In early March, former LEGO designer James May announced that he had left the LEGO Group, ending his five-year career as a product designer. During this time, he has been involved in the design of sets that include Creative 3-in-1, Best Friends, ICONS and IDEAS. At the same time, he also started a YouTube channel to share the stories behind the suits he designed, which currently has two videos, five short clips, and 768 subscribers.
James May
James May did not immediately reveal the details of why he left the job that many people dream of. However, he recently revealed more details to Brickset, explaining why he left the LEGO Group and his other plans in addition to running a personal channel.
"I was looking for an opportunity to make the most of my professional background in mechanical design and work for a smaller company, so I made the decision to make a career change," says James May. It wasn't easy to leave LEGO, but I didn't want to wait until I forgot what I learned in college and was left with the skill of building LEGO bricks. ”
"I'm currently working with an educational toy company in the UK and I'm still designing toys, but now it's for schools. I'm working on more hands-on design, which brings LEGO back to my personal hobby. ”
He also mentioned that at the moment his YouTube channel is only a side hustle, so he doesn't rely entirely on the success of the video. His interest in social media grew over time, in part due to his experience working for the LEGO Group.
James May油管视频截图
James adds, "It's something I've wanted to try for a long time. In the past, I've worked with other designers to create some experimental videos that I submitted to the social media team, even though they weren't utilized. But now, with the LEGO Group gone, I'm free to share it. Even if it didn't succeed as expected, it was a valuable attempt to document my LEGO design journey. ”
James, who has five years of experience, also has some advice for those looking to join the LEGO design team, emphasizing the importance of working with graphic designers, parts designers and instruction manual makers within the team.
"Everything you do at LEGO Design is working with other people, like graphic designers, parts designers and building instruction makers," he says. Working with these people to be a fun person will take you a lot with your building skills alone. ”
**.. brickfanatics