MAKEUP PACKAGING
PROJECT
-SIN-
This project is entitled SIN and it is a make-up packaging, product design and branding project. I looked both into the packaging that the products come in, but also the products themselves and the way the brand influences the aesthetics of the make-up products, as well as promotional materials such as posters or discount offers that many companies use.
When designing the project I had specific colours (red, gold, black, white) in mind and the theme of snakes and medusa. Of course during the designing process a number of elements have changed such as colours used, styles used, graphic elements used.
The theme remained the same but the styles I chose to approach the subject varied from a collection to another as it happens in most collections from make-up companies.
Although having different styles, they are representing the brand by having the same elements in common such as approaching and presenting the same subjects which are snakes and Medusa, having a more dark feeling in the design, the fonts used (Afterglow Regular mostly used for the Logo and Bell MT for the other text), snake frame for all the palettes, the presence of the logo and the existence of a metallic colour for adding a more prestigious feel such as either silver or gold.
I will also present other ideas I developed but chose not to use in the end from various reasons I will explain why, therefore showing the journey of design.
In this portfolio I will explain what I developed and present the final products.
Software used:
MAKE-UP COLLECTIONS AVAILABLE
SIN ORIGINAL
RESEARCH AND SKETCHES PRESENTED HERE WILL APPLY TO THE REST OF THE SECONDARY COLLECTIONS AS WELL
HOW DID I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA ?
I came across this idea on Snapchat, discovering a statue portrait of medusa that really intrigued me. Furthermore I started researching the subject a bit more as I started considering using that visual idea for my major project incorporating it into what design I would later chose to do.
I loved the visual images I saw and then I started focusing a bit more on the snake element which gave me the idea of using it for a make-up packaging project. I figured I could create some interesting designs using such a subject.
This project represents a makeup company in terms of branding, packaging design and even product design ( at a certain length as I do not having enough skills in 3D software for developing designs a bit more difficult, although I did manage to somehow overcome that obstacle by finding a 3D designer to develop my
perfume idea and me using Adobe Photoshop to create the look of real looking products) with a theme of Medusa and snakes as a focus point and red roses or astral elements as secondary elements.
In terms of makeup products I desired to make at least a make-up normal sized palette ( I made three in total but in three different collections, with a focus on the main Original collection), a perfume, at least a lipstick (developed two final solutions for two collections), liquid lipstick( developed one), blush, highlighter. With time passing and due to my constant research during this project I also developed mini palettes and lipstick mini palettes as well. All products mentioned have packaging design, packaging construction and presentation.
Period of time that really affected my progress was during the COVID-19 pandemic where it made a major impact on my mental health, making it extremely hard to concentrate on anything. Therefore, in March, April and May my progress dropped considerably to about 50 % than what I used to get done (used to work 6 days a week, a minimum of 4 hours each day) as my depression got incredibly bad. In April after consulting with more friends and lecturers, I started making a to do list almost every day and going for a run or walk in nature every couple of days in order to keep my moral higher and because of that during April I had more progress and more ambition to get work done.
1. RESEARCH
When it comes to research I had to have in mind different aspects. Such as researching the graphic elements I will use (subject: snake and Medusa)(composition, line/brush used, colours and style) , colours combination, palette design/ layout and elements and a certain amount even what brands are successful and why. As well as presenting my favourites and my inspirations I had in mind while developing ideas/ designs.
When it comes to research for palettes I don’t just think about their shapes and the designs on the outside of the palette, but on the inside of it as well. More exactly eye shadows texture, colours, layout , mirror and frame size and position. At the end taking my own conclusion towards what I liked or found interesting and what I chose to go with in the end.
I had many elements to consider but I believe I have done the right amount of research and came to the right conclusions.
A. MEDUSA & SNAKES
I will first start with showing my research for snakes and Medusa. My first step represented using Pinterest for a mood board. I first searched for more dark moods but then also researched other style and compositions. My favourite styles are presented bellow. As you can see I did not go for very realistic design as truth be told I simply could not do it, I have a different art style. Althought the images bellow do show different styles maybe you can observe the common theme they have: snakes around flowers and snakes wrapped around other snakes.
