IKEA: Using Design to Communicate the Inherent Humanity of the Applied Arts

This is an analysis of “museum retail” and the applied arts in relation to IKEA’s commercial success. A conference poster for this prospectus can be found on my “Design” homepage.

The term “art” is often associated with wealth, sacredness, and most importantly, untouchability. Society dictates that art, or more specifically, fine art is to be observed in the vacuum of a museum. A mere camera flash, a slight fingerprint, or even a step too close can lead to immediate devaluation. Fine art is to be observed and preserved. However, one major subcategory of the arts allows and even encourages the exact opposite behavior. In great contrast to the fine arts, the products of the applied arts require the physical contact of a human to be truly understood. While the beauty of a painting can be appreciated solely through vision, the design and purpose of a well-made chair can only be experienced by sitting in it. In sum, the applied arts exemplify aesthetics in both their form and function. 

The applied arts, also known as the decorative arts or design, attempt to incorporate visual and theoretical elements of the fine arts into objects that are used on a daily basis. A product of the applied arts must be simultaneously beautiful and practical. Products of the applied arts are often made for the average consumer, and unlike the fine arts, are often meant to be taken into one’s own home. In a very literal sense, the applied arts shape the image of our own personal sanctuaries. The combination of decisions made by designers and consumers results in a tangible expression of one’s own private identity. The purpose of this study is to uncover how IKEA’s design choices allow consumers to connect to the applied arts on a primal, personal level. This study poses the questions:

R1: How does the experience of shopping in an IKEA store affect attitudes toward the applied arts and home decoration?

R2: Do IKEA products exhibit a range of tangible forms, materials, and stylistic influence from the Bauhaus and the Eames Office? 

In addition to examining artifacts from IKEA itself, products and philosophies from the Bauhaus and The Eames Office will be used to create a historical and cultural context for IKEA’s design choices. This research paper will analyze how the Bauhaus, the Eames Office, and IKEA embodied and shaped the consumption and production of the applied arts. More specifically, IKEA will be used as the main contemporary example in terms of product design and in-store customer experience. A quantitative content analysis will be used to examine specific IKEA products, and qualitative in-depth interviews will be used to better understand the customer experience while shopping in an IKEA store.

Literature Review

Before delving into IKEA’s success story, one must first understand how the notion of strategically well-designed furniture for the proletariat class came to be. Understanding the Bauhaus’s focus on social welfare and uniting humanity and analyzing The Eames Office’s ability to mesh the world of fine arts and engineering together will provide context for IKEA’s present-day status as a dominant household name. 

The Bauhaus-The Beginnings of Consumer Applied Arts

While not the first to promote the idea, the Bauhaus standardized the curriculum and system that allowed well-designed everyday objects to be mass-produced for the general public (Bredendieck, 1962). To Walter Gropius, the founder of the iconic German school, applied art could be used to serve the needs of all social classes and therefore, was an integral, natural part of a well-functioning society. His philosophy was so successful that the majority of subsequent design schools have implemented his original curriculum. Consequently, much of the applied arts of the 20th century have been directly influenced by the school (Lerner, 2005).

Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus (1919-1933) was formed immediately after the end of World War I and like many European artistic movements and groups at the time, was a direct reaction to the mechanized violence of modern warfare. As a result, Gropius became extremely motivated to return to handicraft, and furthermore, found that the socio-economic divide between craft and fine art should be abolished for the betterment of society (Koehler, 2009). In other words, the work produced by the Bauhaus was meant to have a human touch; products should be helmed by designers, artists, and laborers, not machines. However, it is important to note that the Bauhaus was not a total rejection of technology, but an acknowledgment of the design’s human necessity. In fact, according to Koehler (2009), the Bauhaus turned toward technology in its second half of existence, as evidenced by their exhibition, “Art and Technology: A New Unity”. Exhibitions provided a channel for distributing manifestos and literature about the Bauhaus, and further spreading the “movement” of Bauhaus beyond the walls of its campus.

