Introducing the new Brick Architect
Three years on, Brick Architect is growing! I’m excited to include more stories from a wide range of contributing authors. To celebrate, the Brick Architect has a new logo and updated visual style.
In addition to longform articles, The Brick Architect website contains a wide range of resources by Tom Alphin including information about his book The LEGO Architect, the LEGO Storage Guide, LEGO Brick Labels, and a list of Unofficial LEGO Architecture Sets. (The site will be updated soon to include information about commissioned projects by Tom Alphin, which also fall under the Brick Architect branding.)
More stories, more voices
I started writing LEGO Architecture articles in 2013 at tomalphin.com, and created Brick Architect three years ago as a place to focus on LEGO topics, and to help promote my book The LEGO Architect. Until recently, I wrote all of the articles on the Brick Architect website, which allowed for a consistent voice and perspective, but also meant gaps during holidays or when I was busy with other projects.
That’s why I’m proud to expand the Brick Architect website to include stories from a range of talented LEGO enthusiasts. The focus will remain on topics which relate loosely to LEGO & Architecture topics, but I hope to expand the focus over time as the team of writers grows.
What makes Brick Architect unique?
With dozens of excellent LEGO websites out there and hundreds of smaller hobbyist sites, what makes Brick Architect unique? This is an important question to answer as we grow and look to the future.
Our mission: Provide the highest quality in-depth stories about LEGO and Architecture.
I say “stories” deliberately—it is our mission to offer articles that go beyond the latest LEGO news headlines, by offering additional analysis and context in each article. By aiming to tell stories, we ensure that each article has a clear focus, and wraps up with a conclusion or next step for readers to take. I hope this keeps people coming back to Brick Architect for the highest quality LEGO journalism.
To better understand the focus of the Brick Architect website, let’s look at how we fit in amongst related websites…
- The Brick Architect is not a database – Brickset and BrickLink do a great job of cataloguing official LEGO sets (including LEGO Architecture themes), so we don’t need to do it too.
The guide to Unofficial LEGO Architecture Sets is an exception; it fills a gap in these sites. - The Brick Architect is not a gallery – The Brothers Brick and ArchBrick show off amazing custom LEGO creations, but rarely interview the artists or offer analysis of the building techniques. When we feature custom LEGO models, we will strive to offer additional context, insights, or exclusive interviews with the artists.
- The Brick Architect is not a news site – When we highlight upcoming LEGO Architecture sets, we will take a closer look at the set and offer our best guess of the most interesting parts, part count, and projected retail price.
- The Brick Architect is the place for longform articles and deeper analysis – New Elementary and occasional articles at other sites offer a deep and critical look at the technical side of the LEGO hobby. These have always been my favorite articles to read on those sites, and we aim to offer similarly in-depth content.
If you like what we’re doing, please bookmark the Brick Architect and visit frequently, add us to your news reader, or join our mailing list.
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Want to help write stories for the Brick Architect?
I’m still looking for new voices to expand the perspective of the Brick Architect. You can help interview other LEGO Artists, write a review of LEGO Sets you’ve built, or offer analysis of various LEGO and Architecture topics. I will help your articles look great, and you will always be credited for your work.
Email tom@tomalphin.com if you want to participate. You will join a group of talented writers from around the world who are working together to create great content for fellow LEGO enthusiasts.
A new look for a growing brand
In addition to growing the team, I am excited to revise elements of the Brick Architect visual style, most notably a new logo. The new logo was designed to stand out in a growing field of LEGO websites, and the logo design includes small nods to the LEGO brick that we’re all here for.
Logo design notes:
- Yellow is one of the oldest LEGO colors, and the second most prominent color in the LEGO branding after red. By using yellow as the primary color for the site and logo, we have a unique personality compared to many other LEGO sites.
It’s also the color used on the spine of my book, The LEGO Architect. That’s what inspired me to try using yellow in the first place. - The logo features a prominent “slash” between the B and A which evokes the italic text of the LEGO logo.
- The logo can be adapted to look good on a variety of background colors. It also can be simplified into a black and white version.
- The logo is simple enough that it is legible when used as a tiny favicon shown in tabs of your web browser.
The new logo and brand refresh will help promote the great stories you can read at Brick Architect, as well as the valuable resources for advanced builders we offer such as the LEGO Storage Guide & LEGO Brick Labels. (The revised branding will also be used for commissioned LEGO projects by Tom Alphin, which will be the topic of a future article.)
I like the new logo, but in my humble opinion, it’s too “architect” and not “brick” enough. One can guess looking at it that it’s about architecture, but not about the lego brick. Otherwise colors scheme and overall design are good.
Fredko, I think that is fair feedback. I wonder if it would be more LEGO’y if I used both the classic LEGO Red color and the yellow color. I might try it!
Thanks for visiting and the constructive feedback!
—tom
Dear Tom. Maybe if studs appeared on the left edge of the square formed by the logo, or something so, it would help to make it more clear and obvious at first glance? I’m no expert in design nor at architecture, but as a long lego fan, user, and reading your news and articles, I think it should help if something clearly “lego-like” was instantly recognizable. Otherwise as told before the logo is clear, attractive and symbolic. Kind regards, Fredko.