For the Medusa research I tried to research a more real style ( as I do have training in portraits from my Art School) , a more sketchy style as it looked very artistic and “raw” , a more tattoo style, very artistic style and digital paining style which is also similar to mine but adding a more personal touch. I was mostly looking at how she was portrayed and what features I liked which I would later use in my own compositions.
MEDUSA
From the images presented bellow I got inspired by the sensual, powerful and mysterious look in Medusa’s eyes and the snake hair feature as well. By having such a presentation on the palette I want to send the message that the customers using the palette can as well have killer looks , they can feel powerful and beautiful. As a reference to the original sin as well I wanted people to think they are also desired just like the forbidden apple form Adam and Eve’s garden.
C. THE ORIGINAL SIN
I also researched facts about the Original biblical Sin as the name could also take a reference from that. The beauty about this name is that it can have different approaches. Element which I can later use when creating different collections. The apple was a big inspiration for me when designing my perfume as you can see in the images bellow.
B. POPULAR SUCCESSFUL MAKE-UP BRANDS- inspirations and research
In the following I will present my main inspiration in the makeup industry and my overall research, presenting what I enjoyed most and got inspired from. As a reminder the following images will have not have the same theme and atmosphere as the previous research as I am researching existing popular and good ( in terms of design palettes) makeup products . I will be looking in terms of costumers satisfaction ( which one was the most popular and why) , brand design, packaging design, palette design and layout, eye-shadow textures, shapes, mirror size/position/frame and layout.
KYLIE COSMETICS aka KYLIE
main inspiration
Without doubt one of the most popular makeup brands from the last year was KYLIE Cosmetics. Having a celebrity well known for her beauty definetly played a big part in making her company so famous but a second very important part played the products and how she branded her company. As you can see in the gallery on the left she developed multiple collections along the years ( for example Halloween, Valentine’s day, Holiday Edition, and so on), all with different styles ( from Kylie and Jordan illustration style collection, to Valentine’s collection with lip marks, to 21st Birthday collection with pictures of her and many more) and yet part of the same company as all these collections have a thing in common , the name KYLIE all over them. Element which unites all collections, no matter how different the styles are, and yet all still being part of KYLIE Cosmetics .
Element which I got inspired from as I developed as well 3 different collections, with a main focus on the original one Rose Bite.
OTHER BRANDS I GOT INSPIRED FROM
HUDA BEAUTY- Another very popular brand. Very distinctive feature is the use of the owner’s images on their make-up palettes or the use of their name on their products such as the HUDA BEAUTY Lipstick.
Too Faced- very known for their candy-chocolate design on their make-up palettes. But also a very interesting element is their choice for adding more design to their mirror frame.
Jefree Star- What I like about this brand and inspired me is the patterns in the eye shows.
On the gallery on the left you will see other palettes that inspired me mostly by their design choices, colours and patterns in the eye shadows.(such as Enchanted mysteries palette, Sunset Sparkle palette, Jefree Star Palette and so on)
Design composition type researched and used: Radiating Lines
Law of Similarity used
The human eye tends to perceive similar elements in a design as a complete picture, shape, or group, even if those elements are separated. This law was applied on my roses and snakes on the palettes and cosmic background elements (from the Darkness collection) as those are elements that are repeating each other on the composition.
PERFUME RESEARCH
When it comes to developing my perfume I also had to do some research, not just for inspiration, but also so I can be aware what is already out there so I can make sure my idea was original. The images shown bellow are my main inspiration and I will explain as well why I like them so much.
This perfume looks so elegant and interesting at the same time, applies the same idea of a snake coiling around the perfume and having a metallic texture. The dots really add more dimensions to the snake texture.
I found very interesting the idea of making the protective cap or “crown” the head of the snake which I found very intriguing but I thought it would be a bit too much.
Although the perfume is way too simple for my taste, the packaging it comes to is truly beautiful and smart. I was tempted to get inspired from this packaging but my bottle is round and that kind of packaging would not go well with this idea.
This cap has such an antique feeling to it and it is so creative. Once again another design with the snake coiling around the perfume bottle but this time the head becoming not just the cap but the pump sprayer too. But I still prefer the first idea better as it is more elegant.
Once again another inspiration on the same idea of the snake coiling around the perfume bottle but this time with a more Art Noveau approach style.
