Cross Cultural Design: IKEA | HERMAN MILLER

IKEA HERMAN MILLER

D E S I G N E D B Y K Y M B E R LY L AW Y E R

S C A N D I VA N I A N D E S I G N Wood and water, fire and ice, darkness and lightsuch are the powerful elements of nature that define Scandinavia. Where countries sit on the globe determines temperature, topography, resources, and biorhythyms, which shape how life is lived.

The cold not not only constricts the senses, but also concentrates design.By necessity, Scandinavians shirnk floor plans and windows, build strong walls, pile on animal skins and never let the fire go out.

Sweden is home to many architectural styles, from rustic huts, to ice palaces, farmhouses, summerhouses, manor houses, and castles. Swedes care deeply about the natural environment and are driven by the ethic of Allemanansträtten, “do not disturb, do not destroy.â€? Frugality, pragmatism, and self-sufficiency are virtues. Things are made well to last more than one lifetime; rare is the object that is purely decorative. Yet from these restrictions, comes surprisingly light, minimal, and functional design.

IKEA HOME The IKEA concept begins with the idea of providing a range of home furnishing products that are affordable to the many people, not just the few. It is achieved by combining function, quality, design and value always with sustainability in mind. The IKEA Concept exists in every part of the company, from design, sourcing, packing and distributing through the business model. The aim is to help more people live a better life at home.

From IKEA’s conception, it has been consistent with the principles of Scandinavian design: lightness, function over form, frugality, embracing the natural property of materials, and loyalty to wood. The result is home furnishings that are minimalist without being cold and brings simplicity, grace, light, and harmony into spaces.

The following images exemplify Swedish design principles by IKEA.