Gandhār

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Gandhār

Gandhār is a high-end, niche fragrance house creating distinctive perfumes inspired by the romanticism of memory and blending the traditions of French and Indian perfumery

Logo mark and Logotype

With Gandhār, I created an identity that would be easily read in both Latin characters and Hindi Devanagari characters by designing the brand symbol and word mark using both writing systems. The logotype is created with Western characters with the romanized name of the eponymous founder, Gandhār. Using a serif face with a contemporary style but timeless feel, I conveyed a brand that works in today's world and will continue to work into the future. The logo mark is a stylized symbol with the characters used to write Gandhār in Hindi: गांधार that can still be read by a literate audience and to a foreign one, appears like a symbol.

What I did was create a system that works in tandem, where both parts of the brand function well individually and can be readily interpreted as branding in both Euro-American and Indian contexts.

Packaging

The perfume collection is housed in elegant glass 100 ML bottles with a glossy black cap. There are three perfumes in the Gandhār La Collection Originale: Rose du Sud, Encens Sacré, and Jasmin de Maduraï. The bottles are differentiated with white paper labels with the name of the perfume and perfume concentration as well as the logotype.

Advertisements

There is a campaign to advertise the three perfumes that embody the atmosphere of the perfumes as being lush, rich scents. These are more conceptual ads than one would typically see for a perfume which communicates the idea behind each perfume. They are elegant, cerebral, artistic creations that enhance the sense of mystery, romanticism, and beauty the consumer experiences with Gandhār.

Fragrance Blotter

A subtle brand asset that is complimentary to the fragrance tradition and allows the consumer to experience a bit of tactile luxury with an embossed logo detail.

Website

The website is the main form of access to the brand so it functions as the primary symbol of Gandhār's voice and style. It is characterized by a contemporary, airy layout with subtle touches of black and grey coming from the typography and bold pops of color coming from the advertisements and flavor images.

Product pages

The sense of smell is very closely related to the creation of memory. Sometimes, when one smells a particular scent, one can be transported to a memory related to it, perhaps of a person or a place or an object we might love. This idea serves as the base idea for each perfume, each perfume is related to a memory of the founder's that goes from rose fields in the south of France to lush gardens laden with jasmine blossoms to Hindu temples thick with richly fragrant incense smoke.

Besides having basic information about the perfumes, each product page has a description of a memory that serves as the inspiration for the idea behind every perfume, a list of primary fragrant notes, and additional imagery and inscriptions that serve to enrich the imagined character of the perfume and add depth the the story of the brand. Images and small poetic texts in French and Hindi enhance the luxurious sensorial experience of Gandhār and create a brand experience that is intimate, vibrant, and active.