This is another perfume with a snake theme that I found. This is going on a more masculine design approach which I do not like so much but I did like that it had the snake skin texture on the box and the circle placed behind the text, to bring the logo in the main plan.
This was my first and main inspiration as it looks so luxurious, elegant, dark yet light and the snake just compliments the entire composition even more. The logo was given easily a center place with a good visibility which is what I am planning to do as well.
This is another perfume collection from the same company. Although it does not have any snake elements, it looks very professional and elegant. You can clearly see that the product is design for males and the other one for females, not just based on the colours used, but also on the geometric form and shapes.
What inspired me from this perfume was the dark luxurious feel of the design both on the bottle and package.
This asian style perfume looks so refleshing, combining antique dragon style illustrations with a modern approach of the bottle and luxurious feel given by the gold.
This is a proof that even on a small canvas such of a pen, using your imagination you can easily add snake inspired design and create a very beautiful piece of design.
This is a very old snake inspired bottle of perfume. Although the bottle has a simple form, the design solution makes it look like a wonderful piece of art.
Research perfume bottle components
2.SKETCHES
My second step consisted in developing sketches based on what ideas I came up with after my reserach. The first stage was studying snakes body anatomy for being able to later develop snakes in my own style. Following that I also researched popular positions in which they were used in snake art compositions on Pinterest.
The next stage was trying to develop my own design compositions for the palettes. At first I had very different ideas in mind but my lecturer advised me that I should be focused on creating a brand, maybe focus on only one collection first and later if I have time develop the other ones. And therefore the Halloween and Valentine’s ideas are still in the sketches stage.
My collection also has a perfume bottle. I tried various forms in order to see how integrating the snake elements looks like on it and later on I will present my favourite final choices and why.
CHOSEN DESIGNS AND WHY :
I chose the Apple inspired perfume because it allows to have around it the snake shape in an elegant and easy way. It also allows for a good volume of perfume to go into it because of its shape. And I have enough space to easily integrate the logo on its surface without disturbing the overall design idea. It also seemed like a smart idea as the snake looks so elegant on that round shape. And therefore that is why it was my main choice.
In this collection I also decided to add a lipstick option. As this was quite a challenge in terms of the design as a lipstick has quite a singular form overall as it was made to be practical I tried to find a way to make it part of my brand while leaving a simple and elegant design that I could photoshop, as I do not have enough skills, time for creating it in 3D and I did not want to waste time on working in a Software I do not want to specialize in at the moment, but instead becoming better and gaining skills and knowledge for the design fields I am interested in.
My main choice was the second and 4th one for two of my collection. My favourite is the 4th one as it is very modern which I love about it.
In the sketch above you can see how I chose to make the form design of the palette. As mentioned before I believe a circular form was a good choice as it goes with the wavy,curly way a snake moves. Initial I wanted to add names under the colours but I decided to keep it simple as it looks more prestigious.
I did try to make the illustration on the palette but I decided to focus on the 3 collections as that one just did not go with any of them in terms of style.
This was my first sketch I chose to go forward with into the digital development stage. It focuses on snakes coiling around roses which are then helping put the logo in the center of attention. This is happening because of the Radiating Lines composition, which make the snakes guide our eyes towards the logo. This is commonly used in makeup design as the logo is very important to be constantly presented.
DEVELOPING THE DESIGNS
STAGE 1- ILLUSTRATING ELEMENTS
MEDUSA IDEA
With the following idea I had the intention to crate a circle formed composition with medusa’s face and snakes, with a focus on her eyes and snakes. My idea was to use it on a blush or a highlighter but in the end I decided that less is more. I also realized that it just did not go with the style I had in mind and I also was not such a fan of what I created,
I did not use this idea in the end as it did not go as a style chosen but I also personally did not like it.
ROSE BITE-snake
When it came to developing my designs I had to go through a variety of different stages. Such as Illustrating the snake and vegetable (flowers and leafs) elements I will use on my pancaking designs, as well as choosing fonts, choosing colours, developing compositions and choosing my favourite ones.
