Intentions
Toothpaste branding is rarely adventurous, though toothpaste is everpresent as part of most people’s daily routine. I believed it would be possible to create a toothpaste which people actively wanted to keep visible in their bathroom, rather than hidden in a cupboard.
Execution
I experimented with a range of stylistic approaches to toothpaste, but the most iconic visual heritage of the product, to my eyes, has got to be Victorian. I believe this linkage explains the success of both Marvis and Euthymol, and I wanted to create a product that married Victorian visual excess and silliness with something cleaner in a more contemporary style. Effectively, odd but crisp. Oddity Script, a rare reverse-stress script font, conveyed this perfectly, and once I’d edited Basteleur with a wavy outline, the two complemented each other nicely. While Basteleur references medieval Insular cript rather than anything Victorian, I found the overall effect spoke in the right voice. Its serifs also suggested teeth, which definitely helped. I then digitised Arthur Rackham’s 1907 Cheshire cat as an occasional mascot.