Imagine standing out at Kennedy Space Center and feeling the Saturn V Rocket launch boom. Now imagine capturing that iconic moment by designing your own LEGO® replica.
When LEGO® designers work to create a piece based on history, architecture, or franchises we love, we are given some truly outstanding builds that stand the test of time.
The secret to LEGO®? It’s in the design. Let’s look below at how the brick gets brought to life in shelves, playrooms, and collections worldwide.
LEGO® Sets Are, By Nature, Meticulously Designed
LEGO® sets start with the designer. You need an individual with an aesthetic eye for LEGO®. This begins the genesis of a new LEGO® set which starts out with a classical approach of pen, paper, and collaboration. However, this can vary from designer to designer. Some might actually build a prototypical model just for themselves just to get the proportions right, others might resort to painting, sculpting, or any fine-art method to get their blueprint right.
The LEGO® team accomplishes this through collaboration. Sometimes, the beginning phases involve just one designer, and sometimes, upwards of ten to twelve! It all depends on the new set’s build, theme, franchise, and demands.
Most designs require at least a team of four. Those four work together and play well in design harmony.
From Framework To Computer Model
Now, with a hand-crafted design, model, or sculpture LEGO® designers can conceptualize a new creation.
This concept art serves as the blueprint and framework for a set or piece. It is the soul of the process. It is then translated into a three-dimensional model using advanced Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Designers manipulate various elements like texture, color, and finishing touches in this digital playground to bring our LEGO® piece from design all the way to streamlined manufacturing.
Sprinting To Save The New Design
Uploading the design is a breath of fresh air for the LEGO® design team. Nothing is more frightening than working in an intermediary phase of design and losing that build.
Imagine this: You have spent 10 hours writing a thesis for your college course, and by some fluke, you delete it, and it’s gone. The horror. The heart drops. Starting from square one all over again!
LEGO® Designers are excellent craftsmen. However, they are subject to random errors, mistakes, and technological mishaps. When they finally save the design, everyone on the team can take a breath.
Rigorous Testing For An Outstanding Product With Quality Assurance
LEGO® design is a pragmatic blend of logic and imagination. It has to be for us to enjoy the builds.
The design process is not complete without rigorous quality assurance testing to ensure that the sets are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional, fun, and age-appropriate to assemble. Multiple iterations are often required to achieve the perfect fit for the audience. Then, the team works on fine-tuning details to perfection before making a prototype.
These builds have to be safe for the consumer. What if the brick is left out by the sun? What if the build is dropped? Are any pieces shaped in a way that could cause harm? Will this build stay together over time?
LEGO® designers take a multi-dimensional approach so that all the bases are covered for a bright-colored, safe, exceptional build. They constantly ask themselves questions and poke holes in their builds to make the best, new LEGO® set!
The Manufacturing Process Of Making The LEGO® Bricks
The manufacturing process is a marvel of its own. Plastic granules of ABS plastic are subjected to extreme heat, turning into a molten form that’s then injected into metal molds resembling empty LEGO® bricks.
The ABS is superheated to a whopping 450F, where it is then injected into meticulously shaped metal molds for bricks. These are just like regular bricks, except they are made of metal and hollow for the ABS.
Think of them like outrageously complex playdough presses or ice cube trays full of molten-hot LEGO® bricks!
LEGO® Design Is A Harmonious Process
The design process begins and ends with a mutual love for LEGO®. From blueprint to prototype to rigorous testing, a LEGO® brick must go through Olympic trials to get to your living room. Now that you’ve glimpsed behind the scenes, why not start designing some sets yourself?
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