This is one of the designs I chose to go with in the end as the style created was really on my taste and therefore this dictated the start of the first and main collection. The line was really elegant and artistic at the same time and I really enjoyed the idea of a snake curling around a red rose. I decided in the end to change the colour of the leafs to yellow as at first I wanted all of the items to have gold on them. Later I decided to use silver for this collection as it goes better with the colour of the snake (as the shadows of the white snake are grey), but the leafs remained the same as it still goes with the composition. I was inspired by snake tattoos found on Pinterest which I have made a galley that you can access by pressing the button bellow.
SNAKE DESIGN FOR MAKE-UP PALETTE
This was one of my first idea and design. One of the main reasons why I didn’t chose to use it in the end is because I had created better options which have a different style and colours. Even if I like the idea of the red snake, the white snake you saw before just seemed like a better option in terms of design. It looked more professional. But I do like on this design the way the composition goes really good for a palette as it is rectangular. I was trying to make a more dark atmosphere but I could not manage and in the end I chose to just to my best and hopefully I will create a make-up collection I liked which is what I did, but sadly this is not it.
Lip Mask Valentine's Day collection(not developed in the end )
What I want to say regarding this idea is that it was my first packaging design for this project. I was really inspired by the gift box from Birchbox, especially the Lip Mask from Vitamasques. As you can see in the stages presented bellow I tried to make real looking lips following an image. The software used was of course Clip Studio . Following that I started designing the package in Adobe Illustrator and playing with gradients and fonts.
Inspiration
Sketch Lip Mask and Box design
Design process
MY FINISHED DESIGNS FOR THE LIP MASK OPTIONS
STAGE 2 - DEVELOPING A FINAL LOGO
When it comes to developing a logo must mention again Kylie cosmetics which succeeded with a simple but strong and powerful name as logo. Which is why I also wanted to go with simplicity, power and elegance while trying to take advantage of the letter S, trying to find a similar form that reminds you of a snake which I believe I succeeded with the font used named Afterglow Regular. I also tried inserting a snake in the letter but after trying to include it in the palette design and some research I realized it is just not made for a make-up company. Usually make-up companies use their full names as their logo, if they do have a symbol as well representing them they just seem to use it from time to time. Which is why I believe it is a nice logo but just not made for my make-up company collection so I decided to go with my previous one presented on the left.
Bellow you can see how I tried to compare the two logos in order to chose the right one for my project.
Underneath is the gold option design for the second main idea of logo, but I realised the S seems out of place, and therefore I decided to make it black like the text which made it look way better.
Research & Inspiration
Of course although I had some ideas for the logo to begin with I still had to some certain amount of research. Not necessarily for inspiration, but just to see how other market competitors are have as a logo to differentiate themselves and make them stand out in a unique way. In the gallery on the left you can see my favourite makeup brands with their logo’s . They are mostly simple and modern and not many use symbols in their logo. Of course we have exceptions, but generally the focus is more on the name itself in order for people to remember it more easy.
On the pictures on the right you can see how I researched other companies with circle kind of logo’s and who present their logo in more way than just one, for example we have Google and Coca Cola who have a couple of actual (2020) versions. The options for Coca-Cola are not showing the evolution of the logo, but instead they are the actual 2020 versions Coca-Cola uses for their advertisements and products. All of them are correct, which inspired me as I found myself in trouble of ways to make my logo stand out on my compositions and in the end I developed a couple of different options for my collections. At the core my logo’s are the same, but with a gold, silver or white circle in the bag of the logo in order to make it stand out more and for more contrast.
The logo can come in different colours as long as it keeps the darker snake theme consistent. For visibility or design issues the logo can come with a metallic or white/ black circle form behind it such in the examples bellow. More details about the brand can be found on the guidelines prepared.
STEP 2-CHOOSING FONTS
Secondly I had to chose what fonts I am going to use on for the text on my products. I must confess this was an element I chose quite easy as I was considering the font Bell MT for my logo so I became quite familiar with it after spending hours looking at fonts and comparing them. Therefore I believe Bell MT is a strong but elegant font, that goes well with the logo having being a serif just like the logo and therefore the two types of fonts look good next to each other (a letter that has a decorative stroke that finishes off the end of a letters stem -sometimes also called the “feet” of the letters).
Likewise, I also wanted to add a tag line on one of my palettes and I wanted a different font than the one I used for the title (name) of the palette. I also wanted a font which does not compete with the logo or title. I instead wanted a font which compliments them.Therefore I found Cinzel ( on the right side) which is also a serif but is more thin which makes it look less “strong” and it would not compete with the main text on the palette. It also give me a more ancient vibe which makes me think about the legend of Medusa which is also quite ancient and therefore I found this pefect.
