Spanish fashion and fragrance company Puig reached out to collaborate on illustrations for the niche LA fragrance brand Eric Buterbaugh. The pattern would be applied to retail locations for wallpaper, fragrance bar, packaging, and promotions. The designs have been applied to the locations at Saks 5th Avenue, New York and Le Bon Marché, Paris.
The illustrations are composed of digital collage and digital painting. The work expresses a sense of elegance, a connection to nature, and a bit of whimsy. Much of the process included exploring different plants, animals, and arrangements inspired by the perfumes and brand's founder, Eric Buterbaugh. Eric is also a floral arranger and some of his favourite flowers are dahlias and peonies, which feature in the collage.
There are two lines in the perfume brand: 'floral' and 'oud'. Floral being more refreshing and bright in a clear bottle, while oud incorporates the popular dark woody oud note in a black opaque bottle. I was invited to incorporate animals into the collages to add a sense of playfulness and differentiation. We explored various animals to help distinguish the two lines. After iterations trying different animals we landed on the flamingo for the floral line and monkey for the oud line. The flamingo's lighter pink tones subtly allude to fragrances appropriate for spring and summer. While the monkey's black and orange colours suggest warmer and darker notes fitting for autumn and winter.
PUIG
Eric Buterbaugh
Eric Buterbaugh
Illustration
Artistic Direction at Puig: Tony K. Sum
Animation: Iracema Design Studio
Perfume, discovery set, & candle photography: Courtesy of Puig