What is a Kronkiwongi?

[Hapori Tohu]

LEGO is sometimes criticized for focusing on licensed themes that leave little room for imagination like in the 'classic' LEGO experience. But recently they've started a new campaign that focuses on some of the core tenets of the brand. In their own words:

A Kronkiwongi does not come with instructions. A Kronkiwongi is not in any dictionary and cannot be found anywhere. A Kronkiwongi cannot be truly defined... because it is anything you can imagine and build with LEGO bricks.

If you're interested in more, check out the LEGO Clube page and the gallery where you can share your Kronkiwongi. And make sure you check out that video - it's adorable!

 

View the full article

[ChocolateFrogs]

I'm 100% serious about this: Everyone name at least one of their MOCs Kronkiwongi for BrickFair VA this year. One Bionicle. One spaceship. One castle defense. For each person! So we can have a variety of numerous Kronkiwongis shown off!

 

-CF

[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

A Kronkiwongi cannot be truly defined... because it is anything you can imagine and build with LEGO bricks.

 

So... it's a funny term for "MOC"?

 

I think I'll just stick with MOC.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Vorahk1Panrahk2

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

The article says "LEGO Clube."

 

What if the Generation 1 Mask of Creation was named "Kanohi Kronkiwongi?" It fits the creativity thing. I dare someone to suggest this to Greg.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Cheesy Mac n Cheese

[masterchirox580]

Why not just call it a MOC? And hasn't the lego.com gallery been promoting this for years? This whole thing just feels pointless considering the fact lego were already doing it (minus the weird name). 

[The Meta Knight]

Why not just call it a MOC? And hasn't the lego.com gallery been promoting this for years? This whole thing just feels pointless considering the fact lego were already doing it (minus the weird name). 

 

If history has taught mankind anything, it's that everything sells better when you give it a weird name. It certainly sounds friendlier then MOC. I've been coming to this site, as well as other Lego themed sites for years, and I still don't know what MOC stands for. Neither will the children know what it means if Lego were to advertise it as a "MOC." Even if it was explicitly stated what it means, it still wouldn't draw as much attention as "Kronkiwongi." MOC may be a simple word, but I can guarantee that it will be much more alienating than the word Kronkiwongi. I think it's safe to say this will be a much more successful advertisement campaign.

 

Leave it to Lego to always think of the kids.

[masterchirox580]

 

Why not just call it a MOC? And hasn't the lego.com gallery been promoting this for years? This whole thing just feels pointless considering the fact lego were already doing it (minus the weird name). 

 

If history has taught mankind anything, it's that everything sells better when you give it a weird name. It certainly sounds friendlier then MOC. I've been coming to this site, as well as other Lego themed sites for years, and I still don't know what MOC stands for. Neither will the children know what it means if Lego were to advertise it as a "MOC." Even if it was explicitly stated what it means, it still wouldn't draw as much attention as "Kronkiwongi." MOC may be a simple word, but I can guarantee that it will be much more alienating than the word Kronkiwongi. I think it's safe to say this will be a much more successful advertisement campaign.

 

Leave it to Lego to always think of the kids.

 

If you want to know MOC stands for "My Own Creation", and I still think they could have chosen a better name then krongi whatever.

[Aanchir]

Why not just call it a MOC? And hasn't the lego.com gallery been promoting this for years? This whole thing just feels pointless considering the fact lego were already doing it (minus the weird name). 

 

The idea is to encourage kids to free themselves up creatively. Every Kronkiwongi is a MOC, but not every MOC is a Kronkiwongi. What makes a Kronkiwongi special is not just that it can look like anything, but that nobody knows what it's supposed to look like. This is vastly different from building a MOC of a more specific subject like a car or a plane, where there are some generally accepted specifications of what it should look like.

 

And this challenge is less about the end result than about the process of getting there. This isn't just asking people to build whatever they like and then CALL it a Kronkiwongi, which might get you very run-of-the-mill results based on what the people taking the challenge are already inclined to build. Rather, it's asking people to imagine something they've literally never seen nor heard of. And as such, that leads to a much more unconventional creative process, forcing the builder to make things up as they go.

