Hum by Colgate

A new direct-to-consumer product launch from the world’s top dental care brand.

For Colgate, launching a new smart toothbrush into a crowded marketplace was no small feat. Hum represented their first foray into creating a standalone, premium product not primarily branded as Colgate. In the product category, smart toothbrushes tend to either be beautiful but ineffective, or heavily technical but unappealing. Hum walks the line of beauty and utility, and Colgate hired Upstatement to design the full digital experience to feel as premium as the product they created.

What We Did

  • Visual Design
  • Art Direction
  • Web Development

What We Made

Website
Three hum electric toothbrushes standing next to each other.

A first for Colgate

We wanted to help the brush immediately feel real, and for people to be able to see how effortlessly it would fit into their lives. While the features of a smart toothbrush are a bit complicated to explain, we sought to make the Hum experience feel simple and necessary through art direction and interaction.

3D animations helped the brushes feel tangible and compelling through a screen, and slick product photography against bold backgrounds help give the product a fashion vibe.

The homepage of the hum website on mobile.
The product page of the hum website on mobile.
Close up of the hum toothbrush.
An image of the hum eletric toothbrush. An image of the hum eletric toothbrush. An image of the hum eletric toothbrush.

Elevated Shopping Experience

The site needed to play the dual role of providing deep information on the product and allowing visitors to purchase directly through the site or in-store. We helped Colgate think about shaping the site as a hub for Hum – removing all possible barriers to purchase, however people choose to do so.

Art Direction

In order to show off the brand-new brush, we paired witty lifestyle photography and elegant product shots. For the homepage hero image, we enlisted photographer Bryan Edwards (and his 3D printer for custom prop styling). Next, we worked with photographer Emily Simms to develop a series of stylized scenes that suggest an identity and narrative around the Hum brush. Close crops of hands interacting with the brushes provide a playful, humanizing touch without losing focus on the product, and the rich colors and textures build the sensorial world of Hum.