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Lego: Heroes in Package Design

July 16, 2012 at 9:35 am by Ted Mininni

The Lego brand always seems to have a knack for tapping into pop culture with the right toys and the right story at the right time. It’s a cool brand and only getting stronger. And it appeals to adults and kids alike. I love their approach to sub-branding and packaging a new line of products. Lego Hero Factory is a perfect example.

The sub-brand is beautifully conceptualized and delivered. A dedicated web site, herofactory.lego.com, is filled with colorful, action imagery of these amazing heroes. As expected from Lego, games and downloadable free apps to extend play with the actual toys create an immersive experience for fans, as well as the backstory of the latest heroes who are out to save the universe.

The latest Hero Factory storyline briefly but dramatically explains how a “vast and hideous collection of villains and monsters, held inside Hero Factory’s Storage Facility, have somehow broken their container locks and are fleeing from Makuhero City to all corners of the galaxy”. So, it’s all up to these heroes to capture the bad guys and lock them back up. Of course, our heroes are equipped with the weapons and cuffs they need to do the job.

The products are really cool, too. Easy and quick to assemble, and fully articulated as all action heroes should be. Lego’s Hero Factory package structure is a stand-out, too, which is important, since toy shelves are filled with superhero brands battling for retail supremacy. The re-sealable pouch, unique among the blister cards and window boxes that dominate the action figure category, makes it easy to store all of the parts that come with each product.

The package design system is well-conceived, too. A large, black “gear” serves as the consistent and distinguishing design architecture for the Hero Factory line. Each hero is depicted in a dynamic action pose in front of a unique, color-coded environment, and their names appear in an orange and black diagonal striped bar. These visual cues work together as a clear segmentation system, making it easy for kids to identify one hero from another. Verbal communication is minimal, in typical Lego form. A zipper graphic across the top of the package, which serves as a mnemonic device to communicate re-sealability, also incorporates iconography to help consumers identify heroes from villains.

Distinctive structure for its category; strong segmentation system; simple, clean, engaging design. Lego’s Hero Factory packaging wins on every level.

• In your opinion, which non-licensed toy brands are breakthrough due to the way they’ve been branded and packaged?
• How does their structure and package design add to the brand experience?

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