STAGE 3- DEVELOPING LAYOUT FOR PACKAGING DESIGN
When it came to developing the layout for me it came naturally because I can say I get inspired immediately and many times my first ideas are the one I chose to go with. Which happened with the design for the eye shadow palette entitled Rose Bite (as I wanted to combine the roses with something related to snakes-in my language it sounds vary poetic and in order to make sure it makes sense in English I did ask my lecturers and British friends and I did receive their approval for the name) .But of course it suffered small changes to it compared to the sketch idea. For example the silver circle that centeres the logo and brings attention to it while giving an overall balance to the design composition. I can honestly say I am in love with this idea. I also chose to give a subtitle “Dare to look” tagline or an element that gives consistence to the brand and palette that many make-up companies add to their eye shadow palettes.
I chose to go with that tagline as the image of snake is traditionally linked with thoughts of fears, danger therefore a snake symbol in different cultures can connotate fear and by using the wording “Dare to look” it is a smart way to advertise the palette.
It also came as an inspiration from medusa’s look which the legend says that it transforms people in stone because of it’s power. Which again we are talking about danger and the courage to look into the eyes of somebody powerful and mysterious just like Medusa or a snake.
Examples of make-up palettes from the industry using tag lines
My design journey
1. SKETCH
I first developed my sketch in my sketchbook. Although I did not follow entirely the design as the logo was not “strong”enough to compete with the design. That is the reason why I added a silver circle behind it. This choice also brought more balance in the composition (using radiating lines in order to guide the attention to the logo), by offering it a center of attention ( simple and clear).
2. DEVELOPING THE IDEA DIGITALLY
Developing my design idea in Clip Studio as it offers a variety of lovely brushes and changing colour options which help me decide on final designs.
As you can see bellow I have different layers for each element, such as construction line, roses colour, leafs colour, snake colour and smooth light colour over roses.
3. Choosing design compositions:
Here I was simply trying to see how does the composition look better while trying to keep to the original colours that I had in mind which were gold, red,black and white. Although in this collection I did not use gold(but silver instead as it went better with the colour of the snake), the fact that I made the leafs more yellow gave the palette a more old, prestigious look and less happy (like the green leafs give the feeling of life) which is not exactly the feeling I was going for. I preferred simplicity , elegance and mysterious and by giving an little old feeling to it I believe I ticked the mysterious box in my perspective.
4.Choosing design compositions:
I mostly played with my main idea trying to add a nice touch of silver as I felt like it was missing something. After multiple design options I finally chose my favourite one, which once again was the most simple one as you can see in my last design presented in my gallery. I changed the background colour as after designing my blush I decided it goes better with a darker background as it gives more of a darkness feeling, a bigger impact and contrast between the design elements and background. You can also easily notice how all my compositions are focused towards the logo which is also placed in the middle. This type of composition is called Radiating Lines as explained in my Research section.
5. FINAL PRODUCT
POSTER IDEA FOR PRESENTING WHAT MAKE-UP CAN BE MADE USING THE ROSE BITE PALETTE
THE SIN PERFUME
One of my first sketches for this collection represented the perfume.
My intention from the start was to create a suitable, elegant form on which I would later place a snake around. This would not just make the item more interesting or unique, but it would also make the perfumecompletely on brand as the snake symbol is a classic element of SIN.
As I did not have time or enough skills to create a 3D perfume with a snake around it I had the help of a 3D designer. We have discussed the materials I view the bottle( red glass just like the roses illustrated in my palettes) and the snake and bottle cap (silver metal) . We had been giving each other constant feedback.
The perfume was also inspired by the red apple from the Original biblical sin ( from the garden of Eden). As you can see in my research, the colour red can also be seen on the round apple from the many painting about the Original Sin. Which is another reason why the colour red is just perfect for my bottle. Red also symbolizes danger and sensuality, just like Medusa and snakes. It is a strong colour that makes the bottle stand out and personally it is also my favourite colour.
Overall I am very satisfied with the final outcome.
