Interview about Meandre Bottle and Package Design, winner of the A' Packaging Design Award 2022
Meandre means curves of the river in French. The packaging design created for a fragrance is meant to give customers an immersive experience of wandering in the forest with meandering footprints. Natural elements reflect in the container bottle design details, including the characteristics of stone material. The cap is designed to represent the image of the natural shape with branch bending. The color family demonstrates a sense of natural elegance in the packaging system.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsI’ve always been drawn to crafted packaging and objects that carry a sense of human touch. When I first began the Meandre project, I wanted to explore how a woody fragrance could evoke emotion through storytelling. I asked myself: if a pink heart represents romance, what kind of story should Meandre tell?The word “Meandre” itself — meaning the curves of a river — already evokes a sense of natural freedom and flow. To shape that into design, I began by writing down objects and emotions that reminded me of walking through the forest. I also spoke with friends, gathered research, and built moodboards that connected these feelings.Once the overall direction was clear, I studied textures and materials that could translate this atmosphere into touch and form. Because packaging directly engages our senses, I wanted every surface and curve to amplify that immersive, nature-driven emotion.
Every material choice must first serve the story. I’m naturally curious about how different materials express emotion, and I often experiment with their tactile and visual qualities.For Meandre, the fragrance already carried a sense of nature, so it felt right to highlight craftsmanship and honesty through materiality. I studied various types of wood and stone to find the right balance — one that felt both raw and refined. Walnut offered warmth and longevity, while the stone-like texture grounded the concept with quiet strength.The harmony between these materials not only reflects sustainability but also deepens the emotional resonance of the design.
At the beginning, I wanted the fragrance to feel like a slow, meditative walk through the woods — something fluid and continuous. The word méandre naturally suggested movement, so I explored visual metaphors that could express it: winding paths, flowing rivers, scattered branches.Among these, the branch stood out as a symbol of memory — a trace of the journey itself. I used it as the inspiration for the cap, while the bottle’s body took on the tactile texture of riverbed stones. These two elements together became metaphors for the gentle rhythm of nature.Every detail in the design tells part of that wandering story, creating a sensory connection between landscape and emotion.
I started the project by sculpting the bottle prototype out of clay — something I had never done before. The challenge was to carve smooth, elegant curves that still felt natural and stone-like. My first attempts were very rough; it felt almost like playing with mud.Over time, I studied basic sculpting techniques to refine the form. The branch-inspired cap was another experiment: at first, I left the natural roughness of twigs, but later smoothed it out to improve touch and usability. Instead of replicating nature literally, I wanted to express its feeling through crafted precision.The process was one of constant iteration — learning to let the technical and artistic sides inform each other until they reached harmony.
From the very beginning, I conducted small-scale interviews with friends, designers, and potential users to understand what “walking through the forest” meant to them. Their responses went far beyond trees — they mentioned the sound of flowing water, fallen acorns, stones by the path.Those sensory references inspired me to translate not only the visuals but also the gestures and emotions of wandering. The idea of collecting small fragments from nature became central to the design.Rather than adopting every piece of feedback, I carefully curated the insights that aligned with the story. The result is a design that feels both personal and universal — built from shared memories and sensory cues.
The woody notes of the fragrance established a calm and organic tone from the start. I wanted the colors to feel soft, balanced, and quietly confident — much like nature itself.I also studied the lifestyle and aesthetic preferences of the fragrance’s intended audience: cultured, introspective individuals who value subtle sophistication over ostentation. This research helped me refine the color harmony across the materials — from the bottle and cap to the packaging card.The sense of refinement doesn’t come from one color alone, but from how every tone and texture transitions naturally into the next, creating a holistic and elegant atmosphere.
The information card was designed to be more than just a product insert — it’s an extension of the story.Visually, I kept the typography minimal and airy to evoke a sense of breathing space. The imagery features a quiet corner of the forest, reinforcing the theme through visual poetry rather than description.Materiality was also important: I chose heavy-weight textured paper to create tactile depth, so that the moment of holding and reading the card would echo the tranquility of the forest itself.
Three key insights came from this journey: 1. Storytelling is the essence of design. A compelling package is not about how “cool” it looks but about how coherently it tells its story. 2. Material research deepens meaning. Understanding how materials behave — visually, tactilely, symbolically — allows them to become storytellers themselves. 3. Packaging is interdisciplinary. It merges graphic design, industrial design, sculpture, and communication. This project taught me that packaging design is a synthesis of art and systems thinking.
I believe the future of luxury design will move away from the pursuit of status and toward human-centered storytelling.Luxury will no longer be defined solely by rarity or extravagance, but by authenticity, empathy, and craft. Sustainable materials will continue to play a key role — not as an aesthetic trend, but as a way to bring emotional honesty to design.Meandre reflects this transition: it’s not about showing opulence, but about evoking quiet connection through refined simplicity.
For me, every design element must serve storytelling. Beautiful visuals are essential, but true design goes beyond sight — it invites touch, rhythm, and emotion.In Meandre, I considered how each sensory layer could echo the same story: the texture of stone, the sound of a cap turning, the flow of opening and discovering. Each becomes a narrative moment within the experience.Multisensory design isn’t about overwhelming the senses — it’s about creating a system where every element, from sight to touch to pacing, works together to tell one cohesive story. That’s where emotional resonance begins.
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