Johnson said it was special to work for an organisation with a high brand recognition, particularly amongst his peers.
“It's not often you tell people you had an internship with ‘so and so’ and they know the workplace,” he said.
“I was able to tell friends and family about the opportunity and it was exciting to see their eyes light up.”
Johnson said he was surprised at how relaxed the working environment was, having expected it to be more formal and structured.
“After getting through all the trainings and formalities, it just felt like any other product design class,” said Johnson.
“Everyone was just working on their task and using one another for feedback and help.”
Working with the LEGO Ninjago team as a model designer, Johnson said every day was fun and his professional skills developed throughout his time in Denmark.
“Being a model designer, I spent most days playing with LEGO bricks and conceptualising new models and designs based on a brief I was given.”
Johnson said he was able to showcase his work at LEGO’s internal company portfolio presentation during his internship.
“The model I worked on went through many prototypes and variations before being shown,” he said.
“I also had the opportunity to work in element design at the same time. I was able to assist the team in digitally sculpting and making new elements for future models, whether that be for mini figures or models.”
Many students travel overseas for the first time during their tertiary education years, but while Johnson had travel experience, this was his first time living overseas and out of home.
“I found it quite exciting. We [Johnson his 3 fellow intern housemates] all still stay in contact with one another,” he said.
“Living in a place where you cannot speak the native tongue was a little tough at times, but in many cases, most people in Denmark have incredibly good English. With Billund being such a small town, it required us to get public transport to be able to explore more of the country.”
“The biggest thing I found about myself whilst living over there in Denmark, was that I was forced to come out of my shell.”
“I am quite reserved and keep to myself when I'm here in Australia, however being over there pushed me to become more vibrant and open to meeting new people. The experience helped me build confidence.”
Johnson’s professional development won’t stop with this internship either. He’s secured a position with Moose Toys, which is one of the biggest toy designers in Australia.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to have a career in the toy industry,” he said.
“Since high school, I have been tailoring my study and curriculum to build skills towards toy design and action figures.”
“I feel like I will always be around toys in some form, and one day I would love to go back to Denmark and rejoin the LEGO group. The workplace and the community around it are incredible.”
“I would also love to work on wrestling figures professionally someday. I have spent so much time customising and building a following for my work in that space, it would be cool to get the chance to innovate and create new figures.”
Story by: Finn Devlin