Unfortunately, the Bauhaus was very short-lived and was shut down due to complications from World War II, which pushed Gropius to immigrate to the United States of America (Koehler, 2009). As a silver lining to the tragedy of World War II, many European artists fled to America, resulting in Americans being exposed to European art and design through exhibitions. Bauhaus had their own exhibit in The Museum of Modern Art in 1938, which stood as America’s first introduction to the school and Gropius’s philosophy (Koehler, 2009). This could be considered a predecessor to the showroom, which has come to be synonymous with furniture shopping in the present-day. In fact, prior to the Bauhaus’s disbandment, Gropius and his colleagues often turned their own homes into showrooms, possibly to portray a realistic arrangement of Bauhaus products (Schuldenfrei 2009). This showroom-exhibition strategy may have been an attempt to connect further with consumers.

One of the most prominent critiques of the Bauhaus states that though Gropius intended to serve the working class with his school, the items produced by the school were usually too expensive for the average person to purchase. Schuldenfrei (2009) emphasizes how the majority of Bauhaus products were stuck in the prototype phase. Therefore, more time, effort, and most importantly, money, was spent creating and testing new products instead of focusing on mass production. Still, the Bauhaus’ experimental designs may have inspired other designers to reinvent everyday objects in more innovative ways. As part of their goal to create a social utopia, they aimed to use design to improve the most common problems people faced in their daily lives (Kentgens-Craig, 1999). In reality, the historical timing as a postwar art movement may have contributed to Gropius’ intense desire to be the problem-solvers of society, as housing and resource shortages are common after war. So, despite the initial troubles behind the Bauhaus’ physical products, the pragmatic design strategy remained strong.

The spiritual successors of the Bauhaus, couple Charles and Ray Eames, became ubiquitous with Mid-Century America. Through their company, The Eames Office, the two prioritized economic practicality without sacrificing looks for families living in a post-war era. Furniture designed by The Eames Office was approachable and abundant, due to their mastery of natural materials and their willingness to work with the government. As with Gropius and the Bauhaus, The Eames Office aimed to change the world by further developing and emphasizing the applied arts.

The Eames Office-Combining Fine Arts and Technical Thinking

Similar to the Bauhaus, mid-century designers Charles and Ray Eames had a foot in two creative fields. However, instead of combining the fine arts and handicrafts, the Eames borrowed from architecture, engineering, and the Abstract Expressionist art movement. Charles, who was trained as an architect, and Ray, who was taught to paint by Hans Hoffman, recognized the necessity for a truly interdisciplinary approach to a complex society (Havenhand, 2006). This is best exemplified in their iconic Eames House, which was the Eames’ live-in house and office. The house gained notoriety for its artistic “messiness” (“knick-knacks”, souvenirs, and mix of textures and materials) and was not sterile like most showrooms or exhibitions. Yet, the Eames defended the clutter by claiming that small household items and souvenirs were equally as important as the integral, basic structure of the home since the individual decorations represented the personalities and daily lives of its inhabitants (Havenhand, 2006). Ray’s background as an Abstract Expressionist was the main influence in this decision, as Abstract Expressionism was primarily concerned with the psychological representation of an object or an idea rather than a literal, visually-accurate representation. Therefore, the intimate touch that the Eames became known for was rooted in an understanding of a person’s psychological need for comfort and personalization in their home. 

