NEW! Travel Size Rollerball Fragrances
Fragrance is never just scent.
It is mood architecture.
Perfume and cologne sampling has become impersonal and uninspired, especially for true creatives who ruthlessly crave ritual. There’s no sensory product that honors the process of writing as the lifestyle it truly is.
And so, we needed a literary-inspired one-of-a-kind packaging for the innovative olfactory brands’ first rollerball offerings that fits their identity:
Niche, expressive, and unapologetically weird.
Just like Portland.
It is mood architecture.
Perfume and cologne sampling has become impersonal and uninspired, especially for true creatives who ruthlessly crave ritual. There’s no sensory product that honors the process of writing as the lifestyle it truly is.
And so, we needed a literary-inspired one-of-a-kind packaging for the innovative olfactory brands’ first rollerball offerings that fits their identity:
Niche, expressive, and unapologetically weird.
Just like Portland.
MAIN FUNCTIONS: Package Research, Design, Sentiment
TOOLS USED: Adobe CC, Talkwalker, Google Trends, Similarweb
Micro-format fragrances were found often positioned as convenience-based, but not emotionally resonant. Google Trends proves a steady rise in “signature scent” and “ritual”–related searches (+38% YoY), while Talkwalker sentiment analysis revealed higher engagement for storytelling-driven packaging (across all sizes) over ordinary miniatures.
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Designed a travel-size format that doesn’t feel like a mere “sample,” but like a personal creative talisman. Something just as collectible, expressive, and worthy
of daily ritual as the full-size bottle.
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- Introduced a 10ml refillable rollerball disguised as a fountain pen to merge literary identity with portable fragrance ritual.
- Developed packaging strategy through Adobe visualizations and Blender mockups, integrating magnetic closure innovation to evoke tactile satisfaction.
- Gauge online performance of similar products via a Similarweb to define optimal positioning (luxury niche category with 40–60% repeat buyer rate).
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Modeled KPIs:
- +22% projected CTR on product launch ads (based on Talkwalker benchmarks for “design novelty” campaigns).
- +18% estimated DTC conversion rate increase for rollerball-style packaging (based on comparable “niche fragrance” category data from Similarweb).
- Estimated 1.3x AOV growth via dual-purchase set (full-size + rollerball upsell).
Imaginary Authors is a fragrance house built on fictional storytelling, with each scent inspired by a novel that, well, doesn’t exist.
But maybe that’s what explains the novelty of it all.
Also sold by large scale e-commerce fragrance retailers such as Luckyscent and Ministry of Scent.
MISSION
Create a rollerball fragrance product format for Imaginary Authors that reflects the writing process and fits seamlessly into a writer’s daily ritual.
BUDGET: $60,000
TIMELINE: 6 Weeks
PROCESS
- Conducted research through Talkwalker sentiment analysis on niche fragrance social hashtags and auditing current Imaginary Authors packaging for dimensional, material, and typography consistency.
- High-fidelity "Fountain pen rollerball” renders developed after the model was chosen as the hero form factor following social A/B testing mockups on design forums (70% preference rate for recognizability and novelty).
- Utilized Similarweb to simulate DTC e-commerce behavior (40%-60% of rollerball buyers likely to return for a full-size bottle).
SOLUTION
A travel-sized rollerball fragrance disguised as a capped fountain pen. Perfect for the classy, convenient, and clever seeking a slim, transportable, and refillable olfactory option.
Paired with the iconic vintage book-style box, it becomes part scent, part story, and part tool.
To close, the gold banding surrounding the body of the pen is magnetic to connect with the corresponding magnetic gold trim at the bottom of the cap.
This provides an authorial, poetic feel as well as the most longevity and durability as opposed to click-on caps (which wear out), or screw-tops (which can become cross-threaded).
IMPACT
Travel-size packaging became redefined from “sample” to “artifact”.
The pen-rollerball concept bridges creativity and functionality. If the product already feels like a story, it no longer needs to scream for attention.
And the feedback proved this could move beyond niche, and cross into cult.
In the best way, of course.
MODELED STAKEHOLDERS & CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PARTNERS:
Owner / Perfumer
Packaging Engineer (Vendor)
Graphic Designer (Agency Partner)