LEGO has been part of every person’s childhood. If you’re like me, LEGO still holds a warm spot in your heart. Many of us dreamt of being LEGO designers and working with the famous blocks as a profession. Luckily, these fantasies can become a reality.
Living out your dream of being a LEGO designer isn’t as far fetched as you’d think. LEGO has released thousands of sets over the years, and each one was designed by someone. Whether you’ve studied design, 3D art, or you’re just passionate about LEGO, you have a shot at becoming the next LEGO Model Designer.
- What is a LEGO Designer?
If you’ve seen the LEGO Digital Designer software for Windows and macOS, you probably have a good idea of what a LEGO designer does. Designing LEGOs for a living is one of the most rewarding career paths you can have. You’ll get to travel and meet exciting and creative people along the way.
As a LEGO designer, you will create model designs of everything you can find in a LEGO box. You will oversee bricks selection, color selection, and function of every piece of the LEGO model. As a designer, you get to spend your days creating and building new models from scratch and coming up with new themes that will exact kids and kids at heart. One day you may be working on the latest set box, and the next day you can get asked to work on an attraction in LEGO Land.
- How to be a LEGO Designer?
LEGO Model Designers often have some design background. Some graduated with a bachelor’s in graphic design, arts, architecture, or even carpentry. As long as it’s related to 3D arts and design, you have a good shot at landing on your dream job.
If you want to experience having a career as a LEGO Model designer, take LEGO’s advice: play as much as possible. According to LEGO, the best way to become a Model Designer is by playing with LEGO bricks as much as you can. Start with the basic blocks and try to build realistic models. Once you’ve mastered LEGO’s art, building mix things up with different LEGO pieces and unleash your imagination.
When aspiring LEGO Designers step up to the plate, the first thing they are asked to do is build a small head made entirely from basic LEGO bricks in under four hours. It may not seem as difficult as it sounds, but as per LEGO, many struggle with the demand.
Mastering building techniques gives you more room to be creative and imaginative, exactly what LEGO wants. Become comfortable in your ideas and learn how to turn weaknesses into strengths, and you’ll surely be able to become a LEGO Designer.
- The Career Path of a LEGO Designer
Becoming a LEGO Model Designer is only the beginning. There are numerous ways to climb up the corporate ladder and pursue more of your creative ideas and designs. But before all that, the question remains, how do you start a career as a LEGO designer?
Most begin as a junior LEGO Model Designer that is tasked with contributing and perfecting initial design from the Senior LEGO Model Designers. When you’ve done an excellent job, you’ll be up for promotion.
As a Senior LEGO Designer, you are in charge of overseeing a team of highly creative and imaginative designers that will come up with new themes and sets for LEGO.
Finally, at the top of the corporate ladder, you’ll find the president and vice president of design at the LEGO group. They oversee a team of talented designers while developing iconic, creative, fun, and interactive LEGO designs that will soon hit production lines.
- Final Thoughts
As a kid spending hours playing with your LEGO sets, you might have wondered if you could grow up and work with LEGO. It may seem like an unreachable dream, but luckily it can be your reality. You don’t have to end up in ordinary day jobs where you’ll work long hours without a hint of passion or creativity.
Instead, you can become a LEGO Model Designer charged with designing and overseeing kits, sets, and themes that will make kids around the world shriek with joy and excitement.
LEGO promises its designers a conducive working environment where all designers are encouraged to be creative and imaginative. There are many perks at working for LEGO. Not only are you living your childhood dream, but you’ll also be able to travel and see the world while meeting incredibly talented people along the way.
