Design by Ikea : a cultural history

Author

• Kristoffersson, Sara

Additional Author(s)

-

Publisher

London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2014

Language

English

ISBN

9781474293945

Series

Subject(s)

• FURNITURE DESIGN
• FURNITURE INDUSTRY AND TRADE
• IKEA (FIRM)
• SWEDEN

Notes

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-135) and index

. .

Abstract

Sara Kristoffersson's compelling study provides the first sustained critical history of IKEA. Kristoffersson argues that the company's commercial success has been founded on a neat alignment of the brand with a particular image of Swedish national identity – one that is bound up with ideas of social democracy and egalitarianism - and its material expression in a pared-down, functional design aesthetic. Employing slogans such as “Design for everyone” and “Democratic design”, IKEA signals a rejection of the stuffy, the 'chintzy', and the traditional in both design practices and social structures.

Drawing on original research in the IKEA company archive and interviews with IKEA personnel, Design by IKEA traces IKEA's symbolic connection to Sweden, through its design output and its promotional materials, to examine how the company both promoted and profited from the concept of Scandinavian Design.

Physical Dimension

Number of Page(s)

1 online resource (viii,148 p.)

Dimension

-

Other Desc.

ill. (some col.)

Summary / Review / Table of Content

Front matter
1. Configuring Ikea 1–14
2. Once Upon A Time 15–50
3. Swedish Stories and Design 51–78
4. Sweden Designed By Ikea 79–90
5. Counter-Narratives 91–108
6. Democracy For Sale 109–124
Back matter

Exemplar(s)

#	Accession No.	Call Number	Location	Status
1.	00233/20	381.4568410065485 Kri D	Online !	Available