Kengo Kuma designs packaging for hotel brand Aman's skincare range
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has designed natural-looking packaging for the first skincare range from luxury hotel brand Aman.
Kuma created the packaging for the international hotel brand, whose first range of skincare features 30 products, including face creams, serums, face masks, body oils, milk baths, and balms among others.
For each bottle and jar, the Tokyo-based architect – whose 2020 Olympic stadium in the city is currently under construction – adopted an organic, rounded shape with gently sloping lids, intended to evoke the forms found in nature.
According to Aman, Kuma was also inspired by the curving shapes of traditional Japanese porcelain vases.
Kuma, who is recognised for designing buildings and interiors made from natural materials like timber, chose a natural, matt shade of black and brown for the products, intended to mirror the natural ingredients within the skincare.
The packaging features vein-like details that evoke the patterns observed in trees and slabs of marble.
The brand logo is printed on the products in gold lettering. Information about each product is cited in capital letters underneath, in a sans serif font.
"The sense of peace, the intrinsic connection with its beguiling locations, and the becalming architecture for which Aman is so renowned, define the design aesthetic for the collection's bottles and jars," said Aman.
"Acclaimed architect Kengo Kuma masterfully blended these attributes with Aman's eastern roots and channelled them into striking vessels, a beautifully crafted reimagining of Japanese porcelain," explained the company.
Other recent projects by Kuma include an interior for footwear company Camper, which features concave tiles that form shelves, and a drive-through Starbucks in Taiwan made of white shipping containers.
The Tokyo-based architect has recently been involved in a number of big-scale projects as well as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium, such as an aquatics centre and harbour bath in Copenhagen. He is also converting a disused slaughterhouse in Porto into a cultural centre.