DÉLUGE

Déluge is an entrepreneurial thesis project developed during my time at SVA MFA Design. Watch my talk at the SVA MFA Design Venture Forum below for more details.

ENRICHING THE EXPERIENCE OF LIFE THROUGH SCENT

We tend to think of nostalgia as a static force – a string of footnotes in the story of our lives, securely tethered to specific moments, but I would argue that this is not the case. Instead, we carry each of these moments with us and they can give valuable insight into, and perhaps even inform our larger lives and identities.

I have been fascinated by this concept of what makes each of us...us, and how we might use the unique experiences that we have to forge a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Déluge understands that the scents we choose to wear are deeply interconnected with identity, and sees that as an opportunity to revolutionise the way we think about and use personal fragrance. As the name implies, we craft custom scents designed to unleash a flood of memories tied to specific moments in one’s life.

THE INTERFACE

Déluge creates portraiture in scent. We use a signature ideological framework balancing artistic and analytical methods of gathering information from our user. We activate pieces of personal, unbiased data as well as feedback on that collected data from the user in order to represent both the objective and emotional truth for the person in the moment.

The user engages in a brief quiz to establish a baseline of personal taste

The user then engages in a series of small tasks, games and questions that may provide further insight into who the user is in the moment they wish to capture with their custom fragrance.

BUILDING CUSTOM FRAGRANCE

The results of the findings in the app inform our selection of Fragrance notes, which are pulled from Déluge’s curated library of 200+ distinct scent notes, Notes organised into 12 colour-coded scent families and icons indicating the scent sub-category within each family.

There are an infinite number of combinations within this system, so each user’s colour code and graphic expression is unique – akin to a fingerprint in fragrance.

THE PACKAGE

After this discovery process is complete, the fragrance will be delivered to the user in a one of a kind, hand sculpted bottle crafted from reclaimed wood. Deluge is inspired by the poetry of nature, each ring in the grain a symbol of growth and evolution, and the bottle’s organic form inspired by the natural process of erosion, how the elements shape material like our experiences shape us.

Déluge creates a fully personal experience for the user across all of its expressions, Fragrance boxes are made in special editions that change seasonally and are personalised with details such as the date created and the unique pictographic scent profile.

The outer gift wrap is made using a traditional japanese printmaking technique called Suminagashi, which captures floating ink in the way it appears, mirroring Déluge’s core concept.

THE BOOK

The package also includes a full process book on their personalised scent profile that explains the scent rationale and visualises key pieces of the data collected.

MAISON DÉLUGE

Once a personal scent profile is determined, the user gains access to their “Maison Déluge” dashboard, which serves them curated content based on the notes associated with their fragrance. All scents are archived in the app, so they can be re-purchased or otherwise accessed at any time. When the user repeats the process with a new fragrance, any new notes will build on the standing ones, the content becoming more personalised and specific as their Déluge membership continues.

THE FUTURE

Déluge fragrances have the potential to be a very powerful tool in connecting the user to past versions of themselves, and the change and growth they experience in their life. They create a sort of autobiography in scent that can be used to revisit bygone eras of self and share as a legacy. Imagine having a time machine to visit any point in your life...this is as close as it gets.