From an architectural perspective, much of The Eames Office’s success had been attributed to their understanding of product development on all levels. Charles’ background as a formally trained architect provided him insight into the analytical structure of product development (Gingerich & Eames, 1977). Out of the many disciplines within design and the applied arts, it could be argued that architecture is the most high-risk due to its heavy financial and physical implications. A building is much more expensive and time-consuming to produce than a table, and a building with a weak foundation is more dangerous than a table with weak legs. Consequently, an architect must envision the potential risks of their project very early in the development process. Albrecht et. al. (1997) claims that that the couple was “...seeing their products and those of their clients through the multiple lenses of design, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, and use by the customer” (p. 20). The Eames Office’s products were designed with the intention of mass production and usage. This becomes more evident within their design and research process, in which they covered both the holistic and practical problems that a consumer may encounter. These factors included “The way it is to be transported-head, hip, hand, basket, or cart...How pleasant does it feel, eyes closed, eyes open...How does it feel to possess it, to sell it, to give it…” (Eames & Eames, 1991, p. 66). It is apparent that the Eames’ believed that the intimate and commonsense connection a consumer has with their product was the paramount cause for their designs.

Interestingly, the Eames did share the same position as a post-war design authority as the Bauhaus and similarly capitalized on the intense shortages common to post-war eras. Albeit, the Eames Office was active far beyond the post-World War II era, but their start in 1940s America may have given them an extra push. As part of a collaboration with the United States Navy, the Eames created leg splints out of molded plywood, which proved their full comprehension of the material (Albrecht et. al., 1997). The Eames’ ability to create unique forms out of simple materials such as plywood or metal wire during the post-war shortage allowed their products to be cost-efficient and mass-produced for the average person. The Eames Chair, or “the chair of the century” (Demetrios, 2001, p. 44), was the manifestation of this design philosophy-a two-piece chair impressively constructed out of plywood. This chair may be interpreted as a metaphor for The Eames Office design philosophy, as it was simple enough to fit into anyone’s home, but not completely plain, undressed, and lacking in character. Wood, originally thought of to be a rigid, inflexible object, could now be transformed into something curved and playful. The arts could now be a touchable, useful part of someone’s home life.

IKEA-Building a Relationship Between Consumers and Company

Finally, IKEA has continued the legacy of both the Bauhaus and the Eames Office into a contemporary international market. Although IKEA was founded within a few years of the Bauhaus, it seems to have hit its commercial stride by the 2000s. The Swedish furniture company highlights the experience of purchasing furniture and the internal, intimate strategy behind a consumer’s choice to buy, assemble, and arrange items in their homes. IKEA’s apparent transparency of the designer-to-consumer process emboldens individuals to enjoy the process of home decoration and appreciate elements of “good design”. 

IKEA has honed into efficiency and the customer experience in order to maintain its dominance in the interior design industry. Ingvar Kamprad, the company’s founder, has stated that his goal is “To create a better everyday life for the many people by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them” (Kamprad, 1976, p. 6). This mirrors the mission statements of both the Bauhaus and The Eames Office, who both strongly believed that all socioeconomic classes deserved furniture that looked as good as it functioned. Like The Eames Office, IKEA focuses on all aspects of the product development process. Moon (2004) states that IKEA goes so far to create in-house competitions to ensure the best version of each product is being designed. However, IKEA has taken one step further by attempting to perfect the purchasing experience for customers. This is evident in their attempt to flat-pack their unassembled furniture for ease of transport, implementing food and daycare services in their stores, and creating an immersive, interactive showroom experience (Moon, 2004). The company’s desire to create well-designed products goes beyond the furniture itself by creating a well-designed decorating experience as well. 

Though the company originated in Sweden, IKEA has been able to fit the mold of the American Dream, at least in terms of consumer behavior. DeFazio (2004) claims that in America, interior design is viewed as a method for individuals to exemplify how democracy allows for individual expression. To alter one’s surroundings is to alter oneself. In conjunction, the abundance of affordable design provides plenty of opportunities to do so. In fact, in a psychological study done by Colombo, Laddaga, & Antonietti, it was discovered that the images in IKEA catalogs were able to “...elicit a more positive emotional response, a more active visual exploration and more willingness to buy the furniture” (2015, p. 2259). The researchers noted that the use of natural elements, such as plants,  and personal items, such as books, contributed greatly to these results (Colombo, Laddaga, & Antonietti, 2015). This is reminiscent of the Eames House, which also displayed many of the same elements, and may also imply that the use of multiple products and materials may increase positive responses as well. So, it appears once again that intimacy and the aspect of seeming “lived-in” plays a large role in the success of an interior design style.

