Design Driven Innovation in Artistic Perfumery: A Case Study on the Value of Design and Designers in Product Development

This paper examines an innovative and design-based innovation process of a new product in artistic perfumery. The growing segment of artistic perfumery is known for unusual and complex scents. One of the players is a perfume label run by a design agency that has developed an alternative and design-based approach to developing perfumes. The process is driven by a strong sense for aesthetic consistency, a passion for authenticity and an unusual presence of an emotional dimension. The paper particularly focuses on the role of design and the significance of design practices for this product innovation. All in all, it argues that the role of design can hardly be reduced to a problem-solving technique. Instead, design practices involve personal, material and aesthetic dimensions.