We’d all like to think that we judge things purely based on the merits that something possesses. But this couldn’t be much further from the truth. There’s a reason as to why expensive clothes and trendy brands are much more popular than clothes designed for their functionality rather than the aesthetics that it provides. Perfumes are a great example of this phenomenon. Especially in 2020, where our only medium to judge if something is good or not, even if it’s a product that is aimed at our sense of smell, we still have to judge it based on what we see; the bottles and the labels.
Let’s talk about the labels first. As trends go in and out, how labels have been designed have also changed. We tend to see brands switch from script-based labels to a more minimalist approach which harks back to the early days of perfume manufacturing where perfume makers would purchase bottles in bulk and then stick their brand name, as well as the name of the perfume onto the bottle, something reminiscent of the labels that you’d normally find on bottles of liquor, though in today’s version of these labels, they tend to take a more conservative approach that not only gives it a more modern look but also gives it a minimalistic look which seems to be what the current trend is favoring.
But why should brands consider this at all? Well, for one thing, this is great for branding. You see, when a perfume brand does this, not only does it make their perfumes appear to be more valuable, but it also makes people want to collect their bottles. This is because perfume bottles serve more than just a functional purpose, it also serves an aesthetic approach, especially now that people have begun to use perfume bottles as decorations to further personalize their homes, bedrooms, and so on. This is something that perfume brands can take advantage of, at least to a certain extent with their labels, since great-looking, minimalistic labels never look out of place, especially now in the modern era where things are primarily sold online and since customers are not in a position where they could visit physical stores and experience the product for themselves, they tend to take the option of going into an online store to view the options that they might have.
This then brings to mind the design of a particular website. You see, when a perfume brand is designing their website, it’s a good thing to make sure that the design of their website shares a certain look to how their perfume bottles and labels do. Not only will this create a certain feeling of uniformity, but is also something that artisan perfume brands have been very good at since the beginning. The bottom line is this, even though perfumes are primarily a product that you experience through smell, there’s also a visual aspect to it that you should never ignore. Labels, bottles, the look and feel of your website all comes into play, now more than ever, since people are largely confined to their homes, perfume manufacturers need to take into serious consideration the benefits of giving their customers not just a great olfactory experience, but a great visual experience too.