LEGO: The Brick That Built an Empire
It is probably Denmark’s most famous product and one of the most popular toys worldwide. Named one of the products of the century by Fortune Magazine in 2001, there’s hardly anyone who hasn’t played with it or had at least heard about it.
The humble plastic LEGO brick has inspired artists, students and educators all over the world into creative enterprises, such as the First LEGO League Robotics Competition, teaching physics or mathematics with it, or using the brick for large-scale paintings, building challenges, etc.
But how this deceivingly simple toy became such a global phenomenon? Thanks to a combination of time, vision, creativity, perseverance and adaptability, all of these qualities that define the spirit of the LEGO toy and the company behind it.
Back in the early 1930's, Ole Kirk Christiansen was a carpenter by trade working in construction when the Great Depression hit Denmark. Suddenly jobless and recently widowed, Ole Kirk had three children to maintain, so he began crafting and selling wooden household items to make ends meet. In order to entertain his children, Ole Kirk also began making wooden toys for them, and when he noticed they enjoyed them, he added them to the items on his sale list.
To his surprise, the toys became a hit and by 1934 he shifted solely to the toy production business, renaming his company ‘LEGO’, the contraction of ‘LEg GOdt’, two Danish words meaning ‘play well’.
Ole Kirk recruited his youngest son, Godtfred, into the company, and continued producing wooden toys until 1947, when they invested in the first plastic injection moulding machine in Denmark. Plastic was the ‘material of the future’ at the time, and Ole Kirk and Godtfred embraced the new technology with open arms, starting a company trend that continues up to this day.
By 1949, LEGO was already selling plastic toys and produced its first building bricks set under the name ‘Automatic Binding Brick’.
Although it did not sell particularly well, several of Godtfred’s marketing ideas arose the public’s interest in it: a change in packaging (from paper bags to colour-printed boxes), a change of name to ‘Lego Mursten’, and the creation of the ‘Lego System of Play’, in which each set was part of a greater composition: a full village.
However, two fundamental changes came in 1958 when Godtfred redesigned the brick, making it deeper and adding tubes underneath it. The final touch was the change of material to the plastic that would become LEGO’s signature for decades to come: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, ABS. With the exception of clear pieces, all LEGO bricks were made henceforth with this new plastic.
The combination of new material and new design meant that the LEGO bricks gained in ‘clutch power’, allowing for a greater adherence between pieces than other plastic bricks with a lesser ratio of expansion and contraction.
From this moment onwards, LEGO gained rapid popularity, quickly expanding throughout Europe and North America, before jumping to the Asian markets, Latin America and the rest of the world.
As years went by, LEGO expanded its family of products to include age and gender-specific lineas such as ‘DUPLO’ (for toddlers) and ‘LEGO Technics’ (for boys), and introduced ever-fresh designs, themes, visuals and products.
In 1968, they opened the LEGO-themed park ‘Legoland’ in Billund, Denmark, and later on they furthered their expansion to include books (LEGO Publishing, in association with Dorling Kindersley and Random House), a clothing line (LEGO Kids wear), board games, video games and, more recently, online games and appcessories.
In 2014, and following a successful series of animated television shorts, the first ‘LEGO Movie’ was released to great public acclaim. Created with a combination of CGI and live action, the film captured the look and feel of the actual LEGO pieces, in a story faithful to the spirit that originated the company.
Building bricks were nothing new, having existed in the toy universe since ancient times, but they were considered toys for pre-school children. LEGO brick’s novel design and its clever change of material allowed for a greater building firmness, and complex design possibilities not seen before in this type of toy, which immediately made it appealing to a wider public.
Moreover, unlike other building toys (such as meccano) from the very beginning LEGO was marketed to both boys and girls, thus expanding their sales reach by twofold.
In addition to their successful feel for the wishes of the toy-buying public, LEGO’s partnership with different corporations and organizations beyond the toy industry have expanded the reach of the brand. Associations with Nintendo, Lucasfilm, Disney, Pixar and Ferrari, among many others, has meant that LEGO has expanded its visibility and has crossed over to other markets beyond the children’s toy realm.
From the beginning, LEGO’s business style became the source of their financial success. For instance, although the LEGO group opened ‘Legoland’ in Denmark in 1968, they later sold it to the British theme park corporation ‘Merlin Entertainments’, which now manages all Legoland parks around the world. However, a parent company of the LEGO Group, KIRKBI, now owns approximately one third of ‘Merlin Entertainments’, which allows them a good deal of control on the use of the brand in these parks.
However, in spite of its worldwide sales success, the LEGO Group has never forgotten their primary source of inspiration: children. In 1985 they founded the LEGO Prize, awarding cash prizes to exceptional efforts on behalf of children. The LEGO Foundation has also partnered with the UNHCR and UNICEF to protect children’s rights and change the way in which they learn.
