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Lego reportHistoryLEGO started as a carpenter business in 1932, before it was even called LEGO. The owner of the business, Ole Kirk Kristiansen used to build stepladders, ironing boards and wooden toys, his son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen started helping his father at the age of 12,In 1934 the business was called LEGO, formed from the Danish words ‘Leg GOdt’ (“Play well”), Shortly after naming it they realised it meant “I put together” in Latin. At this point the firm has 6-7 employees.In 1946 the company of LEGO bought a plastic injection-moulding machine. This machine put the company back 30000 Danish Krone (?3500) but made the company 450,000 Danish Krone (?53000), proving to be a good investment. 1949 was the time when the first LEGO brick was created using the plastic injection-moulding machine. The company had produced about 200 different plastic and wooden toys, including the popular LEGO brick. How and why was the LEGO brick made?In the early stages of LEGO they used a plastic injection-moulding machine to create their LEGO bricks. Once having this machine the company started to create a larger variety of toys, going from just wooden to plastic. In the year of 1947, one of the Christiansen’s found a British toy called ‘Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks’; they expanded on the idea and in 1949 they started producing their own version. Their version had little stumps on top and hollow bases, allowing the bricks to lock in together to create elaborate structures. The creation of this product allowed kids to be more creative when playing with toys, instead of the usual wooden horse that could be moved back and forth, LEGO bricks allowed kids to create their own buildings, cars, etc letting kids toy and explore their creativity. Who does LEGO appeal to? Is it Inclusive? How does this bring people together?The reason LEGO has such a broad audience is because of the themes of their sets, ranging from fictional sets like Star Wars and Harry Potter, to hobby themed sets like trains and architecture. Having this large selection of choice and style, allows the company of LEGO to have a wide audience. Though the majority of their ads appeal to the younger side of their customers, they still have a large adult fan base. The company is definitely inclusive, having such a large variety of products they are almost certain to appeal to everyone in some way. 30 different sets to relate to different films, shows and hobbies. LEGO definitely has the power to bring people together, with everyone bring their own creative genius to the table, they are certain to create something together. Not to mention the events made due to LEGO, where people are free to show off and observe other peoples creations. What does LEGO aim to achieve with its creation?LEGO, having the reputation it does, aims to have kids and adult bring out their inner creativity. The endless list of creations you can make from LEGO products is overwhelming, the bricks allow people to create whatever they want.Discuss how LEGO inspires creativity and freedomTo me, LEGO is the pinnacle of creativity in toys. The idea that you can create whatever you want, out of multiple blocks with not a lot of limitations is fascinating. There is a lot of freedom regarding LEGO, you are not made to create certain things, and you have them to create whatever you want giving you complete freedom. Can LEGO educate and why?I fully believe LEGO can educate. In the 1960s a professor called Seymour Papert started to work on new technologies for children. Another professor from Media Labs called Mitchel Resnick who, since the 1980s, has been exploring integrating computers into children’s learning, through toys. LEGO began sponsoring work at Media Labs in 1985, right as Media Lab opened. In 1998 researchers from Media Labs created the first “programmable brick”, this product was tested on classroom students by a graduate student, Fred Martin. 20 years on, Media Lab created MindStorms, a robotic invention system that is evolving the LEGO construction kits. First commercialised in 1998, the construction kit is based on MIT’s Programmable Brick technology. A tiny, portable computer is put into a traditional LEGO brick, with this technology, the brick is capable of interacting with the physical world through micro sensors and mini motors, letting children program their own robots and other computer based contraptions. Businesses have also used this technology as a prototyping tool. The first MindStorms setcenter-318090Describe the construction and visual aspects of LEGOThe construction elements of LEGO are simple, yet effective. By only pushing blocks together you can create something amazing, and it all starts with a single block, it makes it such a simple yet complicated brand. LEGO should not be seen as just a ‘toy’ – it’s a form of creative expression. You see, adults engage with it just as much as kids, creating these huge and complex designs. What is important about the mini figures? Think about them visually and who they representIt was in 1978 that LEGO first introduced mini-figures, so people finally had something to populate their cars and cites with. The simplicity of the figures is what makes them so appealing. There