homesick?click upon a star
RJ Ruano
Phantom Fragrances
2024
Project Overview
We made product labels for homemade horror-themed soy candles.
Scope
Create several candle labels with a horror-themed twist for autumn and winter holiday scents.
My Role
I was lead artist and text formatter. Phantom Fragrances co-owner, Gary Rosas, provided direction. I also illustrated PF’s new business and social media icon for their soft relaunch.
Project Identity
Phantom Fragrances candles have distinct, nuanced scents (Gary was kind enough to send me a candle for scent inspiration). The candle wax comes in different colors, so we decided the labels should compliment the candle wax colors, but not distract from them–neutral warm colors were the way to go. We stuck with a muted, moody color palette to emphasize the horror theme and unique wax.
When making Phantom Fragrance's social media icon, we decided on a peeking ghost holding a knife for a PF silhouette. During ideation, we toyed with more ghastly imagery. Ultimately, these candles are meant to be lit and displayed, so while horror is the theme, public viewing and image is kept in mind.
We choose a cute, if a little knife-happy, ghost.
Social Engagement
In addition to working on labels, I designed a social media profile picture and shop logo for the business’ soft relaunch. Phantom Fragrances made their appearance at Tales of Terror Haunted Attraction with these new labels.
Final icon
Photos and video by Phantom Fragrances
Process
The color palette was also chosen for practical purposes. The palette visually matched the natural ingredients used in the homemade soy wax–e.g., the red, green and brown ingredients like cranberry, fern and cinnamon. These colors also proved easy on the printer and required less ink than saturated options, making these labels budget-friendly for a home-based small business.