GROWBRICKS
ROLE :
Illustrator & foresight Strategist
TIMELINE :
10 weeks
TOOLS :
Figma, Procreate, Sora.
Project Overview
What might LEGO look like in a world where children grow up surrounded by screens, climate anxiety, and rapidly changing technologies?
In this project, as part of a client brief at Central Saint Martins our team explored the future of physical play for children aged 8–12, imagining how LEGO could evolve its materials, experiences, and philosophy of play over the next two decades.
What we did:
we uncovered tensions between digital immersion and hands-on connection which led to the concept of a plantable ‘build-your-own’ LEGO brick set, designed to be built, used, and ultimately planted, merging creativity with nature. The team won the pitch to LEGO product & foresight team for strategy and storytelling.
the year is 2045...
Welcome to a day in Benny's life
WORLDBUILDING:
To fully understand and answer the brief we decided to create a family of the future which enabled us to explore how future parents might think about raising children, and how play itself is evolving in a digital-first world in our research approach.
Meet Benny
Studies subjects like Ethics, planetary citizenship, systems thinking, biotech basics, AI collaboration, and Creative tech at school.
Modules are less rigid and collaborative based on Building on strengths and interests.
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Pain Points
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Risk of overstimulation
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Self Identity Issues with increased diversity and new gender norms
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Emotional pressure to “help the world”, “figure out what he’s good at”
Meet Jane & Jacob
Invests in a Health Tracker watch, morning routine includes quick workout/journaling. They rent their green penthouse and have a fluid “work style”.
Jacob works in sustainable Tech and Jane in the Knowledge field.
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Pain Points
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work Life balance
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pressure to raise “perfect kids”
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“Right” Kind of parenting
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navigate new social constructs like gender fluidity & educational models.
Benny woke up frustrated...
How do we help Benny be resilient in situations where things don't go his way?
Felt rejected after not being selected for school play
Felt annoyed when he couldn’t solve a math problem
Couldn’t handle his favorite teacher being replaced by AI tutor
“Sometimes my child gets so overwhelmed when things don’t go perfectly, I wonder how to make him feel that its okay.”
Mom of David, 6
After a sweet treat at the mall
How do we tell Benny his actions affect the planet?
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Jane and Jacob took benny
“It is important for kids to learn to take care of the planet, but in a friendly way, I once bought my kids a climate change book and it was a bit traumatizing”
Mother of Nicolás 7
on their way back home...
How do we help Benny
soothe himself in an overly stimulated environment?
Benny felt a bit out of place seeing how busy it was for christmas
“I want my child to develop her muscle to think and create space for her feelings and ideas.”
Father of Naomi 4
For his birthday, Benny had been eyeing the latest LEGO set.
A set where he could make his own bricks, get his hands messy, and build endlessly.
What’s Inside:
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Reusable mould for shaping bricks
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Three seed varieties (herbs & flowers)
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Natural “magic powder” binder made from cornstarch
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Kit packaging designed to be pulped into brick material
How It Works:
Mix the magic powder, seeds, and packaging pulp, press into the mould, and dry into sturdy bricks. After play, plant them to grow, then reuse the mould to build again.
To him, It was fun.
To his parents, he was building values through play
1
Mix & Mold
Benny mixes natural materials and moulds his own bricks.
Tactile & hands on
2
Wait & watch
He waits 24-48 hours for them to dry.
practicing patience
3
Build & Play
He builds freely, experimenting with 3 in 1 creator set and making treasure pieces
Creativity
4
bury & build new
When he’s done, he plants them.
He uses his reusable mould to make a new batter for more bricks
Being OK starting over with trial & error
5
Plant & grow
Days later, his creations start to take a new life...
Giving back to nature & letting go
Through play, Benny begins to :
• Build patience through making
• Understand impact through planting
• Find calm through tactile, hands-on play
Back at LEGO HQ
GrowBricks emerged at the intersection of future values and LEGO’s evolving capabilities.
seeks off-screen, hands-on experiences in a digital world
extends LEGO’s system of play into nature and material exploration
Extending LEGO bricks into tools
Play expanding into community experiences
values Regenerative products
Equipping people with emotional tools to adapt to change
circular economy model with reusable brick molds
values climate action
Future consumer
LEGO's presence
Behind the scenes
One of the first things we realised was we might not be dealing with the same customer and user. Parents end up guiding kids choices while the act of play is driven by the child.
We set out to cross verify the early trends identified in play by interviewing future customers and what they would value as parents, from 15+ kids to 30+ year old adults.
Key insights
1
EQ to deal with anxiety or overwhelm
2
ways to bring natural Lego bricks with regular ones
3
No to neglible screen time in early years
4
Autonomous thinking/ building own ideas
Prototyping
As the brief focused on physical play, we created low-fidelity prototypes (paper, cardboard) and tested them with children and parents to validate engagement and learning outcomes.
We 3D printed the final mold to test durability of natural made bricks.
CONCEPT VALIDATION
“It can be a good bonding experience between the parent and kids and also be an experiential off screen tactile activity for my kid.”
mother of Nicolás 7
Reflections
The project expanded my capabilities in Developing foresight-driven concepts integrating cultural trends, emotional needs, and product innovation. I Learned how speculative design can open new pathways for brand strategy. Personally, LEGO’s play led thinking helped me reimagine and connect with my childlike curiosity and design with a playful approach.
next up is about Indian agriculture