Design by Ikea : a cultural history / Sara Kristoffersson ; translated by William Jewson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kristoffersson, Sara, author.

Contributor:

Jewson, William, translator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ikea (Firm).

Furniture industry and trade--Sweden--History.

Furniture industry and trade.

Furniture design--Sweden--History.

Furniture design.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (169 p.)

Place of Publication:

London, England ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Cover page; Halftitle page; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; ILLUSTRATIONS; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; CONFIGURING IKEA; A furniture company's history and legitimacy; Facts and fi ctions; The self-image in a landscape of manuals; Notes; ONCE UPON A TIME; The story of IKEA; The 'IKEA Way': what and how to do it; I'm your man; Different ways of narrating IKEA; 'Not for the rich. But for the wise'; Robin Hood of the furniture industry: from the high street to the Masses; Notes; SWEDISH STORIES AND DESIGN; Blue and yellow linguistics; The nature-loving Swedes and the thrifty people of Småland

Welfare and the welfare stateBeauty for all; Swedish modern and Scandinavian design; House styles and Swedish collections; Images on the global arena; From copycat to master of style; Notes; SWEDEN DESIGNED BY IKEA; The brand state; Brand Sweden; Sweden loves IKEA; Notes; COUNTER-NARRATIVES; From social role model to brand; Beyond the blond; Old wine in new bottles; IKEA in the limelight; The socially responsible corporation; Notes; DEMOCRACY FOR SALE; The best story wins; Seductive interiors; Notes; REFERENCES; Bibliography; INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780857858146

0857858149

9781472587374

1472587375