LEGO Dots revealed: New arts and crafts theme puts emoji tiles front and center [News]
LEGO has officially revealed its long-rumored new product line, LEGO Dots. The initial wave of the 2D tile-based arts and crafts theme features bracelets, picture holders, a jewelry stand, a pencil pot, and the first in a series of “Extra Dots” emoji booster packs. Prices vary from US $3.99 to 19.99 with availability beginning on March 1st.
The spiritual successor to LEGO’s previous Clikits play-jewelry product line, the Dots theme centers on colorful 1×1 tiles (square, round, quarter-circle and new gem tiles) with bright colors and expressive prints including emojis, rainbows, glitter, animals, space, music, and more. (Keen-eyed readers will also note that several of the tiles have appeared previously in 21045 Trafalgar Square’s hidden art gallery.)
LEGO states that the intent of the Dots line is to offer kids a creative canvas to express themselves by building their own designs and mosaics, utilizing more than 30 mood tiles (i.e. emojis) to decorate “wearables and room décor.”
LEGO has reportedly been testing and refining the Dots product line for two years, conducting a large quantitative “play study” with more than 7,200 children and 10,800 parents across the US, China and Germany, in addition to qualitative monthly hands-on play sessions and focus groups.
The product line was revealed in London this morning with an interactive art exhibit “House of Dots” made in conjunction with artist Camille Walala featuring 2 million LEGO Dots being used to decorate an entire five-room studio, including a slide.
The full LEGO Dots product line including pictures, piece counts, prices, press release, and an expanded photo gallery are included below.
LEGO Dots 41900 Rainbow | 33 pieces | US $4.99 | UK £4.99 | €5.99
LEGO Dots 41901 Funky Animals | 33 pieces | US $4.99 | UK £4.99 | €5.99
LEGO Dots 41902 Sparkly Unicorn | 33 pieces | US $4.99 | UK £4.99 | €5.99
LEGO Dots 41903 Cosmic Wonder | 33 pieces | US $4.99 | UK £4.99 | €5.99
LEGO Dots 41912 Love Birds | 33 pieces | US $4.99 | UK £4.99 | €5.99
LEGO Dots 41904 Picture Holders | 423 pieces | US $14.99 | UK £12.99 | €14.99
LEGO Dots 41905 Jewelry Stand | 213 pieces | US $14.99 | UK £12.99 | €14.99
LEGO Dots 41906 Pencil Holder | 351 pieces | US $19.99 | UK £17.99 | €19.99
LEGO Dots 41908 Extra Dots – Series 1 | 109 pieces | US $3.99 | UK £3.99 | €3.99
CAMILLE WALALA INSTALLATION TEASES NEW LEGO ARTS AND CRAFTS BUILDING CONCEPT
Designer unveils ‘HOUSE OF DOTS’ – a five-room interactive house with an 8ft slide built with the help of 180 children and a group of passionate LEGO adult fans – to introduce new LEGO DOTS
28 JANUARY 2020 – London: Artist Camille Walala today unveiled her most interactive work to date at Coal Drops Yard in London’s Kings Cross to introduce the entirely new 2D tile play concept from the LEGO Group – LEGO DOTS.
To tease the new product, Walala was invited to bring LEGO DOTS to life in a free public art installation that celebrates their shared values of creativity, self-expression and accessibility, expressed through the vibrant colours and bold geometric patterns of both the new product and her own signature work.
The result is HOUSE OF DOTS: a fantastical house comprising five rooms spread over eight shipping containers, in which everything from the walls and floors to the rugs, frames and furniture has been customised in a mashup of LEGO DOTS and Walala’s distinctive patterns and colours.
Playful and immersive, HOUSE OF DOTS invites people to journey through a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and finally a unique DOTS DISCO room designed to celebrate self-expression and let the body flow freely with DOTS disco moves to a custom playlist from Ele Beattie. While they explore the space, guests are encouraged to get involved by designing their own patterns and bracelets – and even take elements away with them ahead of the release of LEGO DOTS in March 2020.
If that weren’t enough, guests can exit via an 8ft slide down the side of the installation.
Camille Walala, artist, says: “It’s a joy to create a fun space where kids and adults can spontaneously express their creativity, make something beautiful and show off who they are. HOUSE OF DOTS captures all the exuberance and playfulness that people know me for, with something extra special: the chance to let your imagination go wild and create your own work of art. Oh, and a slide.”
LEGO DOTS taps into the arts and crafts space by using a 2D tile-based play concept that offers children a creative canvas for self-expression. Based on multiple shapes and colourful tiles, it is supported by an exciting portfolio that ranges from wearables to room décor with surfaces designed for individual customisation and self-expression. To excite young creatives even more, over thirty mood tiles are also being introduced, incl. facial expressions, music note, cosmic planet, star night, paw prints and a rainbow pooh – and many more.
Being based on the LEGO System in Play, there are limitless ways children can DOT their world, taking all elements apart and redesigning again to help build their creative flair and confidence.
Lena Dixen, Senior Vice President and Head of Product and Marketing Development at the LEGO Group, says about the collaboration with Camille Walala: “We’re extremely excited to introduce LEGO DOTS as a new arts and crafts building concept giving children a creative canvas for social, self-expressive play with endless, ever-changing patterns, colours and designs. As someone who epitomises how confidence in your creativity can have a tremendous impact, Camille was perfect to collaborate with to announce it to the world. She has created something extraordinary and immensely fun that we can’t wait for our fans to explore and be inspired by”.
When creating LEGO DOTS, LEGO designers were inspired by internal research showing that kids are increasingly looking to shape their creative confidence through more personalised forms of play where they can explore freely and express themselves through their own designs. This particular insight draws on a quantitative study conducted with 10,800 parents and 7,200 children across the US, China and Germany, and among the participants a total of 21,600 play observations were mapped out and used to identify the relevance and concept direction of DOTS.
The specific DOTS product development phase has since been further informed by monthly hands-on play sessions, biannual focus groups and quantitative tests across US, UK, Germany and Denmark with more than 500 parents and kids over two years, ensuring the design development aligns to consumer input.
Fans excited about this new play concept will be pleased to hear that more 2D tile-based LEGO products are in the pipeline.
HOUSE OF DOTS will remain at Coal Drops Yard January 28 – February 2 and can be visited by the public through sign-up here: https://houseofdots.eventbrite.co.uk. Kids under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
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