What would you ask a LEGO Designer?

What have you always wanted to ask a LEGO designer, but never had a chance to do so? Next week, Brick Architect will be at the LEGO HQ in Billund Denmark to get your questions answered.

The LEGO Group has always been good at keeping secrets, but they are also working hard to build great relationships with the Adult Fan of LEGO community (AFOLs). They have invited several influential LEGO websites to a three-day event next week where we will participate in discussions with other AFOLs, presentations by several teams at LEGO, and the unveiling of the new Bugatti Chiron on Friday June 1.

I am most excited for the opportunity to meet one-on-one for interviews with LEGO designers and Community Engagement team members. Each interview is 30-minutes long, so I want to make the most of each session by asking questions which are interesting to Brick Architect readers like you.

Questions for LEGO Set Designers

I want to ask a few questions to each set designer I get an opportunity to talk with. This makes it possible to learn the unique perspecitivies of different designers on the same topic.

A few questions I’m already planning to ask:

  1. How does the limited selection of parts, and limited color palette influence your creative process? Do these limitations enhance your creativity, or interfere with it?
  2. Do you prototype new sets using real bricks or digitally?
  3. What digital design tools do you use, and how do they influence your design process?
  4. Have you had the opportunity to hide easter eggs in the sets you designed?
  5. What set are you most proud of, and why?

While I’m already working hard to create a list of questions that I think are interesting, I need your help! What have you always wanted to know about being a LEGO Set Designer?

Questions for specific teams

I am excited to have the opportunity to meet with several different teams at LEGO. As I mentioned earlier, each interview will be 30 minutes, and I will not get to meet with all of these teams. I wanted to share the list of possible interviews so you can help me ask great questions.

A few of the groups that we may get a chance to interview:

  1. LEGO Architecture
  2. LEGO Creator Expert
  3. LEGO Harry Potter
  4. LEGO Ideas
  5. LEGO Friends
  6. LEGO Minifigures
  7. TT Games
  8. Tormod Askildsen (head of AFOL Engagement)
  9. Signe Lønholdt (senior manager Community Growth / LEGO Ambassador Network)

I am also excited to craft specific questions for specific teams. Do you have questions for any of these specific teams? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Please note that I will not ask questions about unreleased sets, as I know that employees will be unable to answer these questions.

Please reply to this article with your great questions… I’m excited to share what I learn in future articles, and will try to get as many answers as I can!

8 Responses

  1. Tommy says:

    Master wu in Lego ninjago lived From thousands of years because he has oni good , isn’t he ? Who ray and mya live So far like master wu
    I hope you have An answer.

  2. Leigh says:

    Are you gonna make a Technic Lego locomotive steam train

    • Tom Alphin says:

      The LEGO Group does not answer questions about future products, so Fan Media sites like Brick Architect don’t focus on questions like this.

      Personally, I doubt we would see a Technic Steam Train, as there is no Technic-specific train track, and they seem to focus on modern machines. (with a recent emphasis on licensed products like Bugatti and Volvo.)

      Sincerely,
      —Tom

  3. Albatina says:

    how do you get inspiration to design a set? is it from the world around you? or from the pieces themselves?

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Great Question! I asked a variant of this and will be sharing the interviews in the coming weeks.

  4. Reggie says:

    What is your favorite non-licensed Lego theme, and why?

    What non-licensed theme that is no longer active would you bring back, and what direction or personal vision would you add to it?

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Reggie, Great question! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to ask this exact question during the interviews, but hope the interviews are interesting to you when I share them soon.

      —tom

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