Self-initiated concept · Home fragrance

UMINA

Fragrance as part of the interior.

Home fragrance · Brand · Art direction · Packaging · Web · Campaign · 2026

The concept

UMINA is a self-initiated home fragrance concept that brings scent and sculptural form together, creating objects designed to complement the spaces they inhabit.

My role

I developed UMINA from concept and naming through brand identity, product direction, AI-assisted art direction, e-commerce design, packaging, and launch marketing.

A hand lighting a Cedar Smoke candle beside its diffuser, a fire glowing behind (AI-assisted image)

01 / The idea

Fragrance is personal.
So is the space it lives in.

UMINA began with two things I kept noticing when shopping for candles online. You can't smell the fragrance before buying it, and even when a scent sounds right, the vessel doesn't always suit the space it's meant for.

02 / Identity

A mark shaped by the object.

The U takes its shape from a vessel, with a flame refined from a literal illustration into a small abstract detail. Its curves form the foundation for the remaining letters, creating a custom wordmark built from the object it represents.

Inspired by the Latin lumen, meaning light, UMINA takes its name from the idea of illumination.

The vessel
Two arches, one stem
One wall
The U turned over
The bowl, closed

Letterform construction: Every letter is built from the vessel U

In application: A recessed wordmark on ceramic and packaging, with the standalone U mark used across smaller brand touchpoints.

Charcoal on PorcelainDefault
Oxblood on PorcelainSignature
Charcoal on AshSecondary
Porcelain on CharcoalReversed

Moments only Porcelain on an Oxblood field, as a seal or a single panel, never a whole page. Avoid Oxblood on Charcoal (1.1 : 1) and Porcelain type on Pewter (3.9 : 1).

Logo in use: The locked wordmark, recolored only, in four approved pairings

03 / Color

One identity. Five finishes.

UMINA's palette comes directly from its five ceramic finishes. The same five tones carry the website, packaging, and campaign, so the brand and the product share one material language.

From the pale Porcelain Stone of Salt Veil to the deep Oxblood Stone of Velvet Resin, the vessels introduce color without changing the identity around them.

Brand palette

PorcelainPrimary
#E6E5E4
AshSecondary
#AFA79F
PewterSupporting
#7A6E64
CharcoalPrimary dark
#353333
OxbloodSignature
#512F35

The brand palette: A restrained system of neutrals and oxblood tones

04 / Typography

Editorial character. Everyday clarity.

Newsreader gives UMINA its editorial voice in headlines and fragrance names. Hanken Grotesk does the everyday work: notes, navigation, product details, and the small print on packaging.

From three typographic directions, I chose the most balanced pairing, then refined it for both screen and print.

Newsreader

The atmosphere of a room, considered.

Cedar Smoke

Light · Regular · Medium

Newsreader: Headlines, fragrance names, and storytelling, roman by default

Hanken Grotesk

Notes, navigation, product details, and the small print on packaging.

Scented candle · Charcoal Stone

Regular · Medium

Hanken Grotesk: Notes, navigation, shopping, and packaging details

DisplayNewsreader Light

Made for the space.

Section headingNewsreader Light

Find your atmosphere.

Fragrance nameNewsreader Regular

Cedar Smoke

BodyHanken Grotesk Regular

Dry and grounding, made for the evening. Dry cedar and smoked black tea settle into a low haze of incense as the light goes down.

Fragrance notesHanken Grotesk Regular

Black tea · Cedarwood · Vetiver · Incense

EyebrowHanken Grotesk Medium

Scented candle · Charcoal Stone

Small printHanken Grotesk Regular

Net contents TBC · Dimensions TBC · Safety + care information TBC

One system: 18 styles designed for editorial, digital, and packaging applications

The Cedar Smoke candle box side panel: name, character, notes and small print (packaging artwork)

05 / The collection

Five fragrances. Five atmospheres.

Every UMINA product shares one form language: a low, sculptural candle with a recessed foot, and a reed diffuser with softly rounded shoulders and a short neck.

The wordmark is designed as a tone-on-tone deboss in the ceramic, so the material and form come first. Across all five fragrances, the collection remains recognizably UMINA.