Learning is one of the fundamental components of the concept behind LEGO, and since 1980 they established an educational department, Dacta, in order to come up with products that would help children learn while they play. Since then, they have developed the ‘LEGO Technic Computer Control’ which interacted with PC’s, ‘LEGO Technics’, DUPLO Mosaic, ‘LEGO Mindstorms’, ‘Robolab’ and the electric building systems ‘Power Functions’, among many other products.
This mix of fun and technology is also part of LEGO’s primary vision: to adapt its products to the rising tendencies of the market in order to stay relevant. From its first change of materials in 1947, embracing the novelty of plastic, to the launch of their first battery-driven train in 1966, LEGO has never shied away from experimenting with the newest technologies available at the moment.
Innovation in design, and marketing strategies that follow the pulse of the times have helped to keep the product fresh and stay afloat in an increasingly competitive market. However, in recent years, LEGO has returned to the roots of their first products, also as a response to the public’s wish for the more traditional toy.
But if LEGO is adaptable to new technological tendencies, it has also proved sensitive to social change. In 2003, and after nearly 25 years since the introduction of the first minifigures, they decided to change the typical yellow face to portray different skin tones, different facial expressions and hair styles, in an effort to represent a wider racial diversity.
Then, in 2016, they introduced their first disabled character - a minifigure on a wheelchair- as a response to a more inclusive society. This inclusiveness has also expanded to the roles played by the minifigures, to include women doctors, women astronauts, fathers caring for their babies, etc.
Following this same line of social responsibility, LEGO announced in 2015 their shift of material to a more eco-conscious form of plastic, in response to a change in the consumer’s perception of plastic (in view of the global plastic pollution crisis) and the company’s responsibility with the planet.
A year later, LEGO opened a Sustainable Materials Center in Denmark which would develop a form of sustainable, biodegradable plastic and other materials, with a plan of action that spans for the next 15 years, helping thus in the protection of the environment on a global scale.
Endlessly entertaining, educational, accessible, inclusive and eco-conscious - LEGO hits the bullseyes in all targets, and given their gift for reinvention, we’ll have their colourful bricks and toys for more years of unmitigated fun.
For a detailed timeline of LEGO’s history since 1934, go to: https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the_lego_history
Sources: LEGO.com, Codex99.com, Wikipedia
The humble plastic LEGO brick has inspired artists, students and educators all over the world into creative enterprises, such as the First LEGO League Robotics Competition, teaching physics or mathematics with it, or using the brick for large-scale paintings, building challenges, etc.
"Unicorn" by photographer Alain Samsofy, 2017
But how this deceivingly simple toy became such a global phenomenon? Thanks to a combination of time, vision, creativity, perseverance and adaptability, all of these qualities that define the spirit of the LEGO toy and the company behind it.
A Bit of History
Back in the early 1930's, Ole Kirk Christiansen was a carpenter by trade working in construction when the Great Depression hit Denmark. Suddenly jobless and recently widowed, Ole Kirk had three children to maintain, so he began crafting and selling wooden household items to make ends meet. In order to entertain his children, Ole Kirk also began making wooden toys for them, and when he noticed they enjoyed them, he added them to the items on his sale list.
To his surprise, the toys became a hit and by 1934 he shifted solely to the toy production business, renaming his company ‘LEGO’, the contraction of ‘LEg GOdt’, two Danish words meaning ‘play well’.
Ole Kirk recruited his youngest son, Godtfred, into the company, and continued producing wooden toys until 1947, when they invested in the first plastic injection moulding machine in Denmark. Plastic was the ‘material of the future’ at the time, and Ole Kirk and Godtfred embraced the new technology with open arms, starting a company trend that continues up to this day.
By 1949, LEGO was already selling plastic toys and produced its first building bricks set under the name ‘Automatic Binding Brick’.
Although it did not sell particularly well, several of Godtfred’s marketing ideas arose the public’s interest in it: a change in packaging (from paper bags to colour-printed boxes), a change of name to ‘Lego Mursten’, and the creation of the ‘Lego System of Play’, in which each set was part of a greater composition: a full village.
However, two fundamental changes came in 1958 when Godtfred redesigned the brick, making it deeper and adding tubes underneath it. The final touch was the change of material to the plastic that would become LEGO’s signature for decades to come: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, ABS. With the exception of clear pieces, all LEGO bricks were made henceforth with this new plastic.
The combination of new material and new design meant that the LEGO bricks gained in ‘clutch power’, allowing for a greater adherence between pieces than other plastic bricks with a lesser ratio of expansion and contraction.
From this moment onwards, LEGO gained rapid popularity, quickly expanding throughout Europe and North America, before jumping to the Asian markets, Latin America and the rest of the world.
