Explore emotions, brick by brick
Individual Project
Work of 2025
Intro
Goal
This project explores how LEGO can help children learn and reflect on their emotions in a tangible way. The aim is to design a playful, approachable digital platform where children can “build” their feelings.
Here, emotions aren’t invisible—they become colorful LEGO creations. Kids give their feelings a physical form they can see and touch. This hands-on experience makes emotions part of their “social reality,” so later, even without LEGO, they can recognize and understand those emotions on their own.
Key feature 1
Expanding emotional vocabularies
When children learn new words for feelings, they unlock more ways to express themselves. Instead of relying on “I feel bad,” they can begin to say “I feel nervous,” “I feel left out,” or “I feel excited.” This richer vocabulary helps them share their inner world more clearly and recognize emotions in others, building stronger connections.
Research in child development has shown that expanding emotional vocabulary is closely linked to improved emotional regulation and social skills, which makes it a powerful foundation for learning and growth.
Overview of Emotional Learning Features
Emotions are represented with consistent colors and icons to guide children in placing them. The icons also ensure accessibility for children who are colorblind.
Each emotion is accompanied by a short explanation in child-friendly language.
Over time, as children encounter different feelings, they can start building connections between their experiences and the emotions they have learned.
Choose an emotion you feel. Here the emotions are separated into pleasant and unpleasant, making it easier for children to decide.
Some experiences may involve multiple emotions; users can choose the one that fits them best.
See an Example
An option to view examples of each emotion is always available, but kept behind a clickable button.
This way, children can access more detail when they are ready, without being overwhelmed by too much text at once.
Key feature 2
Labeling an emotion
Children name a feeling, reflect on its cause, and bring it to life by building a LEGO figure. This turns an abstract emotion into something tangible and playful, giving instant feedback that the feeling is real.
The LEGO figure acts as proof children can hold, show, and share — a small validation that encourages them to trust their emotions. Research also shows that naming emotions and linking them to situations helps children understand and regulate them, and this feature makes that process creative and rewarding.
Children can also choose the eyes for their emotion, giving it character and personality.
Here, children can choose where, whom, or what happened while they are having the feeling.
Then they choose the intensity of the emotion. This step determines how many LEGO bricks will be used.
A random set of LEGO bricks is displayed on the screen for the emotion.
Children can then choose between two paths:
“Show me how to build it” – offering step-by-step instructions for children who prefer guidance.
“I want to build my own way” – giving them freedom to explore and create their own version of the emotion.
Key Features
Both paths help children connect the act of building with expressing emotions, whether through free imagination or structured play.
By clicking “Feelings Saved”, children not only create a digital record of their build but also receive a reminder that their emotion is valid. This simple act of acknowledgement supports them in processing feelings and shows that every emotion, big or small, deserves to be seen.
Testing & Reflection
Testing
Due to GDPR restrictions, I did not conduct formal user studies. Instead, I ran a small informal play session with friends’ children (ages 7–9) to observe how they engaged with the features.
The children understood the color–icon hints and was able to categorize an emotion without difficulty.
The child proudly showed the figure afterward and began talking about what had happened at school, something that doesn’t usually come up so naturally before this product being used.
Reflection
This was a early validation that the concept can engage children and open up conversations around feelings.
One important next step is to see whether repeated use can help children gradually expand their emotional vocabulary. Because this project only ran for a short time, there wasn’t yet enough opportunity to observe clear long-term effects.
Another reflection is that LEGO both supports and limits the expression of emotion because of its fixed material qualities. Since the blocks are uniform, the outcome is always some form of pieces being put together. In contrast, materials like slime have recently become very popular in children’s play — kids often mix different elements into slime to create new textures and sensations. If I had more time, I would like to explore giving children a variety of tactile materials to see whether this could help them express emotions in a richer way.
Research
Due to GDPR and privacy guidelines, my research centered on conversations with children’s therapists, an analysis of the current market, and a review of relevant academic literature.
Research Insights
Children who learn to name their emotions more precisely understand and manage them better. Expanding their emotional vocabulary helps make this possible.
Linking feelings to real events creates a shared “social reality,” turning emotions into concrete experiences. This foundation supports children’s self-regulation and emotional communication.
Target Age: 6-8
At this age, children start moving beyond “happy” or “sad” toward nuanced emotions like pride, frustration, or nervousness. They also begin to use symbolic play deliberately—so a LEGO figure can shift from fantasy play into a representation of an inner state.
Problem
Many children find it hard to understand or talk about their emotions, partly because feelings are abstract concepts.
Emotional education ideally starts with parents helping children name and understand their feelings based on what’s happening around them. But since many parents haven’t had this kind of education themselves, it can be a challenging task for them.