One of the biggest challenges fans face when they discover BrickLink is the learning curve – and a new section of the website intends to make that easier.
BrickLink Academy is a new area of the platform’s website that intends to show users how to make the most out of BrickLink. It is in a very early form at the moment, but it includes videos that show how to use Studio, what’s going on with Designer Program and how to sell on Marketplace.
BrickLink is part of the LEGO Group’s offering for the engaged fan community, a place to buy and sell elements, design original builds and possibly even have your creation become an official LEGO model. Because it takes fans deeper into the hobby, some BrickLink offerings – such as Studio, the digital design software – have a learning curve to them.
“We want to create a learning platform and the core idea is to have a centralised location for learning and skill progression on BrickLink,” says LEGO Innovation Lead Jake Moore. “It will cover different topics like buying and selling on BrickLink, how to use the Studio app, advanced building techniques, stuff like that.”
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There’s a survey running that is asking for feedback from users – the feedback that comes from that survey will directly feed into how BrickLink Academy grows and evolves in the future. Beyond the website itself, the resource might include information about how to unlock creativity or how to use advanced building techniques.
“The V1 version is definitely not yet a true learning platform,” says Jake. “Once we have evaluated that we want to build it and the community wants to have it, we can start creating a really cool curriculum.”
Although the current version is very bare bones, with a lot still to come, the BrickLink team hope it indicates the direction of travel.
“Hopefully it’s a good sign of our intent, where we want to start adding more value back into our community,” says Head of BrickLink Steven Lee.
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