A lot has happened in Nathanaël’s life since he was chosen as a LEGO Factory design winner last year. The fact is, he now works for LEGO as a professional model designer, creating bold new designs for the LEGO Technic range. To be fair, Nathanaël was already in the advanced stages of being hired at LEGO when he was chosen as a design winner. But the experience certainly gave his confidence a boost!
Nathanaël has been designing models for most of his life. In exploring his talent for model building as a student, he always tried to accomplish the impossible: "I’d take a set, maybe only glance at the instructions, and then set out on my own – to see just how cool a model I could make using a limited number of bricks." And this belief in pushing the limits is an important part of how Nathanaël approaches his work as a LEGO model designer. "I try to challenge myself and challenge LEGO, pushing the limits wherever I find them," he says.
Nathanaël also has a special place in his heart for "the fans", by which he means adult LEGO designers like himself, who are always looking for that ultimate design challenge: "I design for the kids, but I always have the fans in the back of my mind, and work to support their cause as a LEGO designer," he says.
First of all – have fun!
For Nathanaël, working with LEGO is about having fun and pushing your limits: "My advice is, first of all, to have fun. Then you have to let your imagination run wild and try to make your building follow it. And whatever you do, don’t give up! If you can’t execute a crazy idea the first time, just keep trying. You’ll succeed eventually!" Nathanaël is a LEGO design success story indeed, proving that the path of a true LEGO enthusiast can even lead to a career at LEGO!
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