product design · aftermodern.lab

scope

Product systems and packaging across candles, games, stationery, and fine-art editions — from research and ideation through to fabrication-ready files.

clients & collaborators

aftermodern.apothecary, Kahlil Gibran Collective, Rupi Kaur, private collectors, and aftermodern.lab’s studio-led product lines.

aftermodern.apothecary — candles as counter-design

In 2019, aftermodern.lab initiated a research inquiry into the candle market as a way to test how language, material, and scent could act as critique. The audit revealed an overwhelmingly romantic, pastel, and gendered landscape; the response was a counter-industry candle line built from concept outwards — scent, combustion science, material ethics, and typographic systems all working as one argument.

The inaugural candle rejected florals and confectionary notes in favour of an olfactory brief: an old leather-bound book, evoking parchment, tannin, and aged paper. Soy wax and an organic cotton wick were selected for clean burn and stable scent throw, while a neutral cylindrical vessel and bilingual, black-and-white label placed design intelligence and accessibility ahead of luxury signalling.

aftermodern.apothecary candle 'a new york minute' in a minimal black vessel. — *a new york minute* — part of the inaugural line, pairing conceptual scent briefs with restrained, typographic labelling.

aftermodern.apothecary candle 'get your head in the clouds' with lid. — *get your head in the clouds* — soy-wax candle with organic cotton wick, using colloquial naming to undercut industry melodrama while remaining accessible.

aftermodern.apothecary candle 'seriously bugger off' shown with lid. — *seriously bugger off* — a line-wide approach where humour and critique sit on top of rigorous research into burn quality, emissions, and material culture.

Kahlil Gibran tribute candle

Extending the apothecary line into collaboration, this vessel was developed for the Kahlil Gibran Collective. The illustration references Gibran’s drawings and the recurring motif of flame, while the cylindrical form and monochrome palette keep the object aligned with aftermodern.apothecary’s typographic language.

Black candle vessel with yellow illustrated label inspired by Kahlil Gibran. — Collaboration candle for the Kahlil Gibran gift shop — a minimal black vessel wrapped with a single high-contrast illustration, designed to sit comfortably alongside both books and prints.

afterholiday — typographic card series

afterholiday is an ongoing studio project exploring how end-of-year greetings can be treated as typographic experiments rather than seasonal clichés. Each year introduces a new compositional system and colour palette, while keeping production practical for small-batch printing and mail-out.

afterholiday 2024 card with minimal typographic composition. — 2024 edition — a restrained typographic card set, designed for duplex printing and easy personalization by hand.

afterholiday 2025 card exploring a denser typographic grid. — 2025 edition — denser grid and expanded information hierarchy, treating the card as a small poster that can live beyond the season.

Letterform: Alpha — early-learning tool

Letterform: Alpha is an early-learning activity tool that combines letterform construction, colour recognition, problem solving, creative expression, and spatial reasoning into a single system. Thirty cards — twenty-six letters and four symbols — are split into upper and lower halves, encouraging users to assemble the alphabet physically while learning its structure.

The cards live in a cube made from recycled materials, with a bioplastic belly-band that aligns with the colour logic of the game, turning simple storage into another learning surface.

Letterform: Alpha cube packaging with belly-band and stacked cards. — Card prototypes in use — colour coding + bisected letterforms encouraging assembly and early spatial reasoning.

Child assembling Letterform: Alpha alphabet cards on a table. — Packaging concept: a cube extrusion of the card system, with a bioplastic belly-band and recycled corrugate box.

Rupi Kaur — serigraph print packaging

For a limited serigraph edition with poet Rupi Kaur, aftermodern.lab developed packaging and material studies that honour the tactility of the print process. The work explored silk-screen workflows, substrate options (flecked rag papers, stretched canvas, coated and uncoated surfaces), and a family of packaging materials ranging from black-on-black pressed board to fine linen card.

Rupi Kaur serigraph print with packaging mock-up on a work surface. — Packaging prototype for the serigraph edition — balancing protection, tactility, and the visual language of Kaur's work.

Screen printing frame and squeegee prepared for Rupi Kaur serigraph. — Process detail from the serigraph print run, showing the screen, squeegee, and print bed — part of the material research embedded into the concept.

aftermodern bureau — notebooks & calendar

aftermodern bureau is the studio’s stationery arm — typographic notebooks and calendars designed as working tools rather than merch. Formats, grids, and material choices are tuned to how the objects will actually be used on desks, in bags, and on walls.

Stack of aftermodern bureau notebooks in minimal typographic covers. — Notebook series: restrained covers and pragmatic interior grids, designed to disappear behind the work that's written inside.

Roman calendar 2024 wall calendar with bold typographic layout. — 2024 Roman calendar — a wall-scale composition that doubles as a typographic poster once the year has passed.

Kahlil Gibran print editions

Working with the Kahlil Gibran Collective, aftermodern.lab developed print editions that translate Gibran's drawings into contemporary print objects. Composition, scale, and framing are handled so the works can sit comfortably in both domestic and institutional spaces.

Print titled 'The Archer' inspired by Kahlil Gibran. — *The Archer* — edition print designed for the Kahlil Gibran gift shop, balancing reproduction fidelity with a contemporary presentation.

Unframed print showing the face of the Prophet. — *The Face of the Prophet* — unframed edition focusing on line, expression, and the subtle texture of the print substrate.