Stages of Decay - Process Book

Stages of Decay

Introduction

Stages of Decay by Mortia Seed is a fabricated eyeshadow palette inspired primarily by the question of what happens to the body after death. There will be four main sections each dedicated to a specific stage during the decaying process: Autolysis (a section garnished by shades of green), Bloating (decorated by reds), Active Decay (darkened by blacks, grays, and browns), and Skeletonization (made light with shades of white and pressed glitter.)

The focal point of the packaging is on the front of the box, where a collection of fruits and flowers rest in various degrees of wilt and rot. There should be a great element of contrast, as the table the objects rest on is a brilliant white, while their backdrop is swallowing black. The dimed colors of each piece connect the two.

The goal of this project is to introduce a palette and product package that will educate a morbid audience, while also supporting their self-confidence and adorning them in glitter.

In regards to the target audience of Stages of Decay, the palette is directed towards freaks and creeps of any gender, primarily over the age of fifteen, who belong to gothic or darker social circles. The price of this palette would be around $15$25 dollars, in an attempt to make it available to people of any income.

Research

Alternative, specifically gothic, people being the target audience of Stages of Decay, the package design needed to be eye-catching, as most alternative makeup designs reject the simplicity of the more mainstream packaging and involve visually striking and complex imagery.

In addition, the gothic subculture is grounded in finding beauty in the morbid and disturbing, as well as connecting with the themes and facts of death– an attachment that is often the focal point of their targeted products. Marketing for alternative products frequently involves a dark color scheme (if not black and white and pardon vibrant reds), a gothic literature reference, and/or some kind of Halloween-esque imagery– often including blood and witches.

Research II

Necromancy

Cosmetica

A cosmetic company from Puerto Rico, this brand has the most beautiful product packaging I could find, especially in regards to their eyeshadow palettes– their pieces swirling in intricate detailing and bold font choices.

Baby Bat Beauty

Another gothic brand, Baby Bat Beauty has a lot of mythical-looking women and creatures displayed on their packaging, but more often have their logo and brand name in their place.

Devinah Cosmetics

This cosmetic company had the same range in palette designs as Baby Bat Beauty, the five shown on their website either being highly detailed set designs or a shimmer package with only their brand name.

Inspiration

The inspiration for Stages of Decay came from four main sources: death, romanticism, Mary Shelley, and the photos I selected for my moodboard. Death itself is a constant taboo that is, quite literally, a part of every person’s life, and I felt it should be talked about in a raw yet beautiful manner. I absolutely adore the romantic era-- the way that the poets and artists of the time allowed themselves to feel, to be morbid, and use these feelings to appreciate all nature and life-- and I wanted to present those beliefs in my work. The inspiration from Mary Shelly came from both her work, Frankenstein, and her possession of her deceased husband’s heart. Finally, when looking for pictures that would fit the vibe of the product I was working on, I found a multitude of images focusing on rotting fruit, and thought that they encapsulated all of my other ideas and inspirations in a rad way.

Mood Board

Ideation

The first two concepts for this piece were very different: the first being a lipstick decorated with burning moths and midnight forest imagery, and the second being an elaborate chocolate box designed to be a nod to Mary Shelley’s possession of her husband’s heart.

The final concept that I landed on, however, was one that, unintentionally and unfortunately, vaguely resembles the cover of a Twilight novel. I wanted the piece to have drama– a grayscale background contrasted by vibrant and rotting flora, displayed elegantly on a lace tablecloth. I thought the font should have an edge to it (both figuratively and literally) yet be delicate and feminine, and that, on the back of the package, each shadow being sold should be colored and named in neat and even circles, again against a dark background and adorned with flowers but this time with the addition of crawling maggots.

Struggles and Feedback

When it came to putting my piece together, the main challenge was finding real pictures that resembled the ones I had formed in my mind. That being said, the lace layout was transformed into a marbled table, and an additional flower was added to cover misshapen elements of the fruits. However, the lace was able to be introduced along the edge, allowing for a cleaner execution, and the withered feeling of both the table and the added flora adds to the rotting vibe of the package.

The main feedback I received was that my package needed more information on its back panel and said information needed to be displayed by visual hierarchy. Due to this comment, description, directions, and ingredients paragraphs all became listed on the packaging, their font size and spacing allowing for understanding of information importance and the packaging to look more real. In addition to this, I was also advised to add more color to the palette, as my design for critique was primarily black and white. This critique led to the green and red titles, as well as the gray “16 shade palette” subtitle.

Final Design

Overall, I wanted this palette to be colorful (in the fruits and fonts), but in a morbid way, this to suggest the beauty in the natural and earthly elements of death.