What It's Like to Be a Professional Lego Designer
As Simon Lucas sees IT, he's a lucky man. We'd accord. We'd as wel call him diligent and dedicated, and someone World Health Organization successful a career out of his passion: building Legos. A Lego set fan since childhood, he grew up — like most of us — clicking together those plastic bricks ("I used to represent a Lego pirates kid," helium says. "I preferred the boats.").
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But patc virtually of our career paths led to a in spades less fun solar day job, Lucas's wandered through a delightful forest of product invention, ultimately leading him to Lego set world headquarters in Billund, Denmark. Now, a senior creative director at the company, helium's non only responsible for artful galore of the must-have playsets on your Kyd's holiday list, but also for conceiving all the crazy characters, vehicles, and buildings that get along out of the world's most famous fiddle brick factory.
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So, is IT any merriment spending your days busy your brass knucks in Legos? Take a guess. "You know how you meet someone, and they preceptor't in truth like their job?" says Lucas. "I've ne'er really experienced that. I love Lego set. I've loved information technology since I was a kid."
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Fatherly spoke to Lucas about what it's like to play with Lego set for a living, the process of toy development, and the largest Lego chassis He ever made-up.
So, what's your job genuinely like?
When I first started, I was equally a last designer and spent my years creating and construction models from scratch. We'd render to physique out what's the best fashion mode we can soma, how are kids going to play with it, and what are they going to enjoy. Now I lead innovation teams and superintend the creation of the models, A well equally decide what the cartesian product lines will actually be.
How did your career path lead you to Lego?
I've been at Lego just shy of septenar old age now. Before that, I was live in the U.K. and worked at a number of design consultancies creating products for kids. One exemplar, I made a pair of scissors for an American brand called Acme. Which gave me some good experience building an actual carnal product. I too helped design a child's push chair for the brand Mamas and Papas. I also spent fourth dimension working for a big English footwear company called Clarke's. In the U.K., they're the largest kid's footwear brand, and they take in identical similar ethos to Lego. I got all sorts of good children's aim get there.
What are some of the sets you personally worked on or designed?
When I first started, I joined Lego's Bionical team. They're action figures, so it's not your core Lego experience. From there I designed characters on the Torpedo Factory line of descent. Finally, I transitioned into traditional Lego bricks and worked on Castles. The last Rook Line we put retired in 2013, Lego fans may remember, with a big, plastic Lego palace, and each the knights and dragons. I've also light-emitting diode the Ninjago jut out since 2012.
How do you come up with the ideas for your several sets?
You often showtime with something picture. For case, with the Castle line you have to have the knights, you have the palace, bad guys, etc. They usually like to get some gold, so you build a world around that. With something like Ninjago, similarly, we started with the idea of ninjas. We just thought, that's a cool area nobody's heed to right now. And all metre we showed kids different characters, they likeable the ninjas. In a kids' eyes, they are a rattling well-trained, awesome hoagy. Soh we wanted to build a world around that simply with a Lego spin on IT, add a fantasy element. We gave them elemental powers and just launched the Ninjago world.
That said, we always start with a simple, initial concept. We make one key visual, where it's a very simplistic story, and seat drink down with kids to see what they guess. We often find if kids interpret that level, that's one thing. But information technology's when they start telling their own stories — he can offer and serve that, and this guy is best friends with that guy — that's a really good sign. That's what we wish. We want to spark their imagination. And that's how we sleep with in that location's huge scope in this world, and we can create more fun things.
What's the process of developing/designing a Lego set ahead?
We have all the bricks at our home bas in Denmark. So, that's a good starting point, that unrestricted creative thinking. Our design team is very interracial. It includes citizenry from very different creative backgrounds who are also — and I mean this in a very nice way because I include myself in information technology — a bunch of geeks. We're into popular culture, and we are inspired by everything from movies to comics to literature. The knowledge of popular culture within that building is incredible. That just inspires and helps us come up with these new things.
When they build their concept models, sometimes the models power be a little crazy and out there, but we ever ask kids, "Is this Ninjago? Does this scene into that world?" And sometimes they respond, "No. That's weird." Nothing can prepare you for hearing a child tell you, "That model is direful."
Do you have a favorite Lego coiffe?
The Ninjago movie billet has been a career mellow for me. Ninjago Urban center, which is the biggest Ninjago prepare we've e'er successful, that's a section of the City you'll see in the moving picture. It gets a universal 'wow' from children and adults. In fact, I just built that unmatchable myself to have at internal. That's in all likelihood my favorite set that I've ever been involved. That operating theater the new Destiny's Bounty. That model ticks all the boxes of what I wanted in the boats when I was a tike.
Now, every bit someone happening the inside, we figure you suffer some sobering building chops. What's the largest model you've personally assembled?
The Ninjago City. IT's about 4,967 pieces. It's non the largest Lego model ever. We just got absolutely eclipsed away our Millennium Falcon, which is close to 8,000 pieces, but it's certainly the biggest role model I've ever been involved with.
At last, what's worse than stepping on a Lego?
Probably the expletives that come come out of your mouth after you step connected nonpareil. Information technology's a natural reaction to curse. Lego bricks are afflictive.
This interview has been edited for brevity and uncloudedness.
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