The Shapes of Luxury to Come:
To Know Is to Accede to Vision...
by Gael Ollard
 Of all the forms of non verbal communication, shapes and colors are the most instantaneous method of conveying messages and meanings. Our very survival as individuals depends on the ability to identify necessary objects and warning signals—whether they are animal, vegetable, or mineral—and shaping and coloring are an integral part of the identification process.
Among other uses, colors and shape stimulate and work synergistically with all of the senses, symbolize abstract concepts and thoughts, express fantasy or wish fulfillment, and produce an aesthetic or emotional response. This is what packaging design (in general) and glass bottle design (in particular) are all about—creating products that intentionally give rise to emotion!
Lacoste Parfums (a P&G Prestige license) asked QSLD New World to shape and design the "Essential" men's fragrance, with innovation as part of the process. The traditional clear glass bottle reflects a traditional fragrance flask, but QSLD used only curves—not lines or sharp angles—to reflect the fluidity of the modern world, where structure is out and freedom is in. The aim was for the bottle to be easy to touch and appealing to look at—a true sensory experience.
Hennessy, the world's leading
cognac brand, asked QSLD to conceive a new
identity and a new "skin" of Hennessy VSOP
Privilege, one of the key products of the famous
French firm. The brand message conveyed through
packaging has to be instantaneous and direct to
both inform and seduce the consumer. To achieve
an upscale look, you must explore the product
itself and go through the whole story from A to
Z. At Hennessy there is a particular sense of
perfection at each single stage of the production
process, and this bottle seems to be just emerging
from the mold, still in fusion, with a certain image
of purity, excellence, and modernity.
There is no better place to gauge the effectiveness of package design than in the marketplace, where it is a vital key in communicating a positive, enticing, and irresistible image for the product. Package design must immediately attract the consumer's eye, convey the message of what the product is all about, create a brand or product identity, and (most importantly) help to make the sale. Similar to a print ad, at the very least it must create enough interest or curiosity to induce the would-be buyer to find out more about the product.
Much of the human reaction to a distinct shape or a specific tint is subliminal, and consumers are generally unaware of the pervasive and persuasive effects of packaging they encounter. Consequently, in a world where consumers want to experience more products, and where perfumes, champagnes, and spirits want to embody opulence and ostentation, luxury brands must always reinvent themselves.
As luxury product designers, we have the mission to deliver to our clients a high level of creativity, but we also have the duty to explore all available techniques that might help to achieve the appropriate package. This combination of talent and knowledge is crucial to complete the job. Considering that a concept is never achieved until we find the best way to "bring the emotion into being," we have to push back all boundaries by using our knowledge of new techniques, raw material, and industrial processes. Most of the time, pushing boundaries makes the difference.
At QSLD, we have been designing bottles and innovative packages for high-end fragrances and spirits for more than 15 years. Based on our experience, we can testify that innovative glass techniques, as well as polymers, have been particularly decisive in our permanent quest of "poly-sensual design," which allows us to reach a high level of aesthetic for our client.
Albert Einstein used to say, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." As a package designer, I tend to think that knowledge is essential to fuel my imagination, and helps me to avoid boring design. But more than another, one very famous French explorer, writer, and aviator Antoine de St. Exupery has captured the essence of the creation process by simply saying: "To know is to accede to vision, and if we are to have vision, we must learn to participate in the object of vision."
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