tomaz tijerina konja
i am an industrial designer who works across disciplines, combining hands-on making with a deep interest in discursive and experimental design.
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tomazkonja@gmail.com
@tomazkonja
5. Vitreous, 2024
Designer
Traditional Sketching
Model Making
3D Modeling
3D Rendering
Rapid Prototyping
N/A
Commercial
Light as Material
This perfume bottle is an exploration of light as a material, a presence, and a way of seeing. Drawing inspiration from the way architects throughout history have used light to evoke the divine, the design treats illumination not merely as something that surrounds an object, but as something that gives it meaning. Just as Gothic cathedrals transform sunlight into color and emotion through stained glass, this vessel uses light to shape the viewer’s experience.
The body of the bottle incorporates intentional cutouts that allow light to pass through its form. These openings function like miniature apertures, creating shifting patterns and luminous fragments that echo the spiritual atmosphere found in historic architectural spaces. To heighten this effect, all flat faces of the vessel are covered in black vinyl. This darkened surface frames the openings, making them more striking and encouraging the eye to follow the light as it moves through the object.
By treating light as the central design element, the bottle becomes both a container and an experience—an intimate reminder of the way illumination has long been used to inspire reflection, clarity, and a sense of the transcendent.
Process
The design process began with the creation of a persona to guide the direction of the work. I chose a middle-aged architect, someone who would appreciate thoughtful form, historical reference, and the expressive potential of light. This persona shaped the aesthetic language and helped define the qualities the final product needed to embody.
From this starting point, I generated a wide range of sketches across four design categories: traditional organic forms, experimental organic forms, traditional geometric forms, and experimental geometric forms. These variations allowed me to explore how different shapes could interact with light and how each style might appeal to the imagined user.
After selecting several promising sketches, I moved into three-dimensional exploration through foam modeling. Four concepts were translated into physical forms, giving me the opportunity to evaluate scale, proportion, and the way light played across the surfaces. When the final direction emerged, I refined the chosen form by adding depth, detail, and the precise cutouts that would later shape the visual effect of the bottle.
With the physical model resolved, I recreated the form digitally in Fusion 360 to ensure accuracy and consistency. The digital model was rendered with materials to preview how the vessel would behave in real lighting conditions and to confirm the visual contrast between the darkened faces and the illuminated cutouts.
The next stage involved 3D printing the design and preparing the surfaces. I copied the dimensions of the flat faces to produce custom vinyl pieces, which were cut and applied to create the dark planes that frame the openings. After assembling all components, the final product emerged: a vessel that uses its form, materials, and apertures to explore the beauty of light in a manner reminiscent of architectural spaces.