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> Finally, I got in touch with the lead designer at IKEA who had picked the photo more than 10 years ago. I ask him why he picked the photo, and he told me that
by tivert 8y ago
> Finally, I got in touch with the lead designer at IKEA who had picked the photo more than 10 years ago. I ask him why he picked the photo, and he told me that the first thing they design at IKEA is the price.
> This photo was just very, very cheap, and that’s why they picked it.
It makes total sense, but seeing it stated directly like that reduces my desire for their art and decor. Not knowing how they do things lets you fool yourself into thinking there's something more there than the cheapest acceptable photo from an archive.
Edit: decor -> art and decor
- avar 8y agoWere you under the impression that IKEA's flimsy materials and construction were some quaint design choices unrelated to cost?
- 2muchcoffeeman 8y agoThat’s a bit uncharitable. I found out about IKEA’s Democratic Design Day through My Mini Factory. It’s probably not a unique philosophy. But I like the idea that good quality design should be available to everybody. It’s probably a tough gig trying to design an item starting with the cost first. But I think they have largely succeeded.
- pgeorgi 8y agoThe construction is also optimized for amateur builders. You can get wonderfully built artisan furniture, but it won't be as robust against abuse as IKEA stuff generally is.
- tivert 8y agoWe have a misunderstanding. I was only talking about decorations and art, not more functional items like furniture and utensils.
- Doxin 8y agoWell yes, the cheapest version of the furniture at ikea isn't exactly what I'd call sturdy, but try buying some of the more expensive stuff. It's still stupid cheap compared to other furniture stores and no worse quality.
- the_mitsuhiko 8y ago> Were you under the impression that IKEA's flimsy materials and construction were some quaint design choices unrelated to cost? The interesting thing about IKEA is that while the materials are cheap, they are also build to last. You can disassemble IKEA stuff and reassemble it without breaking it too much and they know that because their customer support is amazing. I carried boatloads of things back and replaced them because they were no fit. If IKEA would build just flimsy thing they could not afford that level of customer support because everybody would just replace the broken parts. They don't break nearly as often as you would believe.
- crtasm 8y agoThere's a fairly regular stream of the really budget stuff chucked out on the streets around where I live; drawers, wardrobes, shelving units etc. Some of it has probably lasted a fair while but I wish the better made models were more even more affordable somehow.
- notatoad 8y ago>the first thing they design at IKEA is the price this has been used as a promotional tagline in their catalogues for at least a decade, it's not just some quip an interviewee came up with. If it's the sort of thing that makes you not want to shop at ikea, you probably already weren't shopping at ikea.
- starbeast 8y ago>you probably already weren't shopping at ikea. Is one of the reasons I pronounce it 'ickier'. Well, that and their repeated inability to cut bed slats all to the same length. Sitting down heavily on an ickier bed is strictly for gamblers.
- scrollaway 8y agoI would agree with the substance of your comment if the form wasn't as childish as the old meme of replacing S with $ in various tech companies ... I've had a lot of issues with IKEA bed slats. It's a shame because the beds themselves are great.
- starbeast 8y ago>I would agree with the substance of your comment if the form wasn't as childish as the old meme of replacing S with $ in various tech companies Well, I did start calling it ickier at around the age of twelve. I have also had a lifetime obsession with "I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue" on BBC Radio 4, so a fondness for excruciatingly bad wordplay is just part of my general makeup by this point.
- Gravityloss 8y agoI don't know if Ikea has some rule to not talk about copying, but I would assume that to be the case also here: that they're actually imitating some relatively well known photo.
- notatoad 8y agowhat well known photo is it copying?
- specialist 8y agoIt's totally not my thing either. But I still appreciate and respect it deeply. +400k humans from everyone now have this one thing in common. I feel the same about sports, church, music, politics. I vividly remember the watch party for the last episode of Seinfeld. Totally not my thing, I didn't even own a TV, my girlfriend dragged me along. I watched the people watching the TV. They related to each other thru this one shared cultural experience. For a brief time, most everyone's minds were synced. Sometimes I envy people who connect in those ways.
- gnopgnip 8y ago> This photo was just very, very cheap, and that’s why they picked it. The corollary to that is that by focusing on price Ikea makes the best products for the price.