Many of the Playwell Bricks clients who commission custom sets represent a board of directors, shareholders, or teams who each have a say in the design of these sets. It’s no small task to take an idea and present a concept that everyone involved is going to love.

Playwell Bricks CEO Jason Pyett has had to learn to put his ego as a designer aside and trust this process. Despite “a lot of working back and forth to get to the final point, the perseverance definitely pays off. All the different iterations, even the minor changes all pay off in the end, because you have clients who are just incredibly happy with their models. And that’s what it’s all about.”

The recent project the team just completed for the Rockefeller Group, named 600 Fifth after its street address, was this kind of project. “This design started with me being super complex and create the exact building and…the final set doesn’t look like anything like the original designs that I did.”

He shows me some of his earlier designs, shown below:

So what kind of things changed? “Well, for one, the building is not white in reality, but when the light hits it at certain angles, it looks white. It’s actually a cream-colored brown, a very light tan, and I like tan.” But the clients preferred the model to be built in white, matching their vision.

That was only one of the big changes, Jason goes on to tell me. “There were different architectural elements I was trying to fit in. There’s a very strong vertical presence to the building and I was trying to get that lined up. That original design would have been about three times the size of the final model."

He shrugs. “The problem with that was that this set was going to be going out to the CEOs and the board members of the Rockefeller Group, so it had needed to be simple.” He’s said it before, and it still stands, “there’s an elegance to simplicity.”

It's the complexity behind that simplicity that checks the boxes for him as a designer. Here’s a picture of the final design:

As for his ego, Jason gives a cheeky grin. “The Creative Director at Mosaic North America that we worked with told me that once the final design was delivered, there were no complaints. Which never happens.”

If you’re in need of a custom set that is elegantly simple to commemorate a major construction project or company milestone, contact Playwell Bricks today. Our designers will work with you to tailor your design to meet your goals and specifications. Let’s build your dreams together.