Discovering engaging play

Building and programming interactive play concepts at The LEGO® Group.

Designing digital experiences for real-world complexity

At The LEGO Group, over seven months as an intern and freelancer, I focused on creating new play experiences. I based my designs on thorough research and aimed to keep a fresh, child-like perspective. My roles varied, but the goal was the same: understand our audience and deliver unique concepts in timely manner. I worked with different stakeholders, from prototypes to LEGO franchises, ensuring we made products that our audience would love.

Front-end intern

Feb - June 2022
Here, I emerged into the world of toy manufacturing as we worked from the start to the end. Our team turned ideas into design—taking user insights, conceptualizing them, realizing through in 3D and rapid prototyping. Finally, we used the observations from playtest to refine our proposals.

Part-time concept designer

Nov - Dec 2022
Worked part-time on a red-brick project with fellow thesis writer as concept designers part of Physical Play Discovery team. We helped deliver play builds, and participated in brainstorming providing fresh perspective for design refinement.

Freelance concept designer

April - June 2023, January - February 2024
Joined the team of four concept designers on the same project where I worked part time in 2022. I was entrusted with more individual work, and I got to learn coding with Python, as we explored interactive play features using SPIKE Prime hubs.

Discover

Our concept development initiated with a deep audience segmentation and market study. This laid the foundation for user personas and identified untapped LEGO play opportunities.

Define

Moodboards translated findings into visual inspirations that we discussed over. This phase takes a lot of collaboration as we align with the team on our creative vision. It was fun to brainstorm what franchises we like to play with, as they may inspire us to include additions that benefit the final outcome.

Design

Imagination took center stage as we embarked on concept iteration. Thinking like a child, we sketched and tested various designs, each with a unique play narrative. With hands on making, I got comfortable individually developing play builds, and prototyping new elements.

Deliver

Collaborating with stakeholders, we refined and presented our concepts through videos and presentations. It was important to document details of how the sets were assembled to assure that our colleagues will get them working corretly in remote play tests.

Kuvateksti

Researching thriving play designers

2022
Research question: Commissioned by The LEGO Group to investigate how the internal work environment impacts creative output during the early stages of new product development.
Approach: Conducted a qualitative study combining a structured literature review with ethnographic observations inside the development environment and in-depth interviews with design managers and creative innovators. This triangulated daily studio realities with broader organizational structures to identify key friction points and drivers of creativity.
Findings: Mapped out seven core pillars that shape designer EX during early-stage development: team leadership, communication flows, physical workspace design, autonomy, documentation, resources, and psychological safety.
Impact: The research demonstrated a direct correlation between a supportive creative environment and fluid innovation, providing actionable recommendations for managing and structuring front-end design teams.

Read the full case at Behance

Summary

My time at The LEGO Group was more than just design—it was about connecting to the child within, understanding their needs, and creating a bridge between imagination and tangible play. With a blend of strategic thinking, research, and hands-on prototyping, I got to learn about and contribute to the production of new LEGO experiences.

Navigating these diverse design roles at The LEGO Group, I’ve deepened my knowledge about the importance of adaptability, rigorous research, and audience-centric concepts. This journey equipped me with a holistic design perspective, and enthusiasm to tackle future projects with play at heart.

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