How three generations of LEGO designers joined forces for one set

Three generations of LEGO designers came together for one set – and lucky they did, because the design process was far from simple.

Brick Fanatics recently got the chance to catch up with LEGO Designer Niek van Slagmaat, where he walked us through some of the most iconic sets that he’s worked on. We started at the beginning, with the very first set that Niek worked on: LEGO BOOST 17101 Boost Creative Toolbox. Describing it as one of the most elaborate and complex design processes he’s ever worked on, Niek also remembers it as a unique opportunity to collaborate with ‘design legends’ Carl Merriam and Jørn Thomsen.

“It’s very interesting from the point of view of LEGO as a generational toy because Jørn made toys that I grew up with [as well as] toys that Carl grew up with,” Niek explained. “Together, the three of us were designing this set [17101 Boost Creative Toolbox] back in 2015, with three completely different views on LEGO and different generations of people working together.”

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This wealth of experience was particularly welcome because, throughout the 18 months of development on the project, Niek remembers the design process taking a lot of fine-tuning and revising to get it right.

“We went through so many sketch models and combo models because we had so many of them,” the LEGO designer said. “We were constantly refining and trying to figure out how to make things work in a simple way. Jørn specifically is incredibly good at that.”

Nonetheless, Niek wouldn’t change having this multi-generational project as his very first LEGO set.

“It was an incredible set to get as your first LEGO set because it was kind of a crucible,” Niek added. “Immediately, you have to do everything that could possibly go wrong with a LEGO set. You have technology as an app connected to it and there are motors connected to it.”

Not only that, but a lot of the elements that went into LEGO BOOST 17101 Boost Creative Toolbox weren’t finished yet, meaning the team had to work with multiple teams to brainstorm design elements and solutions.

“It was an incredibly elaborate process, I don’t think I’ve done anything that elaborate since,” Niek remembered. “We had stakeholder meetings that were so large, people were standing outside to hear the results from our latest test. There were so many people involved, it was crazy.”

See our full interview with Niek van Slagmaat via the embed link above, or head directly to our YouTube channel, covering sets from Voltron, NINJAGO, and more.

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