LEGO Invites All To Spell ‘A To Z’ Of Pride In Crowd Typography Movement

Images via LEGO

LEGO is all about building art that represents yourself, and it’s now expanding this vision multifold in a massive show of support for LGBTQIA+ individuals. The best part? The project will be entirely shaped by the public, because who better to show what self-expression means?

Called The A-Z of Awesome, the all-new initiative will showcase LEGO builds by LGBTQIA+ individuals and advocates, as well as LEGO employees, and will run through 2023.

Conversations about gender identity are still confusing for the broader public—GLAAD, an inclusive media-monitoring nonprofit, estimates that 45% of non-LGBTQIA+ people still struggle to understand the community’s terminology. The aim is thus to explain the vocabulary in a way that’s playful and relatable to all. LEGO is embedded in many childhood memories, so that’s half the battle won.

Image via LEGO

Needless to say, everyone’s Pride journey is different, so the toymaker is encouraging fans to tell their stories by channeling their identities into LEGO art. Anyone can show off their portrayals of the LGBTQIA+ alphabet by sharing their builds online with the #AtoZofAwesome hashtag.

LEGO will gather creators’ work to spell out the full alphabet on a dedicated A-Z of Awesome website by the end of this year.

The company has already spotlighted a series of artworks by some members of the LGBTQIA+ community in its launch campaign. Besides typographic interpretations of the alphabet, we also have vibrant dioramas personal to each artist.

From top left to bottom right: personal interpretations of the acronyms for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and +. Images via LEGO

“The wonderful thing about LEGO bricks is that they can be a powerful form of self-expression as you can build anything you can imagine. We also know people love talking about what they build, so we thought it would be a great medium for sparking important and sometimes difficult conversations about identity,” explains Alero Akuya, VP of Brand Development at the LEGO Group.

“We can’t wait to see what fans will submit of amazing builds and beautiful stories. We hope their creativity and our A-Z of Awesome campaign inspires people of all ages and helps build greater awareness and acceptance. We want to show people that with more love and understanding people can be their true selves,” Akuya continues.

Crystallizing its stance, the LEGO Group has pledged US$1 million to organizations supporting the community. It will also join in on Pride events in places such as London and Munich.

[via Marketing Interactive, Mashable, LEGO, images via LEGO]