Lego Minifigure Designer Jens Nygaard Knudsen Passes Away

At the age of 78

Passed away from ALS

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Jens Nygaard Knudsen, the Danish designer who created the LEGO minifigure, passed away from ALS on the 19th. He was 78 years old.

According to CNN, Nygaard Knudsen died on the 19th at a hospice facility in Denmark due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

LEGO expressed on social media, "We are deeply saddened to hear that Jens Nygaard Knudsen, the creator of the LEGO minifigure, has passed away." LEGO added, "Thank you, Jens, for the ideas, imagination, and inspiration you have given to LEGO builders across generations."

Nygaard Knudsen's fellow designer Nils Milan Pedersen recalled him, saying, "Jens's imagination was fantastic. He had so many ideas that brainstorming sessions felt like a 'brain hurricane'."

Nygaard Knudsen worked as a LEGO designer from 1968 to 2000. He developed the design of minifigures with movable limbs in the 1970s, and the minifigure in its current form was first introduced in 1978.

LEGO's steady seller series, the 'Space' theme and the 'Pirates' theme, also originated from his ideas.

According to LEGO, the initial design of the minifigure did not specify a particular 'gender' or 'ethnicity,' intending to leave it to the imagination of children playing with them.