are thousands of mini-figures representing different people, monsters etc, both in fiction and non-fiction, making them appeal to a wide variety of audiences.When designing a new product, what is the first principle? To make sure LEGO follows its reputation of fun and creativity. Since the company Is known for their fun and simplicity around the world, it makes sense for them to keep that principle. Is LEGO exclusive to one particular audience?Not at all. LEGO has a variety of sets, made to appeal to all types of people. Having over 30 different themed sets, one of them are likely to appeal to someone. For example, the Architect series would appeal the more adult audience, and the Batman sets are more likely to appeal to the younger audience. Is it gender neutral?There has been some controversy over the ‘Friends’ LEGO sets, people have accused them as being sexist towards girls. They didn’t feature the iconic LEGO mini-figures, but instead had little curvy figurines, that couldn’t be used with traditional mini-figures. Most of the ‘Friends’ sets featured girls in cliché situations; like hairdressing and baking muffins. Shortly after LEGO resolved the situation after a petition was started online to make less obvious sets, an inventors studio, a treehouse and a veterinarian’s office. Other than that, there hasn’t been any controversy around LEGO sets, since the majority of sets are based on films or hobbies. Describe the different audiences and consumers of LEGO LEGO has a very broad audience due to the fact they have a wide variety of sets that appeal to multiple consumers. Consider the company’s troubles in 2004, what did the company have to do change the falls in sales?In 2004 LEGO suffered a hard hit, after sales dropped 35 percent in the United States and 29 percent Worldwide, this made the company lose ?217 million. A big part of LEGO’s comeback was the sales of the LEGO Star Wars series, they had earned a huge profit, they also ‘retired’ a large amount of LEGO designers who had been working for the company since the 70s and replaced them with 30 innovators. Discuss why LEGO will not incorporate violence with the use of weapons. Are there any expectations? What are your opinions on the use of weapons in LEGO?As far as Violence in LEGO goes, they are mostly based on weapons used by Heroes and Villains: A droid blaster or a Jedi’s blasters. They have never done a set based around guns used in the real world, just weapons in a fictional weapon. Personally I am happy with how LEGO has handled the weapon situation.How and why did LEGO incorporate the movie franchise into their brand?Adding the movie franchise to LEGO was an extremely smart move. It broadened their audience, attracting people with various interests in different films. The LEGO Star Wars sets, are the most successful, bringing out new sets every year keeping fans interested. How has the games industry integrated LEGO?After the success of LEGO, in 1995 they brought out their first game, ‘Lego Fun To Build’ it was released on the Sega Pico Console. This was the first LEGO video game but it wasn’t a huge success, then in 1997 they released LEGO ISLAND, which was a much bigger success. The first Licensed game released was LEGO Creator: Harry Potter which wasn’t a big hit with gamers, the first Licensed game that sold extremely well; was LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, it was available on the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and PC, making it easy for people to access it. In your opinion, did the movie and games industry change LEGO and why? It did have a huge impact on the company, the sales from Movie themed sets gave the company a huge profit boost. Star Wars themed sets became one of LEGO’s most popular themes and still are to this day. Discuss other ways LEGO has reached out to audiences with different products and ideas.Different products have been released based on different movies; board games, video games and even train sets. This is such a good idea, reaching out to various people with different interests, widening their audience. What could be the future of LEGO?Who knows? I think they will forever use movie franchises to promote their sets and games, as it is such a big earner for them.Discuss the impact of LEGO in your life and if it has inspired your creativityGrowing up I used to love LEGO, I first got into It when my aunt gave me a huge tub filled with random bits of LEGO when I was 6, and ever since then I was obsessed with it. I used to enjoy making my own creations. Playing with LEGO did help my creative side, making bases, houses and even creating some stop-frame animations. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Bussie, A., 2013. Nathan Lester & William (Bill) Morris Lester - The Origins Of Modern Injection Molding And Pyro Plastics Company. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 September 2017].Mortensen, T. F., 2012. The LEGO Group History. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 September 2017].UNKNOWN, 2008. The Early History Of LEGO. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 September 2017].Richard, F. 2014 How Lego Came Back From The Brink Of Bankruptcy. [Online]Available at: [Accessed 29 September 2017]. ................
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