My favourite sketch was of course the round apple inspired bottle which gives the snake a perfect environment to go around and leave place for my logo to be easily seen on the bottle. It looks very elegant as well and based on my research I have not seen anything similar.
RESEARCH
As you can see bellow I researched packaging design and perfume that were elegant, sophisticated, prestigious, high class and inventive. I was profoundly interested in intriguing ways to open the package the perfume comes in. From all my research the images bellow are what inspired me the most. I was really happy to see many dark designs with metallic colours together as this is how my design was going to be. More research for the perfume can be found at the general perfume research section at the beginning of the page.
DEVELOPMENT
Design development from sketch to Adobe Illustrator sketch to final product of the packaging design using Adobe Dimension and for the product using Photoshop to create a professional poster with the perfume developed in Cinema 4D by Eloyse
Adobe Illustrator idea development
Adobe Dimension packaging development
3D development of the perfume done in Cinema 4D by Eloyse Taylor, a 3D designer
Following my sketches presented, Eloise has created the perfume in a 3D software according to them in a professional manner. Bellow you can see some steps of the design journey.
POSTERS CREATED IN ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR
STAGE 4- CHOOSING PRODUCTS DESIGN
BOX GIFT
Every make-up company offers the option of having a box with the items from a specific collection, or a mixture. Element which also helps promote your products as the presentation of all of them together at the same time just looks beautiful in terms of visuals which is why many people invest more money to buy them. As examples we have Kylie cosmetics which is winning the game with their design. Bellow you can see some of my favourite collections which look so modern and interesting no matter the new style she chose to approach with each new collection.
SKETCHES
First idea
My first idea was inspired by the many gift boxes I would see being promoted on Facebook and after certain research I realize they are using a simple packaging as it’s more practical and easy to manufacture. Although I did finish it I realized that this is a design project and above all it is my design project. Althought it might not be very practicable as seen in the industry I decided to go for a more complicated idea in the end and even if I would not be able to replicate in real life I would at least develop digitally my idea as I really enjoyed it
First box:
I had to create a new snake as my composition required a more circular composition due to the form of the surface I had to design on and the nature of the object. Therefore In Clip Studio I created a new snake following the branding (line used, elements, colours, snake art elements, type of shadows and so on )created by my first snake(seen on the ROSE BITE palette).
Developing the design illsutration for the box
First box idea
My final design solution
After deciding to give a more creative twist to the gift box I came up with the idea bellow . I also tried to create it manually but sadly because of COVID-19 I did not manage to print the design on it which was quite disappointing. I struggled quite a bit with the form and I am aware it is not perfect as I could not find the dark grey colour for that type for cardboard the box is made of and therefore I had to improvise and adapt . Not being able to print the design and print the packaging for the makeup products to place in the box made a huge negative impact but in the end I still have the digital version to show of the complete gift box. I used as inspirations the boxes bellow and on the beggining of my section. I am quite happy with the idea as it is on brand, it is practicable, has a creative twist to it and even here we can see how the Radiating Lines composition is applied ( using the snakes to guide the viewers to the logo).
LIQUID LIPSTICK SET
I desired to create a liquid lipstick at the last minute as I had enough time to develop it and I just simply loved the lipstick sets from the make-up companies and therefore I wanted to create my own. I used a mirror kind of design by making the snakes face each other and placed the logo in the middle therefore being able to be seen immediately because of its position. The design on the front of box is elegant and modern, leaving the more creative part of the design as a surprise on the inside of the palette when the customer would open the box.
Research
My first step was doing some research in the make-up industry and on the left are my favourites. What I noticed is that those items usually have quite a simple and stylish design in order for the possible buyer to view the liquid very easy. We can notice the presence of a logo in first plan, the form of the bottle, colour of the lids and the really small and subtle design choices companies made on the buttle, Usually it is either a line of colour similar to the one from the lid and placing it under the lid. That line in some cases might have a simple design in it such as the stars you can see on Jefree’s Star lipstick or Anastasia.
Kylie’s lipstick surprised the world with her brand new design idea of the liquid drops design, which gave me an amazing idea of using snakes coming out from under my lid. Idea which I completely love. This idea was also used on the frames for my palette’s mirrors.
