Karmae — Cosmic Pulse

A small independent fragrance brand needed a bottle label and premium product visuals for launch — before committing to a physical photoshoot or print run.

This concept case study walks through a scenario built around a real deliverable: an indie perfume brand posted a design request on Bark.com for a debut eau de parfum, "Cosmic Pulse" — a celestial, galaxy-inspired concept under the name Karmae. Unlike Guru or HoneyBook, where a proposal is written and priced before any creative work happens, Bark surfaces a lead to several designers at once and the client compares responses — which meant the first visual mattered more than the pitch. I built a label concept and a full mockup visualization the client could use immediately in pre-launch marketing, without needing to commission real bottle photography first.

• Design a bottle label — wordmark, product name, and eau de parfum designation — that reads as premium at a glance.
• Build a photorealistic-style mockup for social and pre-order use, in place of a physical product shoot.
• Interpret a loosely-defined "celestial / cosmic" mood into a coherent, sellable visual system.
• Manage the engagement through Bark's in-app messaging rather than a structured written brief.
• Price and scope the work as a single fixed-fee deliverable, not an hourly or open-ended one.

Role

Label & Packaging Designer

Tools

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, AI-assisted mockup rendering

Sourced via

Bark.com

Engagement

Freelance, fixed-fee, won bid

1. Phase 1

   Brief & Direction Approved

   Bark.com lead response

   Responded to the client's Bark listing with an initial mood direction — a deep-space palette, gold foil-style type, and a name treatment for "Karmae — Cosmic Pulse." The client picked this direction over the other quotes on the strength of the first visual, not a written pitch.

2. Phase 2

   Label & Bottle Mockup Delivered

   Core deliverable

   Final label design and a full galaxy-composited bottle visualization, built to stand in for product photography the client couldn't yet afford. Delivered at resolution suitable for social, a pre-order landing page, and print proofing.

3. Phase 3

   Packaging & Box Concept Pending approval

   Awaiting client sign-off

   A companion box concept extending the label's palette and typography, proposed but not yet approved — the client is weighing box cost against a label-only launch for the first production run.

4. Phase 4

   Extended Mockup Set On hold

   Future scope

   Additional angles, a lifestyle scene, and a group/collection shot were discussed as a follow-on order once the first production run sells. Not yet commissioned.

• A "celestial," galaxy/cosmos-inspired look — the client's own word was "otherworldly."
• A product name and label treatment that reads premium next to established niche fragrance brands.
• A single hero image polished enough to use as the primary product photo, with no photoshoot budget.
• Fast turnaround — the client wanted a usable visual within the week to start pre-launch marketing.
• Room to extend into packaging and additional angles later, without committing to that scope up front.

The delivered visual: a galaxy-composited bottle mockup with a navy label block, gold serif and sans type, and a cork stopper detail — built to function as the brand's primary product image ahead of a physical run.

• The first visual won the bid — leading with a concept image on Bark, instead of a written quote, is what separated this response from the others the client received.
• The mockup was strong enough to publish directly on the client's social accounts without any further retouching.
• Keeping the deliverable to a single, tightly-scoped label-and-mockup phase kept pricing simple and the turnaround fast.
• The client approved the direction in one round — the celestial concept matched what they had in their head on the first pass.

• Bark's lead model meant producing a real visual up front to compete for the job, rather than pricing the work before any creative time was spent — a different risk profile than a Guru or HoneyBook proposal.
• The client's reference images were mostly high-end, photographed niche-fragrance campaigns; part of the job was calibrating what a mockup-based visual could credibly deliver at an indie budget.
• Revisions and approvals happened informally through Bark's in-app chat rather than a written brief, so I wrote up a short scope summary myself after the first call to keep phases and pricing clear.
• Packaging and extended mockups remain pending because the client is still deciding on production budget — a reminder that "approved concept" and "funded next phase" are two different milestones.

The label and hero mockup are delivered and in use. The rest of the engagement is open, pending the client's decisions on production:

• Box / secondary packaging concept — designed, awaiting client sign-off.
• Additional mockup angles and a lifestyle scene — scoped as a follow-on order, not yet commissioned.
• Print-ready label files for the physical production run — pending the client's choice of bottle manufacturer.