An interactive experience for kids to customize their own LEGO minifigure
PRODUCT INNOVATION | EXPERIENCE DESIGN
What does a hero look like?
Meet Brandon
Brandon is 6 years old and is a huge LEGO fan. He is going to Legotropolis with his mom.
See user personas for Brandon, Haven, and Danielle
This is the story through Brandon's eyes
Onboarding
At the museum entrance, guests buy an RFID wristband, which:
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Grants entry to the exhibit for guests designing a custom minifigure. Parents get in for free
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Stores guests' minifigure designs as they create them
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Limits the amount of guests in the exhibit at a time
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Tracks user flow through the exhibit, to iterate as needed
The Exhibit
Message from the Mayor
The Mayor's message plays over motion-activated speakers when guests are within 6 feet of her
Create a Custom Minifigure
Guests learn about the people of Legotropolis, and what makes people unique, while creating their own minifigure
Station 1 | The Face
Station 2 | The Head
Station 3 | The Body
Station 4 | Style
The Lab
Guests build something to save Legotropolis from boredom
Building Prompts
Building Station
3D scanner
After the Experience
The package becomes a carrying case and building platform so guests can continue to build anywhere, any time
You Saved The City!
Guests pick up their custom minifigure and shake hands with the mayor
Process
MICROSITE
This was created by a two-person team of Experiential Art Director Barbrianna Adams and myself.
We took tours of the Science Museum and the Childrens' Museum, and learned about accessible design in an interactive museum setting.
Guiding Principles
We wanted this brand activation to go beyond adding representation options, and instead to also encourage acceptance, and create a sense of pride in children who aren’t usually represented by their toys.
We accomplished this through a guiding principle of “designing for the edges.” We created user personas for people of different abilities and identities, and researched how different spatial design, UI design, visual representation, and messaging impacts our key users, and ultimately found opportunities for us to improve experiences for them.
Exhibit Design Principles
The space is modeled after a LEGO city
SCALE
All the LEGO bricks in the museum set pieces are 1' tall, so the average child is the height of a minifigure
COLOR
The classic LEGO palette is calmed with neutral tones to avoid sensory overload
NAVIGATION
The exhibit is set up with a linear floorplan, but guests who need to walk around before feeling comfortable can explore
It is open so kids can be aware of their surroundings
Messaging
Our main goal was to establish an understanding of, and respect for, each others’ differences. Much of this message was conveyed through the exhibit graphics introducing different characters who live in Legotropolis.
We researched how to communicate to children about our differences, and read different kids’ books like Zahrah’s Hijab that teach about diversity and respect.
Much of our research on visually representing people who are commonly underrepresented emphasized the importance of context. So, we gave each of the characters a personality, and talked about what they did for fun.
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UI Design
We researched different UI that is known for being inclusive, like Bitmoji and Microsoft’s Xbox Live Avatar, and analyzed these processes from the points of view of our user personas to find opportunities for improvement.
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We modeled the “LEGOization” facial scanning and design system off of current technology, including the facial scanning feature in iOS to set up face recognition.
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For the Head and Hair station, we ordered hair from 4c to 1, and short to long, taking a break from UI that centralizes caucasian features.