Vita
Longevity is at the heart of everything I design. But when I examined today’s oral care market, I saw a culture of disposability. This approach is wasteful and unsustainable. What if a toothbrush could be different? What if it was crafted to last, designed to be loved, and worth keeping for a lifetime? This is the idea behind Vita.
Client: Personal Project
Software: Blender, Figma, Photoshop
Timeline: February - August 2024
Design Process
[ 1 ] Primary Inspiration
Key Themes: Luxury, Weight, Cold to the Touch, Glossy Surface, Gifts, Jewellery, Status, Modular, Silicon Bristles, White, Clean
Longevity and Luxury: Through my research, it became clear that for this toothbrush to have longevity it needed feel like a luxury product. Luxury products have an inherent sense of quality, they’re the opposite of disposable, which is why when people buy a them they will keep it for many years and even pass them down to future generations.
[ 2 ] Initial Exploration
Cylindrical and Organic Shapes: During the initial sketching phase, I explored a range of forms with little constraints. As toothbrushes predominantly have a cylindrical form, I wanted to explore some curvilinear shapes to see if they had any promise.
[ 3 ] 3D Development
Personal Reflection: Although there are some interesting ideas here, non of these designs gave me that gut feeling to say yes. For example, with the more organic shapes, I tried to explore forms that felt natural and comfortable to hold in the hand, however they felt gimmicky, different for the sake of being different. This lead to start a new ideation phase but with tighter constraint.
[ 4 ] New Exploration
Pill Shapes: I learned from doing the first exploration that I am much better at problem solving when I have to deal with tight constraints. And so, for this new exploration I set out to explore forms using only rectangles and circles in Figma, which were inspired by the rounded corners of Marc Newsons’ work, particularly the Mont Blanc fountain pen.
[ 5 ] 3D Development
Design Takes Shape: This stage involved translating the illustrations into 3D models. A lot of time went into perfecting the transitions between: the handle and the brush stem; the stem and the brush head. Another important feature that emerged in v07 was the idea of having silicon padding around the brush head to protect people from hurting their teeth.
[ 6 ] Grip Exploration
Material Efficiency: Looking back, I would of loved to have 3D printed these designs to decide which grip felt right. At the time however, my reasoning to chose the pill shaped grip was that it would mean less material used, therefore reduce overall manufacturing complexity. I also felt it complimented the pill shape of the protective padding on the brush head.
[ 7 ] Bristle Development
Ergonomics: The bristles were designed to give the best cleaning experience. V05 has a zig zag side profile which allows the bristles to wrap around each tooth and cover as much area as possible. Moreover, the bristles for v05 are arranged in a concentric pattern, which enables a high bristle density whilst still respecting the limitations of injection moulding.
Why Silicon Bristles? The problem with nylon bristles is that they are made from thousands of individual parts, which make them almost impossible to recycle. On the other hand, silicon bristles are made from just one component. I’m aware silicon isn’t as effective as nylon bristles at cleaning but I believe that with more research and development they could be just as effective and be more sustainable.
[ 8 ] Case Exploration
Portability: While exploring different forms for the case, I thought about how people will travel with it. I felt it was important for the case to be feel as thin as possible and to carry only what’s essential. This is why the components inside are carefully arranged and the final design for the case has beveled edges, which I makes the case appear thinner than it actually it.
[ 9 ] Stand Exploration
Diatomaceous Earth: The toothbrush stand is designed to improve bristle hygiene. The problem is water creates the ideal conditions for bacteria to grow. This stand is made from diatomaceous earth which both antimicrobial and water absorbent. It encourages people to rest their toothbrush horizontally which prevent water flowing down the handle and helps to dry the bristles.
Manufacturing
[ 1 ] Exploded View
Final Design
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