The definition of zenith is “the time at which something is most powerful or successful.” The Zenith project at Freestyle is a self-directed project that allows us to explore an area of our choosing over nearly two months.

This year, I developed a strong interest in fragrance. I spent a lot of time on perfume websites and in fragrance forums looking at perfume compositions and fragrance company branding. I’m very drawn to the personal element of perfumes, since they can be formulated in many unique ways and smell different on each person. I also like how fragrance companies tell a story with their products and often have very specific branding targeting a particular audience. However, my love for perfumes was no match for their prices, and I grew tired of just looking at fragrances from afar.

For my Zenith project, I decided to create my own perfume and packaging, giving me the chance to explore both perfumery and graphic design. Before the Zenith, I hadn’t created any kind of fragrance or packaging design, so everything was very new to me. I had to do a lot of research on perfumery, and found that online information on perfume-making can be a bit contradictory. Nonetheless, I had a great time creating my own product from start to finish and learned a lot through the process!

Process

I started by researching the perfume-making process. I learned about materials, ratios, and note combinations. When it came time to start creating my own, I kept a perfume log, which I used to track my fragrance trials and record my impressions of each one. I aged each trial I liked for a few days. After my seventh trial, I was decided on a formula and created a small bottle of perfume.

To create the packaging, I designed an unfolded box template in Adobe Illustrator based on the perfume bottle dimensions.

I put everything together over the templates. I also created labels for the bottles. My last step was to print and fold the templates into boxes. A challenge I ran into was the cardstock sheets either being too heavy to fold or too light to hold the bottles. Thanks to the FedEx employee for letting me try out a bunch for free! I decided on 80lb cardstock (which still caused excess creasing after folding, but oh well).

Final: Veil Perfume Oil

Left: Full-sized perfume and packaging / Right: Travel-sized perfume and packaging

Reflection

I chose to create this project because of my interest in perfume, and I took inspiration from fragrances by Sorce, Fragonard, Lolita Lempicka, and Marc Jacobs. Planning out my Zenith and completing the necessary research helped me improve in my ability to self-direct a project. If I were to do this project again, I would try not to overthink the perfumery aspect and dedicate more time to the packaging design portion, since I felt a bit rushed near the end. Through the Zenith, I have learned to create my own product, from perfume to brand packaging. I have also found myself a new hobby in perfumery! I’m very glad I got to complete a project like this, I look forward to creating more of my own perfumes in the future.