of weaving sensory experiences that touch the soul. My vision for an eco-conscious, luxurious candle encapsulates Illume's ethos and values. Thus, this project transcends a mere design exercise, standing as a heartfelt tribute to a brand that has perennially sparked my inspiration.
Creating a Spring/Summer Candle
To create a line extension I researched the key points of the Illume winter candle North Sky and reverse-engineered the creative brief. Here are a few of my findings. Target Audience: The packaging suggests a premium market, likely targeting consumers who appreciate luxury goods and have a taste for sophisticated, high-quality products. Brand Voice: The words "North Sky" and "Luxury Soy Candle" imply an aspirational, premium, and possibly nature-inspired brand. The voice is calm, serene, and premium. Design Elements: The packaging uses a muted color palette with dark blues and gold accents, which conveys elegance and luxury. The flecked pattern on the candle jar suggests an artisanal or handcrafted quality. Unique Selling Proposition: The product is identified as a "Luxury Soy Candle," which highlights it as an eco-friendly, high-end product made from soy, possibly catering to environmentally conscious consumers.
(The image below details my exploration of the Winter Candle.)
Luxurious, eco-friendly, artisanal, nature-inspired.
Brand words are like the spices in a recipe that flavor how people perceive and interact with a brand. Imagine you're at a party and someone asks about your favorite coffee shop. You might say it's cozy and welcoming, not just a place that serves coffee. Those words you used, that's the coffee shop's brand words in action. They’re a shortcut to understanding the vibe and personality of the brand. When a company figures out its brand words, it's like setting the tone for how they want to be seen and remembered, kind of like choosing the perfect outfit for that same party.
Research for Designing the Summer Spring Candle
The trending scents for luxury candles in the summer of 2024 are expected to reflect a blend of sustainability, therapeutic botanicals, wellness-focused elements, and vintage inspiration:
Sustainable Sensations: Eco-friendly materials like soy and coconut wax, along with packaging that is recyclable and biodegradable. Expect nature-inspired scents that promote eco-conscious living.
Botanical Bliss: Floral, herbal, and green fragrances, such as bergamot, lavender, chamomile, and eucalyptus, will be popular, emphasizing their therapeutic qualities.
Wellness Wonders: Candles infused with essential oils like lavender, peppermint, citrus, floral, and chamomile, aimed at improving well-being and providing stress relief.
Vintage Vibes: A comeback of classic fragrances like vanilla, sandalwood, and cedarwood, offering warmth and a sense of nostalgia
Identifying Key Brand Words
“To create a line extension I researched the key points of the Illume winter candle North Sky and reverse-engineered the creative brief. ”
Spring/Summer Candle Design Objectives
My goal was to create a packaging look for the spring/summer soy candle that captures that fresh, coastal vibe. Illume is all about that luxurious feel, but they also want to keep things eco-friendly too. Think of the design as a little bit of beachside bliss but with a green, sustainable twist. My goal is to bring that high-end touch while staying true to the brand’s earth-loving roots.
Objective: Design a visually appealing packaging for a luxury soy candle that conveys a sense of coastal freshness and appeals to eco-conscious consumers. The brand ethos is about blending luxury with sustainability.
Target Audience: Adults who appreciate high-end, eco-friendly home fragrance products. They value aesthetic appeal in their home décor and are willing to pay a premium for luxury items that offer a sensory experience.
Design Elements:
Color Palette: Soft, pastel colors suggest a coastal sunrise with touches of vibrant hues to convey warmth and energy.
Typography: Modern and clean, emphasizing luxury and clarity.
Imagery: Abstract, flowing shapes reminiscent of coastal landscapes and morning skies.
Material: Eco-friendly materials to reflect the soy candle's sustainability.
Message: "Coastal Dawn" name suggests an invigorating yet serene start to the day, with scent notes of citrus, bergamot, driftwood, and amber to create a refreshing atmosphere.
Unique Selling Points:
Made from luxury soy for a cleaner burn.
Eco-friendly and sustainable product.
A fragrance that transports you to a coastal escape.
Packaging Functionality:
Should protect the candle and maintain scent integrity.
Easy to open and potentially reusable to align with sustainability values.
Illume's collection of candle fragrances and names showcases a diverse range of themes and inspirations, many of which extend beyond Minnesota. Their array of scents includes Amber Bergamot, Autumn Sage, Blackberry Absinthe, Coconut Milk Mango, Fresh Sea Salt, Gardenia, Oud Wood, Pineapple Cilantro, Rosewood Cassis, Thai Lily, and many others. This wide-ranging selection demonstrates Illume's commitment to creating fragrances that capture a variety of experiences, emotions, and places.
For a new candle fragrance that captures the essence of spring/summer, I selected "Coastal Dawn." This scent would blend the crispness of sea salt-infused mist, the zesty energy of citrus groves—grapefruit and bergamot, along with sun-kissed lemon—and the depth of driftwood and amber to evoke the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the ocean breeze. Accents of marine florals could add to the fresh sensation, creating a multi-dimensional olfactory experience of a morning by the shore.
The main scent notes for the candle described would be:
Citrus Grove: A combination of grapefruit, bergamot, and lemon for a bright and zesty aroma.
Driftwood and Amber: For a warm, deep base that evokes the sun's warmth and the earthy undertones of the beach
Sea Salt Mist: To capture the fresh, crisp essence of the ocean air.
