Announcing the new BrickLink Designer Program!
Posted by CapnRex101,
The BrickLink Designer Program was introduced to great success nearly two years ago, providing some interesting sets since then. Now the series is returning, with intriguing updates.
The BrickLink Designer Program Continues with Series 1
Get building and prepare to submit your fan designs during February 2023.
We’re proud to share that the BrickLink Designer Program will live on! We’ve learned from the BDP 2021 Invitational, and the program is here to stay. Series 1 is the first in the new, permanent program. We’ll continue learning and adjusting to make each future Series better.
In late 2020, we announced the BrickLink Designer Program - 2021 Invitational. We ended up dividing the program into three 'rounds', which would produce 5 sets each. These rounds were spread throughout 2021 and 2022. We learned about adapting these fan models to building standards and available elements outside of the traditional LEGO design process.
How Series 1 will work
Series 1 will span 2023 and early 2024, with these milestones:
- Create Your Designs: December 9, 2022 - February 2023: We invite all LEGO enthusiasts 18 and older to design your models in Studio.
- Open Submission: February 1 - 28, 2023: Submit your models during a 4-week window to be considered before the deadline on February 28, 2023 at noon Pacific US time.
- Crowd Validation: March 7 - March 31: We invite all BrickLink members to vote for their favourite submissions. This crowd vote weighs in alongside the BDP’s internal selection criteria and influences the designs chosen for crowdfunding.
- Review: April - May 2023: Our team checks every design for building experience, brand fit, and crowd favorites.
- 5 Designs Announced: Late May 2023: We’ll reveal the five Series 1 designs. Then we’ll collaborate with fan designers to prepare them for production.
- Crowdfunding: February 2024: BrickLink members will be invited to pre-order their favourite designs, with a limit of 2 of each set per household. All designs that receive over 3,000 pre-orders will be produced. We will manufacture up to 20,000 of each set on a limited production run.
- Production and Shipping: Summer/Fall 2024: We produce the sets in the factory. Orders will be ready to ship approximately 6 months after crowdfunding. Actual dates and shipping times may vary.
Important Information about BDP Series 1
- DP Series 1 is accepting submissions between February 1 and February 28, 2023.
- All submissions must follow the Submission Guidelines and use only parts from the BDP Series 1 Palette.
- All are welcome to join our live webinar on December 14th at 8am Pacific / 5pm CET to learn about the Submission Guidelines. Can’t join live? We’ll make a video available after the session. You must register to attend at https://bit.ly/BDPS1-Webinar.
What calling it 'Series 1' says about the Program's future
We’re committed to helping you realise your ideas through the BrickLink Designer Program. By calling this iteration Series 1, we’re indicating the BrickLink Designer Program has matured from the one-off 2021 Invitational into a program we can sustain over time. With this and each future Series, we’ll issue a fresh brief and Submission Guidelines. This way, the program can evolve as we learn from experience during each series.
Brickset participated in a roundtable about the BrickLink Designer Program last week, which revealed some more information:
- BrickLink Designer Program sets will continue to be available only for those in countries where LEGO.com delivers.
- Unsuccessful LEGO Ideas projects will be eligible for submission to the BrickLink Designer Program.
- LEGO is aware of the considerable variation in delivery times for the BrickLink Designer Program sets and will be seeking greater consistency going forward.
- There will be a limit of two copies of each set per person, when pre-orders begin.
- As normal for these BrickLink sets, only digital instructions will be available.
You can learn more on BrickLink.
Would you consider submitting a design and which have been your favourite BrickLink Designer Program sets so far? Let us know in the comments.
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41 comments on this article
Wish I could make a set good enough to be a part of this.
They’re overpriced for a reason that I understand, but dang I want one so bad!
With the issues they've had in the past in EVERY stage (lost packages, ordering issues, etc.), this is the definition of insanity - doing the exact same thing over again and expecting a different result.
This is gonna be not good for Lego if they can't get their act together... there is such as thing as bad publicity, you know!
I like that it is not limited to the sets gaining orders the fastest, and there will be more available. Sounds like a win-win.
@Murdoch17 said:
"With the issues they've had in the past in EVERY stage (lost packages, ordering issues, etc.), this is the definition of insanity - doing the exact same thing over again and expecting a different result.
This is gonna be not good for Lego if they can't get their act together... there is such as thing as bad publicity, you know!"
There are a ton of changes, though. This reads as if it's being handled more like 2019's ADP than the one-off invitational.
I kinda want to design some basic 80s/90s type Castle and see how it does. Max of 250 parts, make it have some modular features, and leave it at that.
