WEEK 1: Introduction to IKEA

19/04/22 - 22/04/22

This week was about understanding the key values of IKEA and how those are then put forward into their design to create the correct environment for their customers as well as enticing more.

(DPG Media, 2022)

In order to gain more experience on this placement, I chose to work alongside Visual Merchandisers as well as Interior Designers having the end goal of being more aware of the communication needed within a team to design, but also the indirect communication with the customers. This experience also helps to break a barrier into a new area of design that is commercial.

“You want to be the reason someone gets to the checkout and looks at their full cart when they only came for one thing”

IKEA Values

When working in a commercial design environment, especially on a large scale like IKEA, it is very difficult to design for the company without understanding what the company stands for and how they want to design for the future.

One of the more recognised values of IKEA is that it is design for everybody. A core memory for many people will be the family trips to IKEA and the walks around the showrooms, of which you were usually amazed by. By creating visual interpretations using the products as well as giving creative solutions to familiar design issues within a more private space such as a home, it allows the users to do it themselves without the confrontational need to ask someone. It provides opportunity for users to create an environment that feels more comfortable and personal as it is their own and they created it. Interior Design within IKEA is about making it easier for the user, providing a seed of an idea for users to design on their own and learning to design something for the mass, all while respecting and understanding the company values, current design trends and the commercial market.

Customer's Perspective

Users are ultimately always the key behind design, without them it becomes very difficult when trying to understand and design a more specific and suitable environment. However, within a commercial environment the users of the space (customers) take the highest priority as without them, there is essentially no company.

As many will be aware if they have visited IKEA before, the store is designed to take the customer through as many departments as possible in order to attract the most amount of attention to their products and make the customers aware of products that they may not have known about prior to their visit. However with over 20 departments as well as the showrooms, IKEA can turn into a day trip for some customers, for example those who have recently moved house or maybe those with their family. So, how does IKEA use design to make the primary journey route through the store more inviting and energising?

In order to gain a better understanding to how this is done, I took a trip round the store using only the primary user route. Not only did I find that colour was a key method to designing commercially, but lighting was also a very prominent factor. The main route through the store is highlighted with projected arrows as well as signage towards the nearest trolley bay which creates a more accessible and therefore comfortable environment for the customers, and therefore playing into the idea mentioned previously, that by ensuring the customer is in a space where they feel welcomed and comfortable they become part of the store and that they can interact further into the space. Following on from this point, by giving a customer a route within such a large space it allows them to almost forget where they are as they no longer have to take much consideration to where they are going as that is already being done for them.

Getting the users/customers off of the main journey route then comes down to how the more open areas are presented using co-ordinations, colours and general lighting. As mentioned previously, one of the key values within IKEA is that design is for everybody and different co-ordinations and spaces will appeal to different customers. Finding the correct balance is where Visual Merchandisers and Interior Designers come in to play. This has to take into consideration where will be most visible for the customer and how this can be used to draw them in further. Just how there is always a flow within a space, in a commercial environment this needs to be executed to its full extent to allow a space that users think is open but is actually controlled in order to enhance the sales of the store as well as the experience within.