brickjournal7online

LEGO ® HistoryFrom the Idea HouseA New Building System is BornAfter the international launch of the LEGO DUPLO ® productin 1969, development of the DUPLO ® universe was based onthe child’s immediate environment, familiar surroundings,with the emergence of role-play products – all born of aunique building system.Sprouting wheels, the first natural development of thebuilding system — the car and the train — are born. Figuresand animals also arrive on the scene. The first generation isfairly square – their shapes are rounded off from a brick.Development of the next 3-4 generations of DUPLO movesfrom the abstract to more realistic, from square forms to softand round forms.A New Product StrategyAfter a turbulent organisational period, with productdevelopment almost at a halt, LEGO owner Kjeld KirkKristiansen announces his long-term product-developmentmodel for the LEGO company at a marketing conference in1978.The model creates a “system within the system”, with thecompany’s product range divided into independent productprogrammes: “LEGO construction toys” and “Pre-schooltoys from LEGO”, each with its own age profile, concept andplay idea.Buildingthe DUPLO ®Brand, pt. 2Article by Inge AaenPhotography Courtesyof the LEGO Idea HouseKjeld Kirk Kristiansen harnesses the development potential of the LEGO productidea to make it more dynamic.72