Featured image for Keep Your Pearly Whites Happy With HAHA Dental Positive

Keep Your Pearly Whites Happy With HAHA Dental Positive

by Casha Doemland on 04/08/2019 | 3 Minute Read

When it comes to taking care of your pearly whites, there are endless possibilities to choose from between the plethora of flosses, toothpaste and mouthwashes available. It can be overwhelming, particularly when you start comparing prices, ingredients and flavors.

HAHA Dental Positive, a concept by design student Anastasiya Tsirkina, would eliminate the head-scratching at the store because the design is one-of-a-kind. With a pink background and big ole chompers gracing the cylindrical tube, it's hard to ignore, especially with their out-of-this-world product names, Moonlight, Illuminate and Space Oddity (because who doesn't love a good Bowie reference).

Smitten with the package design, we interviewed Tsirkina about the inspiration behind the project.


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Walk us through the design process. How did you go from start to finish on this project?

We received the topic from the curator and began the study in groups. We talked with a potential audience, conducted market surveys, looked through trends and even consulted with dentists. I also spoke with friends, relatives and colleagues about what oral products they used. Consequently, we discovered lots of exciting findings and insights.

From there, everyone started working on their project individually. When we talked with people about toothpaste, many of them joked or honestly admitted that they were embarrassed to talk about it. Someone told me that he was ashamed of smiling and even singing because of uneven teeth.

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I clung to that, and eventually "dental positive" came up.

The project lasted three months, and one-third of it went to the design state. I liked the idea of the brand, but I had struggled a lot to understand how it should look. There were a lot of visual hypotheses, but none of them seemed fair enough to me.

I discussed my doubts with a colleague and at some point jokingly said, "I'll just draw the teeth on the package as they are."

Soon enough, it happened.

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How does HAHA Dental Positive support the idea of caring for your teeth with love?

All the communication is aimed at getting rid of stereotypes associated with the ideal faience smile and the liberation of people from their complexes. No retouching, just real people. I would also like to see this brand engaged in socially significant projects. After the project was finished, I was lucky enough to get to the exhibition in Fotografiska, Stockholm, made together with Operation Smile. It documents the work of the organization in Asia. They change people's lives, and it's very inspiring.

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Why did you opt to create a tube made of eco-plastic?

It's no secret that the fight against plastic is now extremely relevant. Many giant brands are concerned about the reduction of the plastic used in the package. For example, LEGO is gradually introducing eco-plastic in the production of its parts. Eco-friendly plastic allows us to reduce our dependence on raw fossil materials. For me, environmental awareness of the brand is a big advantage. It also demonstrates that the design should be responsible for the product at any design stage.

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How have modern brands of toothpaste created a lot of stereotypes, and how is HAHA Dental Positive different?

I think HAHA Dental Positive is a passion for realism. For example, everyone person has a "good side" and is trying to highlight this side on camera or when taking a selfie for Instagram. HAHA is about both sides, and absolute honesty. It's about loving both the "good" and "bad" sides because there is no place for stereotypes in beauty.