Sketches
Of course after my research my second step was consisted out of developing my first sketches. Besides creating design ideas for the liquid lipstick and packaging I also had to think about how can I make the construction of the package in real life as I intended to print it. Bellow in the first image you can see how I thought the construction would go and on the second one we first have examples of how I would have arranged the items in the boxes which in the end did not happen as I could not print them. The last page presented shows my ideas of the liquid lipsticks from the first idea to my last one which was my favourite as it has all the elements I wanted ( the snake and the logo). In my vision I had the liquid lipstick with silver on the designed elements (text and snakes) and on the lid on top. My inspiration for the snakes came from Kylie cosmetics’s main liquid lipstick that I presented above.
I made my design simple as liquid lipstick do not not usually have a lot of design on top, in order for it to look more modern and for the customer to see the colour of the liquid inside it.
Development
In order to prepare the illustration for the package I had to first crop the form and then crop each side in order to successfully photoshop it in the image with the package set similar to my design idea which was quite easy as my form is easy to find being very popular in the beauty industry. Each side was later insert in the image and used the Distort tool in order for the package to look real and in perspective.
Adobe Illustrator sketch step
Before preparing to make the final real looking design I also made a quick sketch in Illustrator in order to see if my idea was right before developing the final solution in Adobe Photoshop which would take a lot time. I also tried a version with some silver lines in the background as it looked interesting but I decided to go more simple and have just a light grey background in the back which would help bring the products in the center of attention right away. From m knowledge gathered by my research I learned that the main element when designing a lipstick packaging set is the contrast between all elements from each construction layer. And that people tend to use either the same colour as the background or a lighter colour for the place behind the products as it helps bring them closer to the eye. It is also an art theory which I learned in art school which translates to: Darker colours are used for making objects seem further away and lighter objects closer to the front.
Final ideas
In the end I chose Option 1 as it looks more elegant, modern and simple while Options 2 seems a bit too strong with the silver big circle. Moreover in my designs when I chose to use the logo in a circle form I always give it a smaller size and therefore by keeping it this way it helps keep the brand consistent.
I also changed the colour to a more dark background after I have taken the decision to change the background colour in order to bring more contrast in my design composition but also I can give it a more dark feeling to it. The dark grey also goes very well with the light silver texture which am really happy with.
Edit and create in Photoshop final product stage
In order to create my final product I had to use the elements prepared in Clip Studio (my illustration), Adobe Illustrator ( my designed cover of the package) and in other Adobe Photoshop documents (my cropped sides of the front package)
As I decided to change the colour of the backgound used for adding a more dark feeling to the design and also for more contrast between the illustration and background, this is now the final version.
BRONZER
I started developing my Bronzer after designing my first idea for the Gift box which was not used in the end. Therefore I used the illustration from there for my bronzer composition. As it has a common square form it was perfect to have a more circular design. I have placed the logo in the middle of the composition. and by placing a circle outline around the illustration and logo helps the eyes to focus more on that element. The text was created using the Bell MT font specific to the brand and the reason why I chose to give it such a big size is because it looks more modern, as inspired by Tarte bronzer. The colours are not matte as I was inspired by snake skin which is more shining.
RESEARCH
For research I had to search different types of brushes existing in the industry. The ones on the left are my favourite ones in terms of form, colours, texture of the blush and design overall. I loved the compartment idea from Huda Beauty and Kylie as it give you more space, but I wanted to use a more of a circle form as it goes very well with the form of the logo with a circle that is very common found on the packaging and it also reminds of how snakes have a more curly way of moving and they coil around objects, being able to take the form of a circle if they wish so. Therefore I combined the compartment idea of offering multiple choices of bronzer colour with the circle and interesting texture idea for the powder form from Tarte.
HIGHLIGHTER
On the same note, I created the highlighter as well because every collection need a highlighter. It has more light colours suitable for all skin types. The background powder image was free to download online as I could not have created that on my own. The colours are shiny as specific to the role of a highlighter ( to give a glowing effect on the face).
RESEARCH
The images bellow show my main inspiration in terms of colours of the highlighter, form of the product, form of the highlighter powder and relation between the product design colours and the highlighter colours. Although the ones with pale or light background colours do look nice in relation to the colours found in the highlighter, I preferred more the contrast between the black and the light colour of the highlighter. It looked even more elegant and prestigious.
