Year
2019
Amber Noir is a versatile scent, masculine but refined. Hints of peat moss, wood fire and oak barrels laced with sage, cedar, eucalyptus and black currant offer a smooth, complex experience. It's strong, but well-mannered, gets stuff done, but cleans up well, seeks adventure, but also knows how to pick a wine.
The Bottle
The cologne container features two distinct, complimentary forms. At the core is an organic glass form which resembles a piece of Amber (fossilized tree resin). The core is encapsulated by and suspended from a 5-sided glass box. The core represents rugged, raw, passion. The box represents restraint, structure and discipline. The transparency of the box allows these two sets of traits to coexist in a complementary fashion.
Caustics
When light transmits through a material such as glass and is refracted, it's common to see wispy, focused beams of light reflected on an underlying surface. These focused beams of light are called caustics. One of my goals was to celebrate light and material properties through caustics. The organic core with the amber colored cologne creates the caustics that look like a flame, while the form of the box with its subtle textures is responsible for the white caustics.
Construction
The cologne bottle is simple and consists of just a few parts. The spritzer (antiqued, oiled bronze finish) threads onto the organic core container. A rubber O-ring and washer, prevent glass-on-glass contact.
Luxury
Amber Noir is luxurious without being pretentious. A premium scent calls for memorable packaging. The oiled bronze spritzer and cap finish pay respect to the hard, and sometimes dirty work that needs to be done before getting cleaned up for the night.
Process
This began as a quick design done in one-sitting in a hotel on a business trip. Nearly a year later, I've re-visited it creating the model with proper dimensions and tolerances and some high-resolution renderings.
CAD - Fusion 360
Rendering - KeyShot 9
Post - Photoshop
