ABOUT

In 2020, the LEGO Foundation together with blind organisations introduced LEGO braille bricks to classrooms. Using specially designed LEGO bricks with studs reflecting letters and numbers in the Braille alphabet, the bricks also feature printed letters, numbers, and symbols so they can be used by sighted peers and teachers in an inclusive way.

In 2023, we created LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille. Our first consumer LEGO set designed for blind and partially sighted children, adults or anyone curious to learn braille.

Background:
For the blind community, braille is not just literacy, it’s the entry to independence and inclusion into this world. Only 24% of people who are blind or visually impaired are employed, and of these, the majority have braille skills. However, only an estimated 7% of can read braille.

One thing that is missing to teach Braille is something that young children can start with. This affects the 19 million children globally who are vision impaired.1

This is where LEGO® Braille Bricks come in. Since 2020, the LEGO Foundation has distributed LEGO Braille Bricks free of charge to organizations specializing in the education of children with vision impairment.

While this was met with overwhelming and positive response globally, it was not available for purchase to the public. This meant that many children and families who want to learn braille through play lacked access to the product.

Idea:
For blind and partially sighted children, it makes a huge difference to be able to share their journey of learning Braille with loved ones. Thus, the idea to have LEGO Braille Bricks made available to the wider public was a massive step forward to ensuring more children want to learn braille in the first place.

As the bricks were initially only offered to certain organisations, we needed to create a solution that allows children and parents to benefit from the same learning-through-play experience at home.

We focused on creating a product that would spark curiosity for children and their family to learn braille, and give them a platform for social inclusion and fun family moments while building pre-braille skills.

We worked closely with children, their families and experts in the field, to optimise for blind and vision impaired children on all parameters across packaging, bricks, online play starters, and communications.

Innovation:
LEGO® Braille Bricks – Play with Braille – is our carefully researched and designed brick kit to help people of all ages perfect their braille skills, in the most fun way possible.

It is aimed at kids aged 6+ and has been designed so that anyone who is curious about braille, be they blind, partially-sighted or sighted, can have fun getting to know the braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way.

Each of the 287 LEGO Braille Bricks is moulded with studs to depict a different letter or number in the braille alphabet, allowing sighted and visually impaired kids to play and learn together on equal terms. These specialty bricks are fully compatible with existing LEGO bricks.

To further complement the play experience and support pre-braille skill development, a digital experience consisting of a series play starters teach players how to orient, attach, and stack the bricks through popular games such as 'Rock, Paper, Scissors.'

The LEGO Group also partnered with the free mobile app Be My Eyes, where LEGO Customer Service colleagues will provide confidential, live visual assistance through the app covering support including unboxing to general product support.

Outcome:
The announcement of LEGO® Braille Bricks release generated a total of 3.8K mentions across print, broadcast, online and social media – including global exclusives with The Guardian, Fast Company and Sky News - with a predicted reach of over 2 billion and mentions in 91 countries.

“LEGO hopes the initiative will help parents and siblings share in learning braille, and the packs will include ideas for a range of educational games that families can play together.” - The Guardian

“The Braille bricks are designed so that anyone who is curious about Braille ‘can have fun getting to know the braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way’” – USA Today

“Learning should be fun. That's LEGO's aim, to encourage learning through play.” – BBC News

More significantly, the product won TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023 for innovation and inclusivity of play to support learning.