BLUSH
Of course no collection would be complete without a blush. I chose to take advantage of the original illustration and use it somehow in the blush design. Therefore I came up with the idea bellow where I chose a detail of the illustration and placed it on the canvas, where I later added the logo with a silver logo behind it, not just for visibility issues but as a design choice as well. The illustration would have compete too much with the logo and it would have been harder to notice straight away the logo. It is placed in the middle as a common thing in the brand as explained in the Brand Guidelines. In this composition I have placed a large black line behind the text as the visibility was terrible without it, as the illustration has grey and dark colours as well. Therefore it would compete too much with each other which wouldn’t have been desirable as the text should be easily readable. The snake skin texture of the blush was cropped from a single eye-shadow found online and modified in Photoshop.
RESEARCH
Of course I had to go through some research before deciding on the form of the highlighter, even if in general as a makeup enthusiast I had quite a vast knowledge about what can be found in the makeup industry, I just wanted to make a more focused research towards what blushes designs I was attracted to. Therefore bellow you can see my favourites. As you can see blushes can come in any form and colours. From having one single colour, to multiple, from square form to rectangular or square I was able to make a lot of choices. But I chose to go with a square form with some circle blushes form just like my highlighter and Bronzer. That way I stay in brand with my collection but I can also offer the customers a variety of choices while the square form offers me more space for my design.
BEFORE
Here you can see on steps how I created and designed my products from start to finish. The images presented bellow show the previous design without the snake skin texture on the powder and with the previous design with text visibility issues.
FINAL RESULTS
CONSTRUCTION FOR PRINT
LIPSTICK
No collection would be complete without a lipstick. This was my first try to design a lipstick and I although I really like the packaging design, taking a look back at the lipstick design I wish I could have done more, as I was too focused on practicability and getting inspired from popular brand that I didn’t try harder to come up with something more imaginative. In the Darkness collection on my second try of designing a lipstick I gave myself more design freedom. This design is good and very practicable as a result from my research, but I do wish I would have tried a more artistic approach. Overall I am satisfied with it.
The packaging is complete on brand, having both the logo placed on more parts of the rectangular box and in both forms forms the logo comes in. As you’ll be able to see in my design journey bellow, the idea was not like this from the start. I used to have the classic version of the logo, but after placing the snake on the package I felt the need to show off more that beautiful illustration and to be seen on more sides of the package. Because of that choice of resizing the illustration, I could not place the logo as originally intened. But I came up with the silver circle form behind the logo which makes the logo stand out more without competing with the illustration. As most lipstick packaging I had to place the name of the product as well. I also added a silver touch of colour visible when the customer opens the box as hidden small placements of colour like that do give the packaging a more professional and high class look.
RESEARCH
My research consisted in researching existing silver lipsticks as I intended to make my lipstick using that colour as this collections metallic colour is silver. On the left you can see my favourties as they are modern, elegant and have high class feel to it. I liked to see the combination between the dark material with the silver as it gives it more contrast and therefore that is what I chose to gi with in the end. Because it would have taken too much time to 3D develop it myself with my limited skills in 3D design, I managed using Photoshop to combine different traits from multiple lipticks to get my desired form. Because the form was easy to create it was not a struggle for me.
DESIGN JOURNEY
The design journey in steps:from research to final design.
MY DESIGNS CHOSEN
All my 7 make-up products have each a packaging prepared that you can see bellow which would have been ready to print but sadly because of COVID-19 this was no longer an option.
In total I have a main eye-shadow palette which dictated the collection’s style, a blush, bronzer, highlighter, lipstick, perfume and liquid lipstick set.
FINAL PRODUCTS
In total I have created an Eye-shadow palette, a Blush, a Highlighter, a Bronzer, a Lipstick and a Liquid Lipstick set, all being provided with packaging as well.
Posters for promoting the products examples:
Favourites
CONCLUSION
Overall in conclusion I am very happy with this collection. Although I begun with a lot of ideas, I managed to focus on one that would dictate the entire collection, develop finished makeup products in a professional manner, present them and finish all my items I intended to create. Therefore I am satisfied with my work. I am just dissapointed that in the end I did not manage to print my packaging designs and finish the gift box with the printed design because of the Lockdown situation, but I manage to overcome that obstacle by creating real looking products using Photoshop.