As years went by, LEGO expanded its family of products to include age and gender-specific lineas such as ‘DUPLO’ (for toddlers) and ‘LEGO Technics’ (for boys), and introduced ever-fresh designs, themes, visuals and products.
In 1968, they opened the LEGO-themed park ‘Legoland’ in Billund, Denmark, and later on they furthered their expansion to include books (LEGO Publishing, in association with Dorling Kindersley and Random House), a clothing line (LEGO Kids wear), board games, video games and, more recently, online games and appcessories.
In 2014, and following a successful series of animated television shorts, the first ‘LEGO Movie’ was released to great public acclaim. Created with a combination of CGI and live action, the film captured the look and feel of the actual LEGO pieces, in a story faithful to the spirit that originated the company.
The Secret of the LEGO Success
Building bricks were nothing new, having existed in the toy universe since ancient times, but they were considered toys for pre-school children. LEGO brick’s novel design and its clever change of material allowed for a greater building firmness, and complex design possibilities not seen before in this type of toy, which immediately made it appealing to a wider public.
Traditional wooden building blocks
Moreover, unlike other building toys (such as meccano) from the very beginning LEGO was marketed to both boys and girls, thus expanding their sales reach by twofold.
In addition to their successful feel for the wishes of the toy-buying public, LEGO’s partnership with different corporations and organizations beyond the toy industry have expanded the reach of the brand. Associations with Nintendo, Lucasfilm, Disney, Pixar and Ferrari, among many others, has meant that LEGO has expanded its visibility and has crossed over to other markets beyond the children’s toy realm.
From the beginning, LEGO’s business style became the source of their financial success. For instance, although the LEGO group opened ‘Legoland’ in Denmark in 1968, they later sold it to the British theme park corporation ‘Merlin Entertainments’, which now manages all Legoland parks around the world. However, a parent company of the LEGO Group, KIRKBI, now owns approximately one third of ‘Merlin Entertainments’, which allows them a good deal of control on the use of the brand in these parks.
However, in spite of its worldwide sales success, the LEGO Group has never forgotten their primary source of inspiration: children. In 1985 they founded the LEGO Prize, awarding cash prizes to exceptional efforts on behalf of children. The LEGO Foundation has also partnered with the UNHCR and UNICEF to protect children’s rights and change the way in which they learn.
Learning is one of the fundamental components of the concept behind LEGO, and since 1980 they established an educational department, Dacta, in order to come up with products that would help children learn while they play. Since then, they have developed the ‘LEGO Technic Computer Control’ which interacted with PC’s, ‘LEGO Technics’, DUPLO Mosaic, ‘LEGO Mindstorms’, ‘Robolab’ and the electric building systems ‘Power Functions’, among many other products.
This mix of fun and technology is also part of LEGO’s primary vision: to adapt its products to the rising tendencies of the market in order to stay relevant. From its first change of materials in 1947, embracing the novelty of plastic, to the launch of their first battery-driven train in 1966, LEGO has never shied away from experimenting with the newest technologies available at the moment.
Battery-operated electric model, 1968
Innovation in design, and marketing strategies that follow the pulse of the times have helped to keep the product fresh and stay afloat in an increasingly competitive market. However, in recent years, LEGO has returned to the roots of their first products, also as a response to the public’s wish for the more traditional toy.
But if LEGO is adaptable to new technological tendencies, it has also proved sensitive to social change. In 2003, and after nearly 25 years since the introduction of the first minifigures, they decided to change the typical yellow face to portray different skin tones, different facial expressions and hair styles, in an effort to represent a wider racial diversity.
Then, in 2016, they introduced their first disabled character - a minifigure on a wheelchair- as a response to a more inclusive society. This inclusiveness has also expanded to the roles played by the minifigures, to include women doctors, women astronauts, fathers caring for their babies, etc.
Following this same line of social responsibility, LEGO announced in 2015 their shift of material to a more eco-conscious form of plastic, in response to a change in the consumer’s perception of plastic (in view of the global plastic pollution crisis) and the company’s responsibility with the planet.
A year later, LEGO opened a Sustainable Materials Center in Denmark which would develop a form of sustainable, biodegradable plastic and other materials, with a plan of action that spans for the next 15 years, helping thus in the protection of the environment on a global scale.
‘Only the Best is Enough’
LEGO’s Motto ideated by Ole Kirk Christensen
Endlessly entertaining, educational, accessible, inclusive and eco-conscious - LEGO hits the bullseyes in all targets, and given their gift for reinvention, we’ll have their colourful bricks and toys for more years of unmitigated fun.
To Learn More
For a detailed timeline of LEGO’s history since 1934, go to: https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the_lego_history
Sources: LEGO.com, Codex99.com, Wikipedia
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