He will have (indirectly) animated the days many children. Danish Jens Nygaard Knudsen, inventor of the famous figurine Lego, died Wednesday at the age of 78, one of his former colleagues announced on Saturday, February 22. "He had a fantastic imagination, he had so many ideas.", confided Niels Milan Pedersen.

Jens Nygaard Knudsen worked at Lego from 1968 to 2000 and in the 1970s designed the famous little man with movable arms and legs, which was launched in 1978. The brand decided to put a neutral expression on his face, without mention of sex or race, in order to give free rein to children's imagination. "He created this figurine to bring life into homes." and structures made from Lego bricks, his widow, Marianne Nygaard Knudsen, told TV2.

The Lego minifigure has lost its father. This weekend, we learned of the death of the inventor of the little character designed in the 1970s, aged 78. The company owes him a great deal.

Jens Nygaard Knudsen was a man with a fertile imagination, even "fantastic," to use the words of his colleagues. It was to him that generations of children, parents, and collectors owe the little man with movable arms and legs, launched in 1978, who would become the essential companion the famous little multicolored plastic bricks.

A successful character

Success is based on two words : idea and marketing. The creator decides to put a neutral expression on the character's face, without mention of gender or race, to give free rein to children's imaginations. This brings us back to the debate. current debate on "gender," in the toy sector, precisely. But this is 1978. The Danish inventor of the Lego character was forty years ahead of the debates that animate us today.

Lego has remained a strong brand worldwide

Lego is one of the top three toy manufacturers in the world, alongside Hasbro and Mattel, with its famous Barbie. Each generates revenues of around five billion euros. The group experienced significant difficulties in the 2000s due to competition from video games. It then launched children's jewelry and clothing, and amusement parks, but these failed to take off.

New dynamics

A new boss arrived in 2003 and it was a revolution. The group signed operating franchises left, right and centre, notably to develop derivative products and a collection. Star Wars. Star Wars saves Lego. The Danish group currently employs 17 people 000 people and is facing a new challenge: replacing plastic. The pesky plastic material that has made its small, multicolored bricks so popular since their creation in 1958. Lego has found the solution in biomaterials: the bricks are now made from plant fiber, notably from sugar cane.

The inventor of the Lego minifigure has died at the age of 78.