I was wrong about Lego

One of the best things about Lego was always its simplicity. When I was a kid, there were only so many different kinds of bricks, only so many different colours and all the minifigs had the same colour and expression. In the early eighties there were only two hairdos: one for male and one for female minifigs. I remember very well when a second hairdo was introduced for the female minifigures (straight hair instead of wavy).

But these limitations didn’t bother me at all. Because the great thing about Lego is that, combined with my imagination, I could build anything I wanted with just a finite collection of different bricks.

How different Lego is now.

Minifigs are no longer only yellow — they come in all sorts of skin colours now. Bricks are no longer only black, white, blue, red or yellow — today they exist in all colours of the rainbow. And the bricks are not just purely geometric — they come in many different shapes and sizes now.

Not long ago, I felt sad that Lego chose to diversify more. I felt the essence of Lego (infinite possibilities through finite building blocks) was getting lost.

Now I realize this is not the case.

In fact, the opposite is true — the essence of Lego has become even more clear. Lego’s core is to make building more accessible and more fun, to more people. I see this first-hand, when I see how excited my girlfriend, my daughter and my mother are now getting about Lego. They’re not into cars and planes and police stations, like I was (and still am). They are into flowers, treehouses and book stores.

The diversification of Lego has proven to be a smart choice. The more people can enjoy building, the better.