Toy Industry: Evolution of Bricks in Pop Culture

The hard edge bricks that fundamentally built the popular toy industry were created by a Danish master carpenter form Denmark. Ole Kirk Kristiansen purchased a workshop in the small town of Billund and began to build houses and furniture. When the Great Depression started becoming an intimidating force to close his workshop permanently, he reached for his real passion creating toys for kids in 1932. The time was even harder in 1934 for Kristiansen, combating the loss of his wife and raising 4 young boys and founding LEGO. While it is true Ole Kirk was not the first to create these plastic bricks, he was the first man to introduce the “Automatic Binding Bricks” and they were altered off a British inventor who created a comparable product called the “Kiddicraft brick”. The role Ole Kirk Kristiansen played in the evolution of popular toys is ingenious. His invention is still admired by young to old people all over the world today. Ole Kirk’s impact can be unstated through the candy colored bricks he produced, his significance as a pop culture icon, and lasting presence of his legacy of LEGO in today’s society.

The educational and artistic importance Lego has been long-lasting from generation to generation. In the beginning of 1930’s until now, LEGO bricks has been the driving force of self-imagination and expression for multiple people around the world. It has given a voice to kids, adults, innovation and technology. Generation after generation, LEGO advances forward, yet keeps its core values intact as a family company. Lego is an essential element of toy culture and unlimited boundaries of mufti media and education in the 21st century culture.

When Kristiansen first introduced the Automatic Binding Brick into homes all over the w...

... middle of paper ...

... some of the biggest box-office hits from comic book heroes of Marvel to mythical like the Hobbit or old stories of the Lone Ranger. Also the new ninja Ninjago was a huge hit and still is with kids of all ages. The technology has stormed from one spectrum to the next to bring old to new and invite all who want to play.

Annotated Bibliography

Robertson, David C. BRICK by BRICK: How Lego Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry. First Edition. New York: Crown Publishing, Division of Random House, Inc., 2013. Print.

Herman, Sarah. A Million Little Bricks: The Unofficial Illustrated History of the LEGO Phenomenon. First edition. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, September 26, 2012. Print.

Lipkowitz, Daniel. The LEGO Book. Revised edition. New York: DK Publishing, October 1, 2012. Print.

www.lego.com N.P. Website. March 25, 2014.