Boo? No, just Bu.

Why do we have a monster as our mascot, you might ask?

Let's be honest. Although Bu poses as a monster, he's far from being one! He might try to make himself tall by raising his arms, he might make his big eyes wider, he can show his teeth and even give a haunting noise a go – but trying as hard as he might, he just isn't scary! He is way too tame and way too shy. In posing as a dreadful monster, he is pretty pathetic and even kind of cute. So we take him for what he is and accept him without fear.

When we were first asked to create a mascot for a coeliac disease awareness project, we thought: heck… how does one draw a disease!? A disease, which one knows very little, almost nothing about? As we learned more about it, we learned that how we felt was quite similar to how patients feel when first diagnosed. 

It must be pretty scary to be informed you have a lifelong disease you know little or nothing about. Your imagination runs wild, painting scary pictures and filling your head with grim prospects. But thankfully, with awareness-raising projects such as this one, coeliac disease is getting more and more well known, and as such, less and less scary.

That's precisely the story behind our mascot. That's how the monster idea came to be. Once one can see one's "monster "and take a good look at it, one realises it is way less scary than first imagined. Actually, it's not scary at all! It's trying to be, yes. But we know better now, don't we? 

Hopefully, patients with coeliac disease will be able to relate. Once they are well informed about the condition, get the needed medical treatment and support and are provided with easy access to all the required information, advice, practical tips for daily life, recipes, and general support by the local environment, "the monster" disappears. 

It becomes this little fellow, Bu, an awkward little sidekick constantly making funny faces and funny noises yet frightening no one. On the contrary! Bu reminds everyone diagnosed with coeliac disease to live fully and without fear.

Maja Pirš,

creative director, Studio 8