Matthew Ashton’s Everyone Is Awesome puts a welcome into eleven minifigures
A look back at the LEGO Masters judge’s 2021 design, its deliberate color choices and the personal story behind a small, expressive set.
A judge’s own design tells a personal story
Matthew Ashton is familiar to LEGO Masters UK viewers as a judge, but Everyone Is Awesome offers another way to understand his approach to creativity. In this small display, the subject is belonging: a group of minifigures standing together, each distinct and each part of the same composition.
LEGO’s account of his work links his design career with his role as head judge on the programme. This retrospective draws on his published explanation of the set and its original announcement. It is a look at an existing design, rather than a new interview or a claim of hands-on testing.
Eleven figures and one clear visual idea
Announced in May 2021 and released that June, Everyone Is Awesome 40516 uses 346 pieces and eleven monochrome minifigures. The original release explains its connection to the rainbow flag and the LGBTQIA+ community, with different hairstyles giving the figures individual outlines.
Looking at the official photographs, the repeated figure shape provides continuity while the colors make each position distinct. Our interpretation is that the restraint makes the message readable. There is no complicated building to decode or fictional battle to explain before a viewer understands that the group itself is the focus.
The color choices have an intended meaning
In his own explanation, Ashton connects black and brown with diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community, and pale blue, white and pink with support for trans people. He also describes the purple figure as a tribute to drag. These choices are part of his stated design intent, rather than meanings added by collectors afterward.
He writes about the model as a way for allies to express support as well. That gives the object a purpose beyond completing a collection: it can be a visible reminder that someone is welcome. Reading the creator’s account adds context that a product photograph alone cannot supply.
A different kind of achievement to notice
LEGO Masters often draws attention to scale, movement and the difficulty of building under pressure. This model invites another kind of appreciation: whether a limited arrangement communicates its idea clearly. A design can earn a second look through proportion and repetition as well as through a complicated mechanism.
For a community display, pairing the set with a brief explanation of its origin can make that story easier to discover. The enduring interest here is the connection between a recognizable television designer, a personal intention and a model whose simple arrangement leaves room for viewers to see themselves in the group.
Reporting checked September 30, 2026. Plans and programs can change; follow the linked organizations for current information.