We designed ODYSSEY CHAPTER 5, a new sub-brand of ODYSSEY, the beloved 30-year-old men’s skincare brand. throughout the brand design,
including logo, products, packaging, and visuals, we inherited the original Odyssey’s storytelling of ‘voyage’ and ‘fragrance’ assets,
but added new and fresh sensibilities to reflect the values and lifestyle of the targeted male consumers in their 30s. From the brand
name to the story of a persona who is opening a new chapter in his life in pursuit of extraordinary sensations, CHAPTER 5 incorporates
nautical elements into its design in a modern way. We tried to capture classic values in a modern way, while remaining contemporary in the user’s daily life.
Background
Since 1996, ODYSSEY has been offering premium men’s skincare, with its core user base maturing alongside the brand’s own journey. As time passed, it became essential to share ODYSSEY’s compelling story with millennial users, injecting fresh vitality into the brand. The new iteration of ODYSSEY was designed to philosophically and functionally inherit the brand’s original spirit — a journey toward refined masculinity through a fragrant skincare ritual — while reinterpreting it with a contemporary sensibility. A sub-brand was developed to reflect the lifestyle and purchasing patterns of discerning men in their 30s. The brand’s persona embodies a man who expresses himself confidently through the brand, approaching skincare not as a mundane routine but as an enriching daily ritual.
To establish a clear brand direction while satisfying both emotional and functional values, the identity was precisely defined — and its design evolved in alignment with this vision.
“Sensory experiences encountered on an endless journey.”
“THE JOURNEY TO AWAKEN YOUR SENSES.”
Brand Concept
The name CHAPTER V draws inspiration from Book V of Homer’s Odyssey, the chapter that most vividly embodies the brand’s philosophical essence. In this part of the ancient Greek epic, Odysseus leaves the nymph’s cave—where eternal youth and comfort await—and sets out on a perilous voyage home. Rejecting immortality by his own choice, he embarks on a journey defined not by ease, but by meaning and discovery. CHAPTER V reinterprets this timeless story for the modern age — as a metaphor for a life that seeks new, unfamiliar sensations. Through meticulously refined ingredients and scents, the brand guides its users on a sensory voyage, inviting them to rediscover the beauty hidden within everyday moments. The brand’s key message: “Sensory experiences encountered on an endless journey.”
Logo Design
The CHAPTER V logo embodies a modern and refined sensibility with a subtle classic touch. Its fundamental structure traces back to the master brand ODYSSEY, inheriting the geometric typography and wide letter spacing that evoke a sense of poise and timeless sophistication. While the ODYSSEY logo conveys solidity and classical form through bold, simplified lines, CHAPTER V introduces finer, more intricate details to express delicacy and nuance. The thinner and lighter typeface reflects the refined, sensitive persona of today’s generation, while the carefully spaced intersections between strokes allow for a sense of air and visual balance. The Roman numeral “V” following the modern and neutral “CHAPTER” preserves the serif detailing found in ancient inscriptions, representing ODYSSEY’s enduring heritage and classical strength. Its distinctive form also subtly guides the viewer to perceive it as the numeral “Five,” rather than simply the letter “V.”
Strategically, the CHAPTER V logo was emphasized to heighten recognition for ODYSSEY’s first new brand in eight years. To maintain a strong connection to its roots, the ODYSSEY logo is displayed alongside it — reinforcing continuity between the legacy and the new chapter of the brand’s journey.
The Roman inscription style “Capitalis Monumentalis,” once used for engraving on stone plaques in ancient times, served as the inspiration for the V typeface in Odyssey Chapter Five. Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash
Bottle Design
Chapter 5 upholds the principle of expressing its classical philosophy and origins through a modern lens. During the search for a design motif, the lighthouse emerged as a symbolic element—representing the brand’s role in guiding users on their journey toward new sensory experiences and inspiring exploration. With its functional yet contemporary silhouette, the lighthouse form harmonizes naturally within the everyday environments of the Chapter 5 persona, embodying both aesthetic and practical value. At the same time, it evokes the narrative of departure found in Book V of The Odyssey and continues the brand’s long-standing themes of the sea and navigation that have defined its 30-year heritage. The lighthouse was distilled to its purest geometric essence—simplified and deconstructed—to convey a clean, modern sensibility.
To appeal to a target persona with a highly refined sense of taste, the product was designed to maximize the emotional value of scent throughout the user experience. Whether placed on a desk for display or held in hand during use, the goal was to evoke the sensation of handling a fine perfume rather than an ordinary skincare product. The larger cap and lower center of gravity, compared to typical cosmetics, draw from design codes commonly found in fragrance bottles. To convey a lyrical and poetic sensibility, the bottle features a subdued CMF with a matte texture reminiscent of plaster sculpture, complemented by a graphic layout that emphasizes negative space.
Various bottle design concepts were proposed around the themes of fragrance and voyage. The unselected drafts will remain in the Odyssey archive as part of its lasting design legacy.
“To evoke the sensation of embarking on an unfamiliar journey,
Chapter 5 employs fragrance as its medium of exploration.”
To evoke a sense of the unknown—as if setting out for an unfamiliar destination—Chapter 5 employs fragrance as its medium. Released in two lines, Chapter 5 presents two distinct yet profound scent themes. The line names, “Lighthouse” and “Sanctuary,” encapsulate the Odyssey brand’s narrative of voyaging toward the unknown within oneself. The lighthouse motif, originating from the shape of the bottle, also influenced the naming of the main line.
The emotional essence of each line is expressed through CMF. The Lighthouse line, symbolizing the light of a new journey with its sweet yet profound neroli and woody base notes, is rendered in warm white, representing the beginning of a voyage from nothingness and the light that guides it. The Sanctuary line, signifying a space of inner reflection reached through one’s voyage, features scents evoking a tranquil forest and meditation. Its deep green hue, nearly black, conveys the serene mystery of a misty forest at dawn.
Package Design
The themes of sailing and departure used in the bottle design were reinterpreted in a modern way for the package design. Its graphic layout draws inspiration from boarding tickets issued to passengers setting sail toward the unknown. The perforation on the front of the box takes its cue from the punched marks on a checked ticket, symbolizing the trace of departure.
The wide margins, distinctive colors, and subtly rough matte texture of the unit box preserve the lyrical mood conveyed by the bottle’s fragrance. To express the emotional function of awakening new senses through scent, the fragrance notes are presented on the package—much like a perfume box. By maintaining a consistent visual and tactile sensibility and unified theme across the bottle, box, and set, the design aims to deliver a cohesive and immersive brand experience for the user.
Visual
In the visuals, we sought to present the product sensorially—centered around light and the unfamiliar yet mysterious space that embodies the narrative of Chapter Five. Throughout the process, modern composition and classical themes were harmonized. The intense beams of light that run through the visuals symbolize the light that guides the persona on his journey. The dramatic contrasts of light and shadow evoke the heightened drama of classical epics, while natural elements and symbolic props tied to the Odyssey narrative emphasize the brand’s classical heritage. At the same time, structural, geometric backgrounds and contemporary spatial arrangements express a modern sensibility. Through this deliberate tension—between classicism and modernity, familiarity and strangeness—Chapter Five conveys a world that embodies the pursuit of new sensations.
Reinterpreting a deeply classical brand in a new and modern light while preserving its heritage was a challenging yet meaningful endeavor. Just as Homer’s Odyssey, the ancient Greek epic from which the brand takes its name, has been read and reimagined for nearly three millennia while retaining its archetypal message, the ODYSSEY brand aspires to communicate across generations—continuously evolving in expression, yet unwavering in its core values.
