Dear BrickLink members,

Back in 2018, we launched a pilot program with the LEGO Group to celebrate 60 years of the LEGO® brick and help realize unique fan designs with original themes. Thirteen fan designs were successfully crowdfunded through the pilot, and we have received many questions about its potential return since then. Is there going to be a second iteration? If so, when? You won’t have to wait much longer because we can happily reveal that the Designer Program will make its return in 2021!

Are there any changes to the program?
While the core part of the program remains unchanged, there is one important difference. According to a recent survey, an overwhelming number of you showed enthusiasm and support in leveraging the Designer Program to realize LEGO Ideas fan designs that were not selected for production (see chart below).


                         Above: Percentage of approval or disapproval of realizing LEGO Ideas projects not produced


                                         Above: Direct quotes related to realizing LEGO Ideas projects not produced

With this information, we decided to officially move forward with realizing designs from LEGO Ideas that many of you already appreciate. We will work closely with the LEGO Ideas team to bring as many great designs into the world as possible!

Who will be invited?
Select designers whose project(s) acquired 10,000 votes on LEGO Ideas, but were not approved for production, will be invited to participate in this Designer Program. Unfortunately, IP-based designs will not be eligible for the Designer Program, in addition to a few other projects that we know we unfortunately can’t realize. The LEGO Ideas team will first contact the designers from January, and then the BrickLink team will proceed with the onboarding process for participating designers.

What will happen to the original AFOL Designer Program?
We understand that there are some AFOL designers and fans who anticipated a new intake of original projects. Our intention is to host annual Designer Programs that best reflect voices of the AFOL communities. Depending on preferences, we may return to the original format of the open contest in 2022. But rest assure, that no matter how designs are submitted to the program, we will continue to celebrate fan creativity by realizing your dream sets through crowdfunding.

When can I get more information?
The official program title and detailed timeline have yet to be confirmed, but you can expect to get more information in early 2021. At the same time, we will also unveil all participating designers and their projects.

We are pleased to continue this journey with you! Thank you again for contributing to the success of the 2018 pilot and for your ever-growing support of fan designs. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to browse the Studio Gallery page to view more designs created by members of the AFOL community.

Stay vigilant and happy holidays!
The BrickLink Team