Michelle Carlslund
Michelle Carlslund is an illustrator and is best known for her colorful children's universe, which she has developed over the years on, among other things, posters for the children's room, illustrations for the French toy brand, Vilac, and in over 30 children's books that have been published in many languages, including the series of sensory books in huge format, My Very Big Sensory Book.
Here at Unmute, we are incredibly excited about the illustration Michelle has created. Michelle herself says about her ABC poster:
"In my work with the ABC poster, I have focused on creating an illustration that is exciting to discover while at the same time making the system in the alphabet clear. I have put a lot of effort into finding the best animals , so that it will be easy to link the letter sound with the written letter."
"I think it's a perfect way to learn
the alphabet on; with the eyes and ears at once and without it being on one
screen.”
When the toy can say sounds
Michelle was quick to say yes when Unmute approached her about collaborating on an unconventional alphabet poster.
"We love to sing at home and I think it was such a fun idea with the interactive element in the classic ABC poster, which we otherwise know so well. After all, children love when you can press on things and when the toy can make sounds. I think it's a perfect way to learn the alphabet; with the eyes and ears at the same time and without it being on a screen"
- Michelle Carlslund
My children are guinea pigs
Michelle Carlslund lives on Vesterbro in Copenhagen with her husband and their two children, Cleo aged 8 and Otto aged 5.
"It really is a gift to be able to design for a target group that I know so well from my own life. In that way, my children are my two little guinea pigs and they love to give their opinion on my work and come up with good ideas and (sometimes a little too) honest feedback”.
You can follow Michelle's work on Instagram and
on her website www.michellecarlslund.com
Instagram: @michellecarlslund | Website:www.michellecarlslund.com
Visual and auditory stimulation
An ABC poster is a classic in any children's room. Research shows that children learn best through a combination of visual and auditory stimulation, and the effect is even stronger when it happens through play.
It is not without reason that LEGO, with its philosophy of "Learning through Play," is one of the world's biggest toy brands. Unmute's extra layer of music and song reinforces learning through rhythm, rhyme and repetition.
Unmute's ABC poster with song creates the perfect balance where the children are stimulated, but without being overstimulated , as is often seen with YouTube videos and cartoons. At the same time, it provides a good opportunity to get the children away from the screen and engage in a more calm and creative form of learning, which supports their natural curiosity and development.
The artists behind our ABC song
Behind Alma Gade's ABC poster you will find Unmute's ABC song. It plays when you press the bottom of the frame and is sung by Molly Koppel and composed by Sune Carlsson Kølster.
The collaboration between singer Molly Koppel and film composer Sune Kølster has spanned the past twelve years, where Molly has collaborated and sung in a number of short films, feature films and TV series - including award-winning films.
"That's why it was important for us to make a melody that can challenge a bit more than the usual alphabet song that most people know."
A brand new ABC song
"With the music for this Unmute, we have created a completely new ABC song. Children are generally really musical and are super easy to learn, therefore it was important for us to make a melody that can challenge a bit more than the usual alphabet song, which most people know. Precisely because we know that children can learn a bit more complex melodies than they are often faced with, and at the same time, our alphabet song, with its distinctive melody, is more personal for the child with the music, the melody can be part of the children's room right from the start. The music will be able to function as a safe and entertaining element when, for example, the small child needs to be changed or played. Later in kindergarten and school age, the poster will give rise to conversation about letters, words, movement and of course song."
