“It helps us stay sharp.” Mouthwash Studio’s Research Center gives R&D the attention it deserves

For a few years now, the team at Mouthwash Studio has been thinking about their R&D process – an integral part of their practice that keeps the cogs turning and leads them to the impactful, contextual work they’ve come to be known for, but equally, a slice of the creative process that often goes unseen. To give research and experimentation a space of its own, the team launched the Mouthwash Research Center as a playground for boundless creativity, with no constraints in sight. The new vertical has let the studio tap into many things at once – it presents an opportunity to learn new skills and techniques, throw the rulebook out the window, and allows each member of the team the space to push themselves outside of their discipline and department. But perhaps, most importantly, it’s given Mouthwash the chance to redefine what it means to ‘create,’ making experiments that help tease one’s skill sets and imagination just as important as commercial work. “To only commit to client work, to playing it safe, and sticking with what we know works, is like trying to drive while only looking in the rearview mirror,” says Alex Tan, Partner, Direction & Strategy. To learn more about the project and where it promises to take the studio next, we huddled with the team. Tan – along with Partners & Designers Mackenzie Freemire and Ben Mingo, and Partner & Creative Director Abraham Campillo – give us a peek into how the Research Center has allowed the team to think differently, and why R&D at Mouthwash is now getting the limelight it deserves. RB: Hi Abraham, Mackenzie, Ben and Alex! How are things at Mouthwash?