Design by IKEA

Everyone should read [this]. * Swedish Design Research Journal * Sara Kristoffersson's monograph is a good example of emerging design research ... A superb analysis of the tenets and designs of the 1920s Bauhaus school as a utopia that never reached the stage of mass production, but which Ikea then took onboard after WWII. * ark: Finnish Architectural Review * An informative and thoughtful little book. * Scandinavian Studies * [Kristoffersson] deftly deals, in six information-packed chapters, with the background and reasons behind the phenomenal global success of IKEA ... A fascinating read. * TSS Reviews blog * Design by IKEA is the fist book to scrutinize the Swedish giant's massive impact on contemporary design culture. Unpicking how the public image of IKEA has come to depend as much on the international image of Sweden as the other way around, Sara Kristoffersson critically assesses the company's creative use of storytelling and stereotypes. -- Kjetil Fallan, University of Oslo, Norway Finally, a critical and nuanced analysis of the world-dominating brand IKEA. Kristoffersson's sharply honed prose reveals how the corporation has controversially come to define a nation, and how the inescapable ubiquity of its objects has transformed consumption on a global scale. Accessible and compelling, the book offers invaluable insight into the blurring of corporate, political and brand worlds in the 21st century. -- Alison J. Clarke University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria Sara Kristoffersson manages to provide what Sweden and management scholars have been longing for: a cultural theorist's account of how a small company in the middle of Sweden has grown amazingly successful. With fresh eyes, she shows how cultural identity processes can build enormous wealth, national pride, and brand loyalty. -- Lars Strannegard, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

Sara Kristoffersson is guest professor of Design History and Theory at Konstfack National University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, Sweden. She has published a number of articles on various aspects of design, fashion, art and architecture and lectures widely on these topics at museums and universities, including Ecole nationale superieure des arts decoratifs, Paris, France; Parsons School of Design, New York, USA; the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, Sweden.

Introduction Once upon a time... Ikea: A Swedish Story Beauty for Everyone From Copycat to Master of Style Democracy on Sale Sweden designed by Ikea