MACHAS

Play Time!

Jonathan Calugi‘s contagiously happy artwork can tell many stories. It goes effortlessly from one end of the decency spectrum to the other. It can describe with a deliciously funny sense of humor the synopsis of self-explicative “Book Of Holes” or create a fantastic world where toddlers can learn their first words.

Design studio Ghost contacted us to develop with Jonathan a puzzle that would teach Norwegian children aged from 0 to 4 years old to say their first words and associate the image with a letter. Not just a toy but an educational tool to promote children’s creativity, teamwork and problem solving specifically aimed at professional. The team at Ghost wanted to involve Jonathan for his “unique, simple, colorful and humorous style to compliment the boxes and engage children and adults.”

Although Jonathan has a quite minimalistic and approachable visual signature, this project required a re-adjustment of the tone to effectively work with children. Each image that Jonathan did (and there were more than 60 of them!) was evaluated by the teachers of a Norwegian kindergarten association.

The constant dialogue between the artist and the teachers brought up an extremely interesting set of knowledge: although one would assume that minimalism is a prerequisite to communicate with children that young, in many cases more was actually more.

What started as a reduced-to-the-essential drawing, it was consequently re-adjusted by the teachers feedback. That was the case of the the Bed: started with a simple, from above view, it had to be reworked with a side, more tridimensional view and with more details.

Some of the images had to be specifically relevant for norwegian toddlers: the House had to recall Norwegian houses, so Jonathan opted for single houses not apartment complex, added lines to the front and specific details to the windows.