We have put together an article to guide you in the process off perfume bottle design. As well as showing the steps of designing and manufacturing, we also give useful industry tips. This knowledge has been gained from many years in the perfume designindustry and will help you to avoid rookie mistakes. Some may think that designing a perfume bottle is easy – you just sketch it out and then give that idea to the supplier, right? But life is rarely as simple as it might seem.
What is the Step by Step Approach to Perfume Bottle Design?
INSPIRATION
You guessed it right – the first step is the idea. Taking the inspiration for the concept. Maybe the idea is rooted in a historical idea or maybe a love of haute couture and glamour. Wherever the inspiration comes from, you must also think about who this idea might appeal to and develop your idea accordingly.CONCEPTUALISATION
This is the stage where we sketch out the perfume bottle design and try out different ways to represent the idea. During this process we make efforts to think of what shape the bottle will be. Is it a square, cylinder, oval, unusual shape? Is it taller at the top than the bottom? We think about the materials we will use for the bottle and cap, what decoration might be on the bottle.- MODELLING
The next step is the modelling of the bottle design. This is where we ideally use an engineering software which is able to calculate the volume and weight of the glass. We make photorealistic renders of the perfume bottle design at this stage to show how it might look in different angles with different decoration.
4. PROTOTYPING AND ITERATION
After modelling we need to make 3D prints of the bottle in house to check how it looks and feels in the hand. If we feel that something is slightly off balance or can be improved, we adjust the model and reprint the 3D print until we are happy that it looks perfect.
5. DISCUSSIONS WITH SUPPLY PARTNERS
At Anisha we have many partners for bottle and cap supply. We know the capabilities of each partner and what are their strengths and weaknesses. If someone needs a very high quality glass we know who to go to, likewise for the most competitive price we are also aware of the right partner. At this stage our partners will advise us once more of any small design changes which must be made to ensure the easy manufacture of the bottle set.
6. MOULD MAKING
It takes approximately six weeks to make the pilot mould for a perfume bottle design. At this stage cast iron moulds are created with CNC technology to ensure that the design details can be shown faithfully on the final glass bottle.
7. PILOT MOULD SAMPLES
Pilot mould samples are the samples made from the very first mould made using the technical drawings. It is a test mould and perfume bottle samples taken from this mould should be checked carefully. If everything is ok, then further identical moulds will be made for final production.8. SAMPLE CHECKING
Pilot moulds will be checked at this stage
9. FINAL PRODUCTION
The final production goes ahead according to the specifications given and the moulds which have been approved.
What are the limitations to what you can achieve with glass perfume bottles?
Sharp edges or very small patterns and a very high emboss level to the glass are difficult. At the start of our manufacturing journey we tried to make an L shape. However, we quickly found out that this was impossible for our suppliers to achieve. This is because glass falls using gravity into a mould and it cannot easily turn the corner into an L shape. Having a very detailed pattern all around the bottle can be difficult, as it can cause demoulding issues. This is not to say that you cannot have a perfume bottle design with a pattern all around, but you must have uniformity and space at the parting line. As for most industries, we are limited by the technology of manufacture.
Let us help you with our experience of glass manufacturing....
- Over complex bottle shapes can be costly to manufacture, though it looks beautiful on a computer screen. Often we can only manufacture some perfume bottle designs in a semi- automatic machine. Unfortunately not many suppliers still have semi- automatic machines, which restricts the choice of supply partner.
- Ignore compatibility at your peril. Ensure that pump and cap are compatible with your glass bottle. Test thoroughly before commissioning new final moulds.
- Sustainability might bring with it certain challenges such as differences in glass colour or reduction in strength. Consider sustainability choices wisely before insisting on a certain path.
- Test your perfume bottles thoroughly with liquid inside. Sometimes an over tall bottle or bottle which has a narrow depth can fall over easily.
- Sharp corners and asymmetrical lines look great on a computer, but they are not so easy to achieve in real life. Sharp edges mean a higher rate of rejection and breakage. If there are sharp patterns in your perfume bottle design, chances are that they will be more rounded in real life than your design.
- Decorations like metallisation and special varnishes add a lot of complexity but also a lot of cost. This can add up to a pretty penny for the final bill.
- Heavier perfume bottles are usually required for luxury projects. A heavy weight in the Middle East denotes a premium product.
- Usually the cost of a perfume bottle is assessed according to the bottle weight and the complexity of manufacture. Added bottle weight can also make your glass more expensive to ship, as containers have weight restrictions.
- The colour of the glass should be clear, not grey and the surface should be smooth. Any bottle with scratches on the surface signifies that the glass bottle mould needs polish or remaking.
- Do not forget about the lead-times. If you are also making custom collars and caps, you need to factor in a few more months for mould making and testing.
- Always decide your perfume pump before designing the bottle to avoid compatibility issues. If you change the pump to a different one at a late stage, it can cause unsightly gaps or elements which are loose. A perfume bottle design is more than just the bottle, think in terms of compatibility of the whole set.
- Glass weight in production always has a +/- tolerance of 5%. Therefore if you need a 250g bottle you might not always get exactly 250g each time. This is a norm within the industry which you have to accept.
- Smoother curved shapes are much easier to manufacture than square or rectangle, especially if there is a sharp edge.
- Less capable suppliers will struggle to make the base of the bottle even and flat. You should check the level of the base glass to ensure it doesn’t become a ‘ski slope’!
- Sometimes suppliers will not control the heat of the furnace well and small bubbles appear in the glass. This happens more often when there is a thick base on a perfume bottle design. Watch out for this issue and consider changing supplier if they cannot control it.
Decoration and adornments such as metal badges add a lot of value to a perfume bottle design. They not only make it look beautiful, but they add to the perceived value which helps if you are a luxury product.
We hope that you enjoyed this blog . Many of the issues we have mentioned above only become known after years of working on new projects with suppliers. Some suppliers have slightly different capabilities to others, but most will ask you to adhere to what we have mentioned above. If you enjoyed this blog, then why not check out our article on perfume pumps and how to select them. This will be very important to you when you are deciding which pump should go on your new perfume bottle. If you are seriously considering to launch your own perfume brand we advise you to read our complete guide for perfume brands.