It is important to note that the personal aspect of interior design is not novel to IKEA, The Eames Office, or the Bauhaus. In fact, the idea that one’s environment affects their internal state has existed prior to these movements. As noted by Weingarden (1985), medieval applied artists used furniture design to emphasize the religious needs of their design’s intended audience and users. Communication Studies as a field of study was not prominent or even existent at the time, but religion served as a way for people to interpret and express their internal emotional states. Vidler (1992), Shapiro (1998),  and Moon (2004) emphasize how the home (not the house) is a physical manifestation of safety, security, and the primal need for shelter and relaxation. The three claim that a home is not separate from the inhabitant, as the home is essentially an unseverable part of the inhabitant’s psyche. Wilson (2004) found that this notion was especially prominent in the bedrooms of the modern family, as the bedroom represents the most private aspects of one’s life. It is no surprise that IKEA recognized this, as Colombo, Laddaga, & Antonietti (2015) discovered that images of IKEA-decorated bedrooms produced the strongest positive results of all rooms. 

Furthermore, in describing Space and Place criticism, a form of rhetorical criticism that focuses on materiality and the spacial and temporal  relationship humans have with places, Dickinson (2019) claims that locations hold just as much communicative power as texts. He states that Space and Place criticism is especially effective in deciphering social interaction, as humans are constantly experiencing time and space. In conjunction, IKEA uses the layout of their stores to accomplish two goals: to present a physical space (showroom) full of products in which customers can create a fantasy domestic life, and to allow customers to leisurely meander through the museum-like store with its maze-like layout. 

In sum, previous research on the subject of IKEA has separately covered the actual designs of the company or the personal aspects of shopping. This study will deconstruct the forms and materials used in IKEA’s furniture designs from a communicative perspective. This will allow for a better understanding of IKEA’s design messages, or what they are trying to communicate to their customers through their products. In addition, this study will further build upon Colombo, Laddaga, & Antonietti’s (2015) study by analyzing the brick-and-mortar shopping experience at physical IKEA stores. While they studied the effects of the IKEA catalog on consumers, this study will examine how IKEA’s showroom interactivity encourages individuals to make purchases and shapes the company’s reputation as being simultaneously democratic and intimate through the Space and Place theoretical perspective. In conjunction, this study will determine if the Bauhaus and the Eames Office have stylistic influence over present-day IKEA products, as well as determining if IKEA products use a variety of forms and materials. 

Methods

Site Selection-Interviews

According to the IKEA Store Locator (n.d.), there are two store locations in the Bay Area, California, where the researcher is based. They are Emeryville and East Palo Alto. Therefore, there must be a significant customer base in the Bay Area, as IKEA has a notably small number of stores in general. In fact, there are only eight store locations in all of California. It could be argued that IKEA has strategically placed their stores in areas with potential for a lot of consumers. So, interview candidates will be selected from the Bay Area.

 Sample Selection-Interviews

Since the interviewer and coders only speak English fluently, only English-speaking individuals will be eligible for interviews. In addition, only adults (age 18 years and older) will be allowed to participate in the interviews. It could be argued that children would not shop at IKEA by themselves for a number of reasons, including lack of transportation or lack of funds, which is why they will not be considered for the interviews. Finally, only those who have shopped at an IKEA store in-person will be considered for the interviews. This means that those who have only shopped through IKEA’s website or who have only bought IKEA secondhand from a non-IKEA source will not be interviewed. Online shoppers and secondhand shoppers may only participate if they have also shopped in-person at an IKEA store. Part of the purpose of this study is to understand the in-store experience of an IKEA customer. Therefore, it is mandatory that interviewees have physically gone to an IKEA store to purchase products. A brief screening survey will be provided prior to the interviews through an online link to determine if individuals are eligible for the study. 

