Elements Perfume
Design packaging that portrays the designer’s personal design philosophy.
My work is based on narrative, hence every bottle has a hand-drawn picture depicting the story of its particular deity: Kaggen, Mamlambo, Impundulu, and Asase Yaa.
The project started off as an intimate trip into my creative identity. I approached the challenge of packaging design, not only as a chance to convey my values—storytelling, emotional honesty, nature, mythology, and cultural depth—but also as a rewarding aesthetic exercise.
The idea developed as a set of four perfumes, each based on one of the classical elements — fire, water, air, and earth — and embodied by an African deity corresponding to that element.
The ceramic bottles have organic shape, tactile feel, and strength.
Each bronze-finished cap bears an engraved emblem: a sun, a drop of water, a leaf, or a feather —visual metaphors for each element. Often seen in indigenous African jewellery, bronze gives a sense of permanency and legacy.
My work is based on narrative, hence every bottle has a hand-drawn picture depicting the story of its particular deity: Kaggen, Mamlambo, Impundulu, and Asase Yaa.
The square leather boxes for the bottles match the colours of the bottles. Gold writing inside the lid explains the mythology of the deity. This design captures my manifesto: unusual, honest, based on myth and nature.
