Creative Development for Perfumery Courses
Ongoing, with Michael Nordstrand
Perfumery lives in a bigger world – a world of markets, competition, communication and sales. In this series, perfumer and brand owner Michael Nordstrand explores the public-facing side of perfumery over three modules designed for emerging brands.
It is often said in perfume that we ‘smell first with the eyes’. With thousands of fine fragrances in the market, how do you distinguish your fragrance and your brand from those around it? How do you develop the idea, the story and the mood of the scent, perhaps before you have even begun to blend it?
Each module covers an aspect of perfume marketing and sales in a three session class. With class exercises and real world examples, Michael provides a space for creative development, with feedback, in a warm, uplifting and practice-oriented series. Modules do not have to be taken in succession
Read on for more information about each module.
Photo credit: Michael Nordstrand
+ SEE UPCOMING MODULES ON OUR EVENTS CALENDAR
MODULE I: THE BRIEF
Beyond the bottle and the packaging, prospective customers often seek imagery, notes, and descriptions prior to smelling your product. This course is intended to connect the art and science of perfumery with the power of imagination through written and visual language—to entice, to teach, to entrance. An essential part of any successful fragrance business, branding and positioning your scent can be a daunting task. In this class you will learn how to do exactly that.
We will discuss conceptualisation, from initial ideas and research to mood imagery, and finally a written brief: an essential tool for a perfumer or fragrance entrepreneur. As part of class, we will also review the briefs and positioning of scents in the market in addition to materials from Michael Nordstrand’s own brand, Mythologist, before opening up the class to discussion and questions.
Through our investigations we will explore exactly what Jean-Jacques Rousseau meant when he said ‘olfaction is the sense of the imagination’.
Takeaways:
+ An overview of approaches to perfume design
+ Conceptualizing fine fragrance in story, mood, imagery, and description
+ Branding and positioning scent products in the perfume market
+ Creation of and feedback on perfume briefs
MODULE II: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
In module 2, Michael Nordstrand continues his examination of the real world applications for perfume by delving into how perfume ideas become market reality.
Day 1: We start with the creative brief. We will discuss the many ways a brief progresses from words to reality and explore the inclusion of visual and other creative components to enhance the brief and engage other parties in the realisation of finished product. Lecture will briefly discuss the importance of Trademark/Copyright, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Collaborative Agreements, and Commission Agreements and also discuss the nature of Intellectual Property in the perfume industry; i.e., what can and cannot be protected by law. Students will be provided with an outline that traces the potential next steps in the process of product development, from briefing third parties on concepts to working with manufacturers, suppliers and other necessary partners to create a finished product. We will end class by reviewing this outline briefly, addressing each step individually and providing ample opportunity for questions.
Day 2: The second day will revolve around brand case studies. Lecture will include presentations of multiple brands— their fragrance names, descriptions, branding, and marketing, as well as other pertinent information. The presentation will feature both successful and less successful brands and specific fragrances, identifying strengths and weaknesses with each, and class discussion will be central to the lesson. Students will be asked to offer their opinions of likes and dislikes with regard to the brands and scents presented as well as ideas that are successful and ways brands could improve. The second portion of the lecture will revolve around labels and packaging. What should be on a label for fragrance? What should be included in packaging? Regulatory and creative considerations will be given equal time and weight. We will review several examples of labeling and packaging presentations and their collateral and again identify strengths and weaknesses. Examples will include minimalist and maximalist approaches; creative and functional components; and ways brands set themselves apart through visual, auditory, scriptural and tactile materials as part of their overall product presentation as discrete entities from the juice itself. Class homework will be a short presentation of two brands by each student in which they will be asked to identify a brand they love and think is successful, and why, as well as a brand or fragrance they feel is less successful and what they would do to improve it.
Day 3: The third day will begin with student presentations of homework and after each presentation feedback will be given by students and instructor. The remainder of class will be devoted to reviewing the steps in the product development outline and checking in with students about their progress in these considerations. This third day could be shorter, perhaps 2 hours, depending on class size.
MODULE III: FUTURE LANDSCAPE
A continuation of the popular online classes blending fragrance conceptualisation with creative ideation, branding and marketing, Creative Development: The Future Landscape of Perfumery explores various important subjects in the current and future landscape of professional perfumery in a three-day course.
Michael Nordstrand will discuss identifying and interpreting trends for fragrance, incorporating market reports, trend forecasts, and materials. While discussing current best-sellers in the market according to recent consumer reports and consumer focus groups, Michael will explore commercial success, artistic success: their differences and overlaps.
During this class, Michael will discuss responsible perfumery, various designations within the fragrance market, and the future of perfumery. Michael will share perspectives on the realities of working on a third-party creative brief as a perfumer, and touch on design strategies for fragrance development.
As part of class, students will create presentations for third-party briefs, presenting them on the final day of class, before opening up the class to discussion and questions.
Takeaways:
+ Further analysis and discussion of olfactive, consumer and creative trends based on professional industry reports and how to interpret them for your fragrance projects.
+ Identifying the differences between artistic and commercial success and how they can intersect to create an appealing, successful product.
+ Navigating and working from a third-party brief and suggested practises and methods of interacting with clients, from initial meetings to evaluation sessions and the finalisation of a project.
+ Sustainable and responsible perfumery techniques and choices, focused on technological innovation and environmental concerns to meet current consumer and industry demand.
+ The notion of using creative disruption, pioneered by musician and producer Brian Eno, to find paths forward when personal and client projects present difficulties.
Questions? Email us at hello@artandolfaction.com