The five UMINA candles in their five ceramic finishes, lit, on travertine (AI-assisted image)

The five UMINA reed diffusers in their five ceramic finishes on a stone ledge (AI-assisted image)

Salt Veil candle in Porcelain Stone (AI-assisted image)

Mineral Linen candle in Ash Stone (AI-assisted image)

The accessory

The candle warmer

A sculptural companion designed in the same five ceramic finishes.

06 / Photography + art direction

Made for the space. Meant to be felt.

UMINA's photography places the products in thoughtfully styled interiors, using stone, plaster, linen, and natural light to show how the vessels belong in a space.

I art-directed the AI-assisted imagery, defining the environments, lighting, and styling, then refining the results so the collection reads as one. This included correcting vessel proportions and finishes and replacing inaccurate generated lettering with the approved wordmark.

A Velvet Resin candle and diffuser by a fireplace in a warm living room (AI-assisted image)

First render

Final

AI-assisted refinement: Original and final imagery showing adjustments to vessel proportions, ceramic finishes, and the approved wordmark.

07 / Website

Designed to belong.

The website brings the brand into a shopping experience. Editorial interior photography leads, material-inspired backgrounds set a calm pace, and rounded frosted-glass details are used sparingly so the products stay at the center.

Customers can shop by product or by scent, with product pages connecting each fragrance's character to its finish and notes. The experience carries the same visual language across desktop and mobile.

The UMINA homepage hero: Fragrance as part of the interior, over the living-room photograph

View live website

The shop, grouped by fragrance, with product and scent filters

The homepage on a phone: the hero and navigation

08 / Fragrance discovery

Find your atmosphere.

Choosing fragrance online means making a decision without experiencing the scent first. I designed a three-question discovery experience to help customers find a starting point based on their space, desired mood, and scent preferences.

Scent notes guide the primary recommendation, mood suggests an alternative, and the room personalizes the result. Each recommendation explains why the fragrance fits their choices.

09 / Packaging

The vessel is the artwork. The packaging is its frame.

I explored two packaging directions: one that carried each fragrance’s color into the box, and another that kept the packaging neutral and let the vessel provide the reveal.

The neutral direction worked across all five fragrances. By keeping the packaging in Porcelain, the vessels become the focal point when the box is opened.

Direction A, Color reveal: Velvet Resin and Salt Veil boxes lined in each vessel's finish

Direction B, Minimal Gallery: Porcelain boxes with a neutral interior, the vessel as the only color

Minimal Gallery: the Velvet Resin candle and diffuser boxes opened, the oxblood vessel revealed in its insert, lids set aside (render)

In context: Cedar Smoke and Mineral Linen packaging

10 / Campaign

One brand, across every touchpoint.

I extended UMINA’s editorial photography, typography, and core messaging into a coordinated launch campaign across Instagram, email, and Meta advertising. Each format was designed to feel distinctly UMINA while maintaining a consistent visual identity.

The launch email: the living-room hero, Introducing UMINA, Fragrance as part of the interior, and Explore the collection

Meta ad 2, discovery: Find your atmosphere, Take the quiz

Carousel card: Salt Veil, Porcelain Stone

Carousel card: Cedar Smoke, Charcoal Stone

11 / In closing

Fragrance and form, considered together.

UMINA brought together identity, art direction, and digital and physical brand design around one idea: fragrance should feel as considered as the space it lives in.

A Cedar Smoke candle and diffuser on a stone tray by a fireplace (AI-assisted image)

UMINA is a self-initiated concept. The brand and products are fictional, and the project imagery includes AI-assisted visuals.

Fragrance is personal. So is the space it lives in.

A mark shaped by the object.

One identity. Five finishes.

Editorial character. Everyday clarity.

Five fragrances. Five atmospheres.

The candle warmer

Made for the space. Meant to be felt.

Designed to belong.

Find your atmosphere.

The vessel is the artwork. The packaging is its frame.

One brand, across every touchpoint.

Fragrance and form, considered together.

Fragrance is personal.
So is the space it lives in.