How Lego’s obsession with detail has captivated fans for 92 years

In 2024, few corporations have been capable of replicate Lego’s success. Lego’s toys cross generations, from adult hobbyists re-engaging with their favorite toys to the following generation.

Since its humble beginnings in 1932 as nothing greater than a carpenter’s passion project, Lego toys have develop into an indispensable a part of childhood. Name the theme and there is probably a set to go together with it, whether it’s architecture, anime, racing or jazz music.

Over the many years, Lego could well have been replaced by more addictive and fascinating electronic devices. But that hasn’t been the case – if anything, things couldn’t be going higher for the Danish family-owned company, which topped the toy market with record sales in 2023 with revenue growth of two%, reaching 66 billion DKK ($9.7 billion) against a 7% decline across the industry.

So what’s Lego’s secret recipe for keeping children (and more recently adults) hooked on the colourful bricks?

Assets takes an exclusive look behind the scenes of Lego’s product development and learns how the cult brand stays relevant.

One of Lego’s long-standing themes – space – exemplifies what makes its approach unique and helps it stand the test of time. Space was one among the corporate’s three official categories through which it developed toys for the reason that Nineteen Seventies (the others being ‘castle’ and ‘city’). It was meant to represent the mysteries of the longer term, very like castles did for the past. The popularity of space amongst children has continued through the years because it the imagination of youngsters as a realm of infinite possibilities.

“Building Lego is a passion in itself,” said Julia Goldin, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Lego, Assets within the interview.

Listening to the youngsters, for the youngsters

Lego realized early on that the one solution to understand what children want is to listen to directly from them. Goldin says the corporate made this conscious decision about ten years ago, and it has helped the corporate transform the way in which it makes toys.

“What makes a Lego set unique is, first and foremost, really understanding the audience,” Goldin said. “It’s not just about understanding what might be of interest to them, but also what dynamic the experience should have.”

© 2024 The LEGO Group

The quality of Lego bricks is one other factor that sets them apart, because the constructing blocks may be passed down from generation to generation, says Frédérique Tutt, global toy industry consultant at market research firm Circana. Unlike mindless games, parents imagine their children can learn something good from Lego toys, be it technical skills or using their creativity.

“When parents buy Lego for their child, they think it will help them develop their brain,” said Tutt Assets. “She [Lego] attempt to develop products for everybody.”

Turning an idea into reality

As a long-time toymaker, Lego has developed a well-oiled machine that helps it consistently generate latest ideas. The company hosts a “Boost Week” yearly – consider it as a fast brainstorming session typically related to start-ups that sparks latest concepts. The designers develop latest ideas or proceed to work on existing ones, giving them creative freedom outside of their every day schedules. There isn’t any checklist of what must be achieved, although the goal is to see what may be implemented into a possible Lego set, says Daniel Meehan, one among the brick maker’s creative directors.

The next step is to determine how “codable” the models are. This includes searching for elements that tell stories and facilitate play, equivalent to Lego astronauts or purple collectible crystals.

The company not only uses the ideas of its toy developers, but additionally hears directly from its audience.

“We also test the things extensively with children,” said Meehan.

The company brings together kids from everywhere in the world, from Germany to China, to seek out out what they need more. That process produced one among the crucial elements we see in Lego’s space sets today, said Meehan, who’s leading the corporate’s recent space campaign.

During one among the space do-it-yourself tests, one among the youngsters flew around in a wheeled vehicle and picked up aliens – neither of which was a part of the set’s original design.

“We are very practical, we are adults … but in the eyes of the children it was a perfect spacecraft. But there was one complaint: he [the kid] said we need more aliens. And we actually put more aliens in the box because of that one kid,” Meehan said.

© 2024 The LEGO Group

Adding aliens to Lego sets, as in a Lego space stationadds more layers to the otherwise easy set and in addition marks a standard thread that connects sets from other categories. For example, Lego aliens will also be present in the space lab and rover sets. The little green creatures were intentionally designed to look similar to provide Lego builders a signal, says Meehan Assets.

The quality and complexity of Lego can make its products dearer—sometimes dearer than the most recent iPhone. This is particularly true for products which were withdrawn from the market, making them rare. The novelty of the products has made them a collector’s dream and even the topic of Robberies value $100,000 within the USA The company says it offers sets in several price ranges in order that nobody feels overwhelmed. The simplest products can Costs within the single-digit dollar rangein addition to its 7,500-piece Millennium Falcon The set could cost around $960.

For the love of detail

Lego’s attention to quality and detail just isn’t a brand new phenomenon. The company’s founder, Ole Kirk Kristiansen, has made it his own. to his sonwho once tried to hurry up a job by applying two coats as an alternative of three and was reprimanded for doing so.

The attention to detail applies not only to the corporate’s space creations or toy development process, but additionally to the business. Goldin, for instance, attends meetings that review the corporate’s current performance while also discussing plans for the following few years.

The Danish company’s heritage as a toy manufacturer is strongly linked to the way it makes play accessible to all ages, interests and experience levels. The space theme, Meehan explains, can appeal to 3 kinds of audience: storytellers, who are frequently children fascinated by the topic; enthusiasts who’re curious about the sphere; and others who’re generally curious about all things space, including its artistic side.

“Another strength is that their elaborate pieces appeal to young children as well as teenagers and adults. So they grow with them,” said Tutt.

Marc Mueller – Getty Images for the LEGO Summer Birthday Bash

The granular approach also applies to Lego’s pricing and design, in addition to the way it markets sets to its growing adult fan base, ensuring there is a toy for everybody. But one thing is definite: Whatever the motivation, the corporate tries not to scrimp on the main points, because that is what gives Lego toys their character.

Goldin says Lego fans “really notice” the small added elements because they “add a lot of excitement.”

“It’s much more than a toy because it’s a very intense experience,” she said.