I got a Castle in the Forest, so that's gonna win my favorite BL set so far.
What’s the advantage of doing this compared to just normally submitting to Lego ideas?
@someguy827 said:
"What’s the advantage of doing this compared to just normally submitting to Lego ideas?"
I think the platforms suit different types of projects. Modular Buildings, for example, have never been selected on LEGO Ideas, but they have been successful via BrickLink.
Why 18 and older? I understand they don't want a ton of crap posts from younger kids, but I'm 15, and I would love to participate!
This is very exciting. :o)
But there's always good with the bad.
Good - BLDP is back and appears set to stay!
Good - all selected sets will be built, provided they reach the 3000 threshold. No more competition between sets.
Good - we all get a voice in choosing which sets get considered and even chosen
Good - quantities double to 20,000
Bad - we won't actually see these sets for another 18 to 20 months
Bad - though it's good that sets don't need to compete against each other, this results in fewer sets for us to support :o(
Bad - based on the above timeline, it's not clear when a Series 2 might commence and then those sets would be 2025 at the earliest
Wow, a dream come true!
EDIT: Wow, those guidelines ....!
@sideswinger said:
"Why 18 and older? I understand they don't want a ton of crap posts from younger kids, but I'm 15, and I would love to participate!"
Legality, they would be doing contracts with you and such and it's likely a lot easier to deal with an adult.
So is this a less competitive version of Ideas? It seems that you no longer have a 10,000 vote threshold, but rather a 3,000 sets purchased threshold. However, thee is still voting and Bricklink’s say in what can get produced.
On a side note, the most recent iteration of this (which was taken from Ideas sets that reached 10,000) were incredibly expensive sets. I’m wondering if that will be the case again, or if they will be open to more affordable sets making it through. I imagine when you are limited to producing only 20,000 of each set that it becomes important that each set has a large enough profit to make it worthwhile producing. I imagine Lego would be much more willing to produce a $200 set that results in $100 profit, than a $10 set that results in only a $5 profit.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @someguy827 said:
"What’s the advantage of doing this compared to just normally submitting to Lego ideas?"
I think the platforms suit different types of projects. Modular Buildings, for example, have never been selected on LEGO Ideas, but they have been successful via BrickLink."
However it is Lego’s choice not to produce Modular’s through Ideas, they most certainly could if they wanted to, and plenty of people want them to. I think that this is a simply a low-risk way of democratizing Ideas. If anything it’s a form of market research that can influence what they approve in the future.
@yellowcastle said:
"Bad - based on the above timeline, it's not clear when a Series 2 might commence and then those sets would be 2025 at the earliest
"
According to the FAQ on Bricklink:
Will you be doing more BDP Series in the future? How often?
Yes. While we are not committing to exact timeframes, we do anticipate accepting submissions up to three times per year on a rolling basis. This means while the previous series sets are in production, we may be accepting submissions for the next series.
Please fix the white text highlights, it's very jarring on the dark mode background.
But this is generally good, look forward to whatever comes of it. Sadly, don't think too many people will be submitting smaller models compared to the inevitable five hundred different modulars this will invite; hopefully the selection panel and the window for submission will help with that though. 18 month turnaround seems fairly decent, if obviously accelerated given some of the additional work done.
It's good to have another alternative to ideas for more niche items though.
Well, looks like I'm buying 10 sets in February 2024.
Oh, definitely trying!
@paulvdb said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"Bad - based on the above timeline, it's not clear when a Series 2 might commence and then those sets would be 2025 at the earliest
"
According to the FAQ on Bricklink:
Will you be doing more BDP Series in the future? How often?
Yes. While we are not committing to exact timeframes, we do anticipate accepting submissions up to three times per year on a rolling basis. This means while the previous series sets are in production, we may be accepting submissions for the next series."
Thanks, delving into the small print now. :o)
Even if you don't want to submit, the Guidelines (https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/guidelines.page) are fascinating to read. I assume these are similar to the constraints designers at LEGO operate in. I learned out for example that using a 2x2 turntable base alone is not allowed, which explains why we rarely see them used decoratively.
Ok, so here are the guidelines that jumped out at me:
• Family Friendly
• No IP
• 400 to 4000 pieces
• Must create instructions
• Maximum of 1 minifigure to 325 parts (so no more than 12 for a 4000 piece set)
• Maximum of 1 sticker design per 250 parts (no more than 25 sticker designs)
• No unnecessary complexity?
• Normal LEGO building (and sticker) rules apply
@Galaktek said:
"Even if you don't want to submit, the Guidelines ( https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/guidelines.page ) are fascinating to read.(...)"
