I grew up in Minneapolis and I've long admired Illume for its commitment to creativity and quality. Inspired by the brand's unique approach to fragrance and design, I embarked on a passion project to design a Spring/Summer candle and its packaging. This project is a tribute to Illume's ethos of crafting sensory experiences that resonate on a personal level. My design for an eco-friendly luxury candle aims to feature Illume's aesthetic and values. This endeavor is not just a design exercise, but a heartfelt homage to a brand that has been a source of 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. More details are available in my case study.

Identifying Key Brand words

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​​

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.

Spring /Summer Candle Fragrance

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.