Tara Wike
Head of Design Governance
The LEGO Group
Tara has devoted her 20+ year design career to championing thoughtful, tangible design solutions. With a degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she helped establish a digital architectural visualization company in the early days of computer graphics. She then transitioned to toy design at The LEGO Group, working her way up from element sculptor to design lead of several products, including her favorite, The Women of NASA. Merging her personal passion for activism with her delight in designing toys led her to create a new department within the LEGO Design Team, Design Governance, devoted to directing inclusive design decisions that impact the entire product portfolio. She has witnessed with joy the evolution of inclusive design from a grassroots effort to an explicitly supported endeavor within the corporate world. Tara seeks to promote inclusive design as an inherent act, not an afterthought, by taking opportunities to share how much more fun it is to design for everybody!
From baby steps to a full sprint: How DEI in Design has evolved in the toy industry.
“Revolution is not a one-time event.” —Audre Lorde
Growth and change, even in massive corporations, and often starts with the efforts of a few passionate individuals. It’s also rarely linear and doesn’t resemble evolution until viewed retrospectively.
In this review of the recent history of DEI in toys, we will look at how various companies have responded to the changing landscape and attempted to include more kids in their play offerings. Tara will share personal stories of steering growth and change within the Design Department at The LEGO Group, where she has spent the last 13+ years pushing for respectful and balanced representation in their character population.
