How we created the LEGO® Wednesday theme

She’s the deadpan detective with psychic abilities. Her distinct stylings and unique approach has transformed this member of the Addams family into an iconic, pop culture name. So, when MGM Television’s Wednesday series aired on Netflix, it was only a matter of time before our clever LEGO® designers created their own version of the troublesome teen.

Soon, the LEGO Wednesday Addams and LEGO Wednesday & Enid’s Dorm Room sets were born. But just like our favorite goth girl, the design process was complex, dark and moody – in the best kinda way, of course…

Getting to grips with gothic

Wednesday might feel at home among the shadows, but the gothic concept is something this LEGO design team needed to hone and master, capturing the creepy-yet-charming tone while staying true to the LEGO Group’s ethos. No easy feat.

“We had to get that balance just right,” explains Ellen Bowley, a LEGO Model Designer, adding: “We wanted to give the sets a gothic, dark, cool and edgy vibe, but they had to be beautiful and pretty too, just like the show.”

Take the gates to Nevermore Academy, for example. LEGO Model Designer Alberto Galarce explains that the gates were originally very straight and angular. He adds: “However, the director’s aesthetic is very topsy-turvy and cattywampus. So we decided to add hockey sticks on a diagonal and use a bending rod for curviness.” (And yes, he means the hockey stick elements usually reserved for minifigures!).

Elsewhere, clever use of subtle colors like sand blue and intricate graphics helped to really ramp up the macabre feel. “Graphics like the cello and the circular window really bring the dorm room model to life,” explains Ellen.

Deadpan detective

How do you capture a violence-loving, super sleuth in minidoll form? “That’s tough!” says Graphic Designer Conrad Rasmussen.

“To take such minimal design language and make it look like the character took a lot of variations. We had to explore if we wanted her to be cartoony or realistic, and how she would look on a mini-scale and scaled up. It took a lot of back and forth with the model design team for the larger scale, and we ended up doing about fifty versions of her face before we got to the right one.”

“We have a little more liberty with a minidoll compared to a minifigure,” says Conrad. “You have room to play with the whites and irises of the eyes to capture the character’s look.”

Meanwhile, you can choose to build the larger, posable version of Wednesday in either her Nevermore uniform or her black dress from the Rave N’ Dance – a concept that originally started as two separate ideas and later evolved to become a 2-in-1 set.

Design challenges

Elsewhere, more design hurdles were overcome to really capture the gothic magic.

It was apparent that the sentient severed hand, Thing, needed to be a new piece. The reason the designers chose to create a totally new element was to ensure that ‘Thing’ would be able to clip onto any available stud, allowing for more playability, and the addition of graphic detailing on the element itself. “Now, it has a tube side, which makes it quite unique.” This is in part thanks to the vision of David Guedes. “Plus, being separate, Conrad was able to add amazing decoration, too.”

A new 8x8 window element was also created to capture the duality of the window in Wednesday and Enid’s dorm room (discover more design secrets about that here!), while there is also a new gargoyle that the team show off with pride. “The fans are super excited about those!” adds Ellen.

And just how do new elements like this come to be, you ask?

“Element designers work closely with the engineers and mold designers to make sure that any new element is actually moldable,” Alberto explains, adding, “they’re designing things with draft angles and inlets that are incredibly complex, yet always manage to come up with something amazing.”

The build-and-play experience needed to be considered, too. The team wanted to create sets that would make for hauntingly beautiful displays, but still be playable, too.

“We have a mixture of build difficulty – some bits are super easy and others more complex,” explains Ellen, adding, “Both sets offer nice architecture and a mix of easy and complex building techniques.”

Just like writing mystery novels or filling a pool with piranhas (just kidding), these LEGO gothic sets could be your new favorite gothic-infused pastime!