— Request for Proposals —

Alchemies of Scent
Reconstructing the Practices of Ancient Greco-Egyptian Perfumery:
An Experimental Approach to the History of Science

is soliciting proposals for designs for our visual identity.

Who We Are

We are a 5-year Junior Star Research Project funded by the Czech Science Foundation and hosted at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to bring back to life the lost art and science of perfume making in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. We publish innovative interdisciplinary research in top academic journals using experimental methods combined with rigorous historical and archaeological scholarship; we also teach the public about our research with interactive perfume-making workshops co-led by our team and professional perfumers and scent artists. Our academic readers learn about the complex role of perfume in the history of science, art, and culture, as well as about how new methods combining science and humanities research. Our public audience get to experience the past for themselves and learn about the ancient origins of many scents and products used today. Besides academics and scent enthusiasts, our audience includes historical enthusiasts, health care providers, and those interested in complementary approaches to well-being (aromatherapists, herbalists, etc.).

Vision and Plan for Growth

Our goal is to raise awareness through our website and social media over the next 6 months, to create a dynamic and active social media presence, to incorporate new visual designs, and to implement a schedule of project events. Increased awareness will let us get our research out to a wider audience, get information about our programmes out to the public, and attract an academic and public following that will increase opportunities for collaboration, funding, and international recognition.

Goals and Objectives for the Visual / Graphic Design

Our core areas are research and public outreach. In both cases, our goal is to have a set of visual elements that are unique to our project, that respect the history of our subject and the modern methods we use, that respect the design culture of Prague, and that captivate both academic and public audiences alike.

We have a set of photographs of our experiments and of our historical materials, which we would like to continue to use and/or reshoot. We would like to keep these elements along with the new designs. We would, however, like new visual designs to mark out the project more uniquely and keep us in line with modern design principles. We would also like to leave space to incorporate elements designed by different local artists and designers as the project progresses.

We are looking for a set of designs for:

  • Academic slide presentations

  • Letterhead

  • Book covers

  • Conference posters and brochures

  • Public workshop materials (booklets, brochures)

  • Elements and designs need to be flexible enough to be used in both print and digital media.

  • We also would like to integrate the visual identity into our new website, which is being created in parallel by a web design team.

Wish List

Here are some nice-to-haves in order of priorities:

  • Logo

  • Botanical illustrations

  • Historical illustrations / ‘re-enactments’

  • Book layout

  • Illustrations for online videos

What Works and What Doesn’t with Current Visuals

From focus group studies, our audience loved the selection of photos and images on the website. They liked their simplicity, focus, warmth, and fact they did not look typically ‘academic’. They liked the ancient images. Audiences also liked the typeface used by the project (Garamond Premiere Pro). What we would like to use these elements in conjunction with new ones. What doesn’t work are the layouts. They are not professional so lack proper proportions; moreover, they are not standardized so we have to create them from scratch each time. This is expected with posters, but we would like standardized PowerPoints, letterhead, and other re-useable designs.

Other visuals we like

We love the visual translations and designs by Christoph Geiger for the exhibition The Soul is an Octopus in Berlin in 2016. We like the use of illustration in the PBS Eons series. We also draw from a range of ancient manuscripts and artefacts. Examples are available here.

Current Visual Identity

Our exiting visuals can be seen at: https://www.alchemiesofscent.org/ and at our social media accounts on Twitter, FB and Instagram.

For past presentations, see the presentations folder here.

Budget

Maximum budget: 70,000 CZK

Proposals and Submission Deadline

Proposals must include the following:

  • Design Proposal

  • Sketches

  • Timeline

  • Financial Proposal

  • Company overview / CV

  • Portfolio / Link to Portfolio

  • References / Testimonials

Please address proposals to Dr. Tereza Šímová and send to alchemiesofscent@flu.cas.cz by 14. February 2022.

Response Time

You can expect to hear a response back from us by 21. February 2022.



By submitting your application, you automatically give the IP permission to process and store your personal data in order to apply for a post in the IP in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). The granting of consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Zdroj: Filosofický ústav AV ČR