The Speed of Culture Podcast

Episode: "Smart Bricks: How the LEGO Group is revolutionizing the iconic toy with screen-free interactive play"
Host: Matt Britton, Founder and CEO of Suzy
Guest: Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President and Head of Creative Play Lab at LEGO Group
Air Date: January 20, 2026

Overview

This episode spotlights LEGO Group’s breakthrough in toy innovation: LEGO Smart Play, a multidimensional evolution of the classic brick, designed to bring interactive, screen-free play to children (and adults) worldwide. Host Matt Britton sits down with Tom Donaldson to discuss shifting consumer trends, the vision and R&D behind Smart Play, the rising adult LEGO market, creativity’s place in the AI era, and the future trajectory of both LEGO and play itself.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. LEGO Smart Play: Bringing Bricks to Life

[02:02–05:27]

• What is Smart Play?
  • A new LEGO system dimension: interactive, physical play using responsive "smart bricks" embedded with sensors, lights, and audio.
  • Integrates seamlessly with existing LEGO sets, extending traditional play into a more dynamic realm.
  • Detects the presence of specific tags, minifigures, colors, and how models interact, enabling bricks to react as creatures, vehicles, or whatever a child imagines.

“We’re bringing interactive physical play to the entire LEGO brick world... It’s a LEGO brick that is really responsive to how kids play, but builds into existing LEGO models, extends the building play that we know and love to be much more interactive and physically responsive.”
— Tom Donaldson [03:29]

• Sounds & Interactivity:
  • Generates tailored audio responses (e.g., engine sounds, trumpeting elephants, sirens) via an embedded synthesizer, allowing endless creative possibilities.
  • Bricks can mirror physical actions—moving faster revs an engine sound; sudden stops can trigger skidding noises.

“It’s actually generating new sounds in response to how kids are playing… It’s huge.”
— Tom Donaldson [04:27, 05:04]

• Philosophy Behind the Tech:
  • Designed to enhance imagination, not dictate or automate play.
  • Aims to foster surprise, feedback, and agency for the child.
  • Smart Play is not a pivot away from traditional LEGO, but a “new layer of play”—comparable to how minifigures added character-based imagination without replacing the core brick experience.

2. Innovation Process & Listener Insights

[05:27–08:27]

• R&D Approach:
  • Long-standing, iterative development with robust child-centered testing (including real-life, unsupervised home trials).

“Conviction is built brick by brick, if I’m really honest. In the early days, it’s senior leadership setting a dream. And I’m a big believer in demo and prototype…capture the magic.”
— Tom Donaldson [07:28]

• Business Viability:
  • Emphasis on not just technical feasibility or child joy, but ensuring the innovation is commercially sound.

3. LEGO’s Growing Adult Fan Base

[08:27–09:09]

• Trend: Adult builders are among LEGO's fastest-growing customer groups.
• Drivers: Nostalgia, relaxation, and the joy of physical creativity.
• Approach: Tapping latent adult demand with innovative sets and experiences.

“There was quite a lot of latent desire for LEGO products… we’re just finding new ways to tap into new audiences with ultimately the same proposition.”
— Tom Donaldson [08:42]

4. Creativity in the Age of AI

[09:09–12:53]

• AI’s Impact:
  • AI can reproduce predictability; human creativity, values, curiosity, and problem-identification become even more essential.
  • The true power of AI is as a creativity-augmenting tool—not a replacement.

“At the end of the day, things that are quite predictable go down in value as AI can do things… things that are not yet predictable, because you’re creative…aren’t.”
— Tom Donaldson [09:35]

• On Everyone Becoming a “Creative Director”:
  • Democratization of creative tools, including AI, allows more people to realize and refine ideas.
  • Creativity as a teachable, learnable skill—central to LEGO’s brand mission.

“Creativity is something we can teach or at least help people learn for themselves.”
— Tom Donaldson [12:21]

5. Education, Growth Mindset, and Creative Play

[12:53–14:19]

• Education vs. Creativity:
  • Current school systems focus on memorization; the future requires fostering creativity and growth mindsets from early ages.
• Role of LEGO: An ideal tool for unlocking creative potential—directly aligned with 21st-century educational needs.