Research Design-Interviews

This interview is meant to answer Research Question 1 (R1). Interview questions will cover basic demographic information and the shopping habits and characteristics of IKEA customers. Questions will concern many aspects of IKEA shopping including frequency of IKEA store visits, preferred store department, experience with IKEA store amenities (cafe, free measuring and marking supplies, daycare, and self service-center), and having a membership and frequency of membership usage. In addition, questions will be asked about the interviewee’s personal perspective on the importance of home decoration, as well as their opinions on IKEA products from a functional and an aesthetic point of view. 

Proposed Analysis-Interviews

According to Griffee (2005), coding is used to make sense of and find connections in the conversational speech produced by interviews. He additionally states that an interview can only be coded after reading the interview transcript enough times to recognize recurrent themes. So, after reviewing the transcripts, the interviews will be coded by the researcher and a small team of English-speaking coders to reduce potential bias. Specifically, words, phrases, and emotions toward specific aspects of in-person IKEA shopping will be coded. In line with Griffee’s (2005) claims, a summary will be written after the coding process, and an interpretation of the coding will be written at the end. The interpretation will serve to extract meaning from the raw interview data.

Product Sampling-Content Analysis

IKEA product samples will be taken from IKEA’s 2020 online shopping catalog (2020 IKEA Catalog, 2019). More specifically, products will be taken from the “Products: A selection of furniture, accessories, textiles, storage, lighting and more, for every room of the home” section, where products are clearly organized and labeled according to their department. Similarly, the Bauhaus products that will be used for comparison will come from Bauhaus, 1919-1928 (Bayer & Gropius, 1938), a catalog presented with Bauhaus’ Museum of Modern Art. Since this catalog contains more than just home goods and furniture, all products that are not relevant to interior design will not be included in this content analysis. Finally, the Eames Office products that will be used for comparison will be sourced from the Eames Office’s official website. In their website, there are archives of furniture and textiles (Furniture, n.d.; Textiles, n.d.). These products will be used for the content analysis. As with the Bauhaus, there are many products on the Eames Office website that are not relevant to interior design. So, those products will be ignored as well. 

Research Design and Conceptualization of Categories-Content Analysis

This content analysis is meant to answer Research Question 2 (R2). IKEA products will be coded by a team of coders, as with the interview process. Having a team of coders will reduce bias that may come from the researcher. The products will be categorized by three main criteria. Firstly, the materials used to make the product will be examined. This may include metal, wood, fabric, etc. Secondly, the form of the product will be analyzed. Here, the form refers to the shapes present in the products. For example, a product may have rounded corners, sharp corners, a geometric frame, or an organic frame. Lastly, IKEA products will be compared to Bauhaus products and Eames Office products based on stylistic influence. 

Proposed Analysis-Content Analysis

Since a group of coders will be used for this content analysis, intercoder reliability will have to be calculated. In addition, calculating intercoder reliability will reveal similarities in coding response within the individuals in the group of coders. In addition, the percentage of each category will be measured by their thematic units. A product may have multiple materials, forms, and stylistic influences. Each material, form, or influence will be considered to be one thematic unit. 

This was originally written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to circumstances involving pandemic shutdowns, I was not able to perform the in-person analysis of IKEA’s retail stores.

References

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Bayer, H., & Gropius, W. (1938). Bauhaus, 1919-1928. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art.

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Colombo, B., Laddaga, S., & Antonietti, A. (2015). Psychology and Design. The Influence of the Environment's Representation Over Emotion and Cognition. An ET Study on Ikea Design. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 2259-2266.

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Wilson, K. (2004). Livable modernism: interior decorating and design during the Great Depression. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press in association with the Yale University Art Gallery.