Thanks for the link! That is indeed a very interesting read.
I particularly enjoyed:
"Stickers must cover the entire surface on which they are applied"
IF ONLY THAT WERE TRUE.
Funny that it should be called Series 1 when in fact we have already had several rounds of the BDP in various guises.
To me it's Series 3.
I've got "The LEGO Story" from Series 1 (the AFOL Designer Program from 2019), and "The Great Fishing Boat" and the "Venetian Houses" from Series 2 (the Bricklink Designer Program from 2021).
And I consider myself lucky to not have had any problems with those orders / shipments. It took a while but went totally smoothly.
I think it's dumb that you can only use an approved list of bricks that can only be found on Stud.io which stops people like me from participating because I have to use mecabricks due to computer limitations.
Hopefully we get more professional instructions. I don’t mind them being digital bit the quality is really lousy
It looks like someone shot their logo with a high caliber rifle.
@merman said:
"Hopefully we get more professional instructions. I don’t mind them being digital bit the quality is really lousy"
I wonder if the low quality of the instructions has to do with Lego Instruction app. I've used it on an iPad for the Fishing Boat and found them extremely frustrating to use. The digital app should allow free rotation, zooming and repositioning of views but in practice I was unable to do that on many steps in the instructions.
I didn't find a setting that needed to be "unlocked" to allow that so I assume it was design limitations in the app itself. I'm not sure if that was to make the app more child-friendly or simply a coding oversight.
Free rotation and better viewing of the parts assembly seems like the major advantage of digital instructions over paper. But without that it made the fishing boat - an already challenging build in some sections - more frustrating than it should've been.
@ToyTownBreakDown said:
" @merman said:
"Hopefully we get more professional instructions. I don’t mind them being digital bit the quality is really lousy"
I wonder if the low quality of the instructions has to do with Lego Instruction app. I've used it on an iPad for the Fishing Boat and found them extremely frustrating to use. The digital app should allow free rotation, zooming and repositioning of views but in practice I was unable to do that on many steps in the instructions.
I didn't find a setting that needed to be "unlocked" to allow that so I assume it was design limitations in the app itself. I'm not sure if that was to make the app more child-friendly or simply a coding oversight.
Free rotation and better viewing of the parts assembly seems like the major advantage of digital instructions over paper. But without that it made the fishing boat - an already challenging build in some sections - more frustrating than it should've been."
My understanding is you had to use the Lego Builder app. Is that the same thing or are there two different apps? I built both the bowling alley and the Venetian Houses and I could rotate, zoom, etc every single step or is that because Round 2 was better in the instruction dept from Round 1 which had the boat?
@ToyTownBreakDown said:
" @merman said:
"Hopefully we get more professional instructions. I don’t mind them being digital bit the quality is really lousy"
I wonder if the low quality of the instructions has to do with Lego Instruction app. I've used it on an iPad for the Fishing Boat and found them extremely frustrating to use. The digital app should allow free rotation, zooming and repositioning of views but in practice I was unable to do that on many steps in the instructions.
I didn't find a setting that needed to be "unlocked" to allow that so I assume it was design limitations in the app itself. I'm not sure if that was to make the app more child-friendly or simply a coding oversight.
Free rotation and better viewing of the parts assembly seems like the major advantage of digital instructions over paper. But without that it made the fishing boat - an already challenging build in some sections - more frustrating than it should've been."
My understanding is you had to use the Lego Builder app. Is that the same thing or are there two different apps? I built both the bowling alley and the Venetian Houses and I could rotate, zoom, etc every single step or is that because Round 2 was better in the instruction dept from Round 1 which had the boat?
PS I used my iPhone 11.
@Murdoch17 said:
"With the issues they've had in the past in EVERY stage (lost packages, ordering issues, etc.), this is the definition of insanity - doing the exact same thing over again and expecting a different result.
This is gonna be not good for Lego if they can't get their act together... there is such as thing as bad publicity, you know!"
Your experience is very different from mine and plenty of others. My order, payment and shipment were all perfectly within description. Maybe because I'm in Europe. But judging by the comments in forums and lego groups lot of US residents didn't have your problems.
It would be nice if they were more affordable, but I suspect they won't be.
@Glacier_Phoenix said:
" @sideswinger said:
"Why 18 and older? I understand they don't want a ton of crap posts from younger kids, but I'm 15, and I would love to participate!"
Legality, they would be doing contracts with you and such and it's likely a lot easier to deal with an adult. "
In the U.S., you cannot make a legally binding contract with anyone under 18.
