About ten years ago, I started using LEGO® Serious Play in my facilitation work. I loved how it helped people open up, connect, and think differently. But as I began building my kit, something quickly became clear: representation was missing.

Wheelchairs were rare and ridiculously expensive. Pieces showing racial diversity were practically non-existent. The few Black or Brown minifigure heads I could find? Often double-printed with angry expressions. When I Googled “LEGO afro,” the top result was a bright pink clown wig.

To meet this gap, I sourced and print small batch of plain Black and Brown heads was ordered and custom-printed with soft, neutral expressions. Each head cost around £6 — more than some full LEGO sets — but the investment was worth it.

Participants cried when they saw themselves – truly saw themselves – in a toy for the first time. People asked where they could get the pieces.

One parent told me their child had started wearing their hair out proudly after seeing our afro puffs.

Another spotted a cochlear implant on a minifig and gasped – they’d never seen it before, anywhere.

Some pieces in our kits come from dealers or retired sets – like the guide dog harness or cochlear implants. Others I’ve created or sourced myself. But every piece exists for a reason: to reflect the world we live in, and the people we invite into these spaces.

Figiverse was born from this commitment to representation – not as an add-on, but as the starting point. Now, Figiverse is used in corporate workshops, expos, well-being events, and strategy sessions across the UK. It brings people in with colour and creativity – and keeps them there with meaning. People build themselves. They reflect. They laugh. They connect. Every time I use Figiverse in a session, it’s the part people talk about most. Not because it’s LEGO – but because it feels different. It feels right.

At its heart, Figiverse is about brilliant, inclusive engagement. It’s about bringing people together in a way that feels joyful, authentic, and human – and doing that in a way where representation isn’t an afterthought. It’s built in from the start.