“I think AI can help everybody have a growth mindset… if you’re minded to learn, it’s increasingly easy to learn stuff.”
— Tom Donaldson [13:25]

6. Tom Donaldson’s Career Journey and Leadership Philosophy

[16:01–18:58]

• Background: Deep tech and engineering (including early AI), startup experience, transitioning to LEGO for purpose-driven impact and leadership growth.
• Role at LEGO:
  • Focus on leadership, mentoring, and nurturing a risk-tolerant, creative team culture.
  • No right/wrong answers; success is measured by delight, not binary outcomes.
• Traits of Future Leaders:
  • Curiosity (especially about other disciplines)
  • Resilience ("doing something, knowing there's a good chance that 6, 9, 12 months of your work will be completely wasted. And doing that with relish is a superpower.")
  • Values; a sense of positive, purposeful impact

“Curiosity for people outside your domain and topics outside your domain is really important. Resilience is really important. And I think values are super important, if I’m honest.”
— Tom Donaldson [18:58]

7. Resilience, Boredom, and the Creative Process

[21:03–23:41]

• Building Resilience:
  • Using setbacks as learning and creative opportunities (e.g., rebuilding after your creation is knocked down).
• Boredom as a Creative Superpower:
  • The importance of quieting external noise to access one's unique creative voice.

“Deliberately becoming bored has been part of my creative process because I know that if I just hang on long enough, the ideas will start flowing.”
— Tom Donaldson [22:56]

8. LEGO Star Wars & Working with Other IP

[23:41–24:50]

• Longstanding Partnership:
  • 25 years with Star Wars; a relationship built on mutual ambition for high-quality experiences, storytelling, and innovation.
  • Smart Play is launching first in LEGO Star Wars sets.

“That’s the heart of any great collaboration, is a mutual desire to do something special.”
— Tom Donaldson [23:59]

9. CES, Broader Tech Trends, and the Future of Play

[24:50–26:54]

• Excitement over quantum computing and a shift towards more physical robotics at CES.
• Speculation on the convergence of AI and LEGO:
  • Will kids one day build LEGO robots they can talk to?
  • Caution: Ensuring future play deepens human imagination rather than replaces it.

“We would want the kid interacting with that creature… to be an incredibly big part of that play experience and not feel that they were just given a creature and there you go.”
— Tom Donaldson [26:03]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Conviction is built brick by brick, if I’m really honest.”
  — Tom Donaldson [07:28]

• “Creativity is a massive part of that because… things that are not yet predictable, because you’re creative, because you’ve got a spark of imagination aren’t.”
  — Tom Donaldson [09:35]

• “I think curiosity, and in particular, curiosity for people outside your domain and topics outside your domain is really important. Resilience is really important. Nothing that got done that was worth doing was easy.”
  — Tom Donaldson [18:58]

• “Deliberately becoming bored has been part of my creative process because I know that if I just hang on long enough, the ideas will start flowing.”
  — Tom Donaldson [22:56]

• “Magic works in lo fi… you see something special very early on when you just make it out of post it notes and cardboard…that’s what carries you through difficult programs.”
  — Tom Donaldson [27:02]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:02]: Introduction of LEGO Smart Play
• [03:29–05:27]: Smart Play’s features, sounds, and philosophy
• [07:28]: R&D and conviction-building at LEGO
• [08:42]: Rise of adult LEGO users
• [09:35–12:53]: Creativity, AI, and the future of work
• [16:17]: Tom’s career path and leadership
• [18:58]: Qualities of future leaders
• [21:03]: Lessons on resilience and creativity
• [23:59]: Importance of IP partnerships (LEGO Star Wars)
• [26:03]: Future of AI, robotics, and play
• [27:02]: Tom’s mantra: “Magic works in lo fi”

Final Takeaway

LEGO’s new Smart Play system exemplifies how even the most beloved analog brands can thrive by layering future-forward interactivity over timeless principles. Donaldson’s insights reflect a belief in creativity, curiosity, resilience, and the power of seeing magic—often in the earliest, roughest prototypes. As both technology and expectations evolve, LEGO aims to stay at the heart of creative play for all ages, ensuring the bricks not only endure, but come vividly to life.