A revolutionary musical instrument for children, invented in Poland has won the most prestigious design award. iF Design Award 2017 goes to Musicon!
– We are extremely happy to receive this award. What is incredible is that the award night is right after the launching our Kickstarter campaign. The campaign launch date is March 1st and it will help us to receive enough funding to begin production of Musicons – explains Kamil Laszuk, designer of Musicon.
Musicon is a miniature laboratory of sounds, physics and mechanics. This unique musical instrument is designed to promote psychophysical and cognitive development. Musicon allows users to simultaneously compose and perform musical pieces.
Musicon contains three instruments: mill, drum and xylophones, each held magnetically on an acoustic frame. The holding system is easy and enables the addition of other instruments, including strings, and shakers.The possibilities are endless and the set will grow with new extensions.
The children are able to see the process of music making, from composition to performance. Interaction with Musicon begins with the push of a button, followed by another and another. The instrument inspires and fascinates with the movement of its various mechanical, sound producing parts. What is also very important is that the effect is always rewarding and it motivates further exploration.
Musicon engages children to be imaginative and spontaneous. Not only does it entertain – it educates just as effectively. Playing with Musicon helps children develop their social, motor and computational skills.That is why Musicon is suitable for private homes, general education facilities and any other places where children are able to learn and play – says Kamil Laszuk.
Our Kickstarter campaign starts on March 1st, 2017. During the campaign Musicons will be available starting at $2500 and it will be the premiere edition.
Awards
During the design phase Musicon has been displayed around the World and received many globally recognized design awards, including iF Design Award, Red Dot Design Award, Core77, Polish Children Design Award, nomination to INDEX: design to improve life.
– iF DESIGN AWARD 2017 (award night 10.03.17)
– Red Dot Design Award – Design Concept winner 2012
– Core77 – 1st prize winner in Customer Products, Students Category 2012
– Polish Children Design Award – 1st prize winner 2012
– INDEX: design to improve life – nomination 2013
The Story
The Musicon design was developed by Kamil Laszuk (kamillaszuk.pl) as a graduation thesis in 2011 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland. Musicon is a creative mashup of its creators’ two passions: design and music. The design was based on research of musical impact on children‘s psychophysical development.
The project was continued in cooperation with an interdisciplinary team of educators and music specialists. Finally, in 2016, after 18 months of intense prototyping, a fully functional prototype was created. It is ready for serial production.
With Musicon’s prototype, the team have visited dozens of places and tested the set with hundreds of children, educators, parents and musicians.
What’s more, Musicon is also a great therapeutic tool for children on the autism spectrum and children with various physical, social and cognitive disabilities.
Benefits
During the play with Musicon children get to:
• Develop creativity
• Develop heating
• Develop musical talents
• Learn cooperation
• Develop computational skills
• Under stand mechanics by experiencing the mechanizm of the instrument
• Learn cogind – it’s literally a binary system
• Plan, design and fulfill various tasks
• Develop imagination
• Develop logical thinking
• Comprehend music therapy
• Comprehend hand skills
• Develop fine motor skills
Design
● High quality, precision and safety
Sound precision, harmony, and tempo result from the highest precision of tools used to build Musicon. It is a fusion of traditional materials and modern high-tech production technology. Musicon is completely safe for children ages 2 and up. It contains a special clutch, which cuts off power whenever the drum experiences excessive resistance.
● The aseptic material – wood
Wood was the obvious choice when deciding which material to use for Musicon. It has warmth, softness and aseptic properties, and it has often been the traditional material used in toys and instruments. With age, wood gathers history and soul.
● 720 Buttons!
They work like a ballpoint pen. The colors show if a button is activated or not, even from a distance. By activating buttons, children get to “draw” patterns or geometrical figures.
The Musicons – The Band
“The Musicons” is a band that was created as a way of reaching children. The Musicons are three puppets who engage and entertain kids. Children are fascinated by puppets and interact with them, which lead to an overcoming of shyness and greater use of speech. The interaction also encourages concentration and the use of the imagination.
The Musicons help children and adults enter the creative world of music and guide them through the process of learning about music, coding and math. Kids love Charlie, Ringo and Jaco!
Each member of the band is also an avatar of kids’ personalities:
● Charlie, the Saxophone – the leader of the Musicons. He is very emotional and sensitive.
● Ringo, the Drum – he is very energetic, fast and active.
● Jaco, the Doublebass – he is very smart and intelligent, loves to count.
The Team
From the very beginning it’s been a family project. In the last 6 years Kamil Laszuk and his sister Ida Laszuk have gathered the best experts in their fields to join the Musicon team. Now the team is a group of musicians, designers, engineers and child specialists who believe that Musicon can change the early childhood education. The team consists of about 25 people.
Musicon is a privately funded family company. The Musicon’s Kickstarter campaign in live now: bit.do/Musicon-KS
Contact Information:
Website: www.musiconclub.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com
Email: hello@musiconclub.com, Kuba@makemusicon.com, Ida@makemusicon.com