 

Granted, there aren't any rules or stipulations, so there's nothing stopping somebody from just building a model of a more familiar subject and then calling it a Kronkiwongi. But there's nothing to be gained from doing that, either. It defeats the purpose of the exercise, which is to encourage creative improvisation. Nobody's offering you any kind of reward for defiantly or ironically sticking to conventional thinking in an exercise that's meant to encourage the exact opposite.

[masterchirox580]

 

Why not just call it a MOC? And hasn't the lego.com gallery been promoting this for years? This whole thing just feels pointless considering the fact lego were already doing it (minus the weird name). 

 

The idea is to encourage kids to free themselves up creatively. Every Kronkiwongi is a MOC, but not every MOC is a Kronkiwongi. What makes a Kronkiwongi special is not just that it can look like anything, but that nobody knows what it's supposed to look like. This is vastly different from building a MOC of a more specific subject like a car or a plane, where there are some generally accepted specifications of what it should look like.

 

And this challenge is less about the end result than about the process of getting there. This isn't just asking people to build whatever they like and then CALL it a Kronkiwongi, which might get you very run-of-the-mill results based on what the people taking the challenge are already inclined to build. Rather, it's asking people to imagine something they've literally never seen nor heard of. And as such, that leads to a much more unconventional creative process, forcing the builder to make things up as they go.

 

Granted, there aren't any rules or stipulations, so there's nothing stopping somebody from just building a model of a more familiar subject and then calling it a Kronkiwongi. But there's nothing to be gained from doing that, either. It defeats the purpose of the exercise, which is to encourage creative improvisation. Nobody's offering you any kind of reward for defiantly or ironically sticking to conventional thinking in an exercise that's meant to encourage the exact opposite.

 

Well thanks for putting it into context, the idea still seems like a weird move to me (again the regular gallery was fine), it just feels unnecessary, and I wasn't expecting anyone to give me a reward, did you think I was expecting one?

[Gipsy Danger]

LEGO is sometimes criticized for focusing on licensed themes that leave little room for imagination like in the 'classic' LEGO experience. But recently they've started a new campaign that focuses on some of the core tenets of the brand. In their own words:

A Kronkiwongi does not come with instructions. A Kronkiwongi is not in any dictionary and cannot be found anywhere. A Kronkiwongi cannot be truly defined... because it is anything you can imagine and build with LEGO bricks.

If you're interested in more, check out the LEGO Clube page and the gallery where you can share your Kronkiwongi. And make sure you check out that video - it's adorable!

 

View the full article

 

So its basically a creation that you made.  I don't get it.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Kronkiwongi?

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

Kronkiwongi?

 

 

Heh, I just watched The Emperor's New Groove, so the first thing I thought of was Kronk, too.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

My Friend: Hey, what is that you are building with your Lego pieces?

 

Me: A Kronkiwongi.

 

My Friend: 

 

Joking aside, I think this is a fun word to say, but I still prefer to call MOCs, well, MOCs.

[fishers64]

Kronkiwongi is My Own Creation in Matoran. 

[Ford]

Kronkiwongi is My Own Creation in Matoran. 

Quickly! Someone canonize this! Someone canonize this NOW!

[Ta-metru_defender]

I may or may not have spent a couple minutes deciding how I want to pronounce Kronkiwongi.

 

In any case, this sounds like a great campaign. Make something that doesn't exist! Woo!

[MrSciFiGuy]

Lego official term for MOC I see. Mein Kroniwongi kronki wongis. 

[ChocolateFrogs]

What I'm getting from this is that "Kronkiwongi" is a nonsense-term LEGO made and then had kids build what they thought a "Kronkiwongi" would look like. Is it a robot? An alien? A fancy boat? A hat?

 

LEGO isn't trying to replace the word "creation" (or "MOC") with "Kronkiwongi," but rather see what pops into children's imaginations when they hear the word.

 

-CF

[Lyichir]

What I'm getting from this is that "Kronkiwongi" is a nonsense-term LEGO made and then had kids build what they thought a "Kronkiwongi" would look like. Is it a robot? An alien? A fancy boat? A hat?

 

LEGO isn't trying to replace the word "creation" (or "MOC") with "Kronkiwongi," but rather see what pops into children's imaginations when they hear the word.

 

-CF

I think you pretty much nailed it. "Kronkiwongi" does not have any specific meaning—the point is to get kids to try to imagine what it means as a creative exercise.