LEGO:REPLAY
Sub-branding
REPLAY is a LEGO® sub-brand that promotes reusing old bricks to spark creativity and reduce waste. By giving durable ABS plastic bricks a second life, it addresses the growing surplus caused by continuous production of new pieces.
Project Type
Team
Daniel Yeo
Lim Zi Jie
Year
2019-2020
Case Study Video
Problem Statement
LEGO® bricks are designed and built to last for decades, yet millions sit unused as new ones are constantly produced. This leads to a growing surplus of durable ABS plastic, contributing to unnecessary waste and missed opportunities for creative reuse.
Goals & Objectives
Provide underprivileged communities with refurbished LEGO® bricks, reduce plastic waste, and inspire creativity through sustainable play.
Target Audience
Children and communities with limited access to creative resources, seeking affordable ways to learn, play, and express imagination.
Background Research
I conducted research on the impact of play and how it affects the development of skill sets the younger audiences. This helps me better understand the needs, challenges, and behaviours of my target audience. The findings below highlight key insights that informed my design direction.
…Play serves as a process for learning, a process for assessing developmental skill sets, and a process for delivering intervention procedures to improve a child’s developmental and learning abilities…
…Children who grow up in poverty are at greater risk of developing psychological problems in childhood and adulthood. This is because young children learn about themselves and the world around them by growing up in a safe and carefree environment. Lack of play can impact child development as during play, children explore, observe, experiment and solve problems…
Persona
Informed by the research findings, I crafted a basic user persona to represent the typical journey of someone from the lesser privileged community.
Issa Lakelynn
Pain Points
These key pain points were identified and reflected in the persona, highlighting gaps between user needs and current solutions.
Lack of community guidance and support 🤝❌
Without guidance, encouragement, or mentorship, children have fewer opportunities to develop creative skills and confidence.
Limited access to creative materials 🎨
Affordable or readily available toys and tools are scarce, restricting opportunities for imaginative play and self-expression.
Challenge Statement
To design a solution that provides underprivileged children with access to functional LEGO® bricks, fostering creativity and imaginative play, while addressing limitations in resources and community support.
The Idea
A sub-brand that repurposes unused LEGO® bricks, giving them a second life to support the creative development of young minds.
The Solution
LEGO:REPLAY acts sub-brand that collects unused bricks from existing customers and channels them into free workshops and events for underprivileged children.
The initiative provides spaces for young minds to rediscover the joy of LEGO® building, fostering creativity, imaginative play, and learning through hands-on experiences.
Gallery Showcase
Reflection
Throughout this branding experience project for LEGO® REPLAY, I learned about the complexity of developing a sub-brand that resonates with a well-known worldwide brand while also addressing a critical environmental issue. By diving into the different kinds of LEGO® bricks' durability, quality, and timeless appeal, I've discovered how to use these attributes to effectively teach the concept of reusing and repurposing existing bricks.
This journey has taught me the value of combining innovation with sustainability, as well as ensuring that the brand's vision is successfully communicated and resonates with its target audience. Collaborating with Lim Zi Jie has also been a rewarding experience, as we used our abilities to envision, design, and present a solution to the environmental difficulties provided by ABS plastic.
Finally, this project reinforced my understanding of branding as more than just a creative process, but also a strong instrument for raising awareness and effecting positive change, an vital lesson that I will apply throughout my design career.
Disclaimer* LEGO:REPLAY is not affliated with the LEGO®’s introduction of LEGO REPLAY and its sustainability programme. This project was created and developed in the early stages of 2019 before the introduction of LEGO®’s own LEGO REPLAY in October 2019.
