Tag: Lego

Scottish Engineering Leaders Award 2019

On Saturday, Reuben, Joshua, Isaac and I travelled to the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow to visit the Scottish Engineering Leaders Award 2019 exhibition.

We went to see Joshua’s design on display. His idea had been judged as “highly commended” putting him in the top 42 of 17,500 Scottish entries.

Continue reading Scottish Engineering Leaders Award 2019

A weekend of LEGO building

Kylo Ren's command shuttle and Poe Dameron's X-wing fighter
Kylo Ren’s command shuttle and Poe Dameron’s X-Wing fighter

Reuben and Joshua have spent the weekend building LEGO models they received for their eighth birthdays.

Reuben built Poe’s X-Wing Fighter (75102) while Joshua built Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle (75104). And so that Isaac wouldn’t feel left out he received a wee silver Captain Phasma stormtrooper minifigure.

It took them pretty much all day, finishing just before bedtime.

LEGO ipsum

A couple of days ago I searched online for a LEGO style guide. I was certain that I’d read somewhere that the LEGO Group recommends that you refer to their product as LEGO bricks rather than LEGOs.

I found it in their legal notice on copyrights, trademarks and unfair competition. But not before I stumbled upon this document.

This is the back page of the LEGOLAND Florida style guide 2010 which outlines the LEGOLAND brand, logos and identity.

LEGOLAND Florida style guide

Wait a minute, what’s the last bit of copy on that page? Isn’t it in Latin?

It sure is. It’s a jumbled up piece of Cicero that has been used by publishers since the 1500s as dummy text. It’s called lorem ipsum and is still used designers to demonstrate what the design would look like before the final copy has been completed. And often also missed by designers.

A few years ago I remember reading someone who advised against using lorem ipsum in favour of actual text, even very rough, first draft text. It’s good advice.

The image above is from the 2010 style guide. I also found the 2011 edition which looks exactly the same, which makes me think that it wasn’t an oversight but an example of the style guide in action. It did make me smile though.