@thor96 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
"With the issues they've had in the past in EVERY stage (lost packages, ordering issues, etc.), this is the definition of insanity - doing the exact same thing over again and expecting a different result.
This is gonna be not good for Lego if they can't get their act together... there is such as thing as bad publicity, you know!"
Your experience is very different from mine and plenty of others. My order, payment and shipment were all perfectly within description. Maybe because I'm in Europe. But judging by the comments in forums and lego groups lot of US residents didn't have your problems."
I had almost all of the same issues. I count myself very lucky to finally receive 3 of them. I ordered 10.
@yellowcastle said:
"Ok, so here are the guidelines that jumped out at me:
• Family Friendly
• No IP"
Seems fine.
"• 400 to 4000 pieces"
Heh, you wouldn't find an Ideas set with a 3-digit piece count outside of GWPs nowadays.
"• Must create instructions"
Given the amount of complaints I've heard about the building experience of BDP sets, this is great! It forces designers to really consider how their models will be built, and design accordingly. I actually incorporate steps into my models from the very beginning so I don't have to worry about distributing 2000 pieces across dozens of steps after the fact. It also helps me envision how I will build my models physically, since most of my digital designs are intended to be built physically. I don't bother creating steps if I'm making a tablescrap, something impractical, or something that's otherwise going to stay digital.
"• Maximum of 1 minifigure to 325 parts (so no more than 12 for a 4000 piece set)"
This does seem a little strict, but not unreasonable. I guess BDP submissions tend to be more parts-intensive anyway so the ratio probably seems fine to others.
"• Maximum of 1 sticker design per 250 parts (no more than 25 sticker designs)"
OK.
"• No unnecessary complexity?"
Yeah, this is so vague.
"• Normal LEGO building (and sticker) rules apply"
OK.
@AustinPowers said:
"Funny that it should be called Series 1 when in fact we have already had several rounds of the BDP in various guises.
To me it's Series 3.
I've got "The LEGO Story" from Series 1 (the AFOL Designer Program from 2019), and "The Great Fishing Boat" and the "Venetian Houses" from Series 2 (the Bricklink Designer Program from 2021).
And I consider myself lucky to not have had any problems with those orders / shipments. It took a while but went totally smoothly. "
See it as:
ADP 2019
BDP Invitational 2021
BDP S1...
"Don’t insert a stud into a Technic pinhole"
- now that's a rather odd guideline seeing as it's done quite often in official sets.
@Galaktek said:
"I learned out for example that using a 2x2 turntable base alone is not allowed"
I guess the 208 used in 10256 : Taj Mahal is the exception to the rule then.
If this helps to bring the prices down that would be great. I've been interested in some of these sets more than once but the price tag is so high that it prevents me from pre-ordering. Last time it was the Observatory, beautiful set, I remember the struggle with myself, wanting so bad to press the button to order while my wallet screamed "Don't do it!". In the end the wallet won.
@MrClassic said:
[[[[Don’t insert a stud into a Technic pinhole]]
- now that's a rather odd guideline seeing as it's done quite often in official sets.
@Galaktek said:
[[I learned out for example that using a 2x2 turntable base alone is not allowed]]
I guess the 208 used in 10256 : Taj Mahal is the exception to the rule then.]]
Taj Mahal was the only set I could think of to use them decoratively. They probably got complaints about the pieces being hard to remove, and wrote the rule because of it.
@Galaktek:
What about turntable tops? I actually used some in the roofs of my Home Alone extensions, since they were the only part that was small enough to fit.
@LegoSonicBoy:
I design my cars from the outside working inward, so if I ever do organize the file into instruction order, it has to come well after the fact. Even a minor tweak to the design can make it necessary to completely replan every step from that point on. I actually have to do this tonight. Next to our annual layout at The Henry Ford Museum, they recently installed one of the two surviving Fauxrari cars from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. We were asked if someone could build a model of it, so I took a crack at it. I’m having to sub a few parts, but I’m planning to build it on-site Sunday afternoon. So, tonight I will be spending some time playing with the LDraw file so I can just click through the steps.
@MrClassic:
There are rules for studs into Technic holes, and it may just be for the sake of experience that they don’t list them all in favor of just banning the practice.
@BrickTeller:
Turntables have tile grooves. A Type II brick separator works fine. So do fingernails.
If I've read the rules correctly it looks like a 2nd chance to submit all my Lego Ideas that didn't make 10k before time ran out. That means if everyone else over the last 10 years does the same there should be 100,000 of entries! I just wonder if the Bricklink team are prepared for this, as the only exclusions are those still active?
I hope we see some of the ones from previous bdp try again here. I look forward to seeing submissions in February.