I’m pretty enamored with IKEA. They make a pretty mean couch, but I get excited about their presentation, project versatility, and collaborations with other high-profile designers that I admire. The more I learn about their design process, the more my admiration grows.
To read my blog post, click here!
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I really enjoyed reading this post! The Ikea style is definitely unique. I found their approach of setting a price point for a product before even beginning the design fascinating! Do you have a favorite ikea based project?
I didn’t elaborate much on their collaborations with other designers in my post. The first project that comes to mind as my ‘favorite’ would be their modular lighting/speaker system developed in tandem with Teenage Engineering (my other favorite design studio)!
The Frekvens is a series of blocks that you can connect to form interesting lighting solutions. And even better, they developed a series of 3D-printable designs that add functionality to them!
https://teenage.engineering/designs/frekvens-hacks
Will,
IKEA as a “designer” is an ingenious choice! Their style is undeniably iconic, and their products can be used in any space, for a variety of reasons. As you stated, their color palette also makes for some extremely striking clothing and accessories, and their bucket hats are a particular favorite of mine. I know that their smaller desks can actually be used in tandem or cut open for a PC to be placed inside, making a DIY setup. Aside from the Skadis carrying, what other “Ikea Hacks” exist?
Thanks! Agreed on the bucket hats.
As far as IKEA hacks go, a lot of them are just clever uses of furniture pieces to enable different usage cases. However, a few that I’ve seen really use the concept of IKEA pieces being “universal basic materials.” Many designs use the assumption that IKEA items are standardized to make specialized items.
For instance, this Lamp assumes an IKEA Tertial:
https://www.printables.com/model/260006-lampman-senior-ikea-hack
Or Ed R’s Murphy Desk:
https://ikeahackers.net/2022/12/murphy-desk-ikea-hack.html
I love that many enclosures for 3D printers use the iconic $10 LACK table as a primary structural element.
https://www.printables.com/model/3673-prusa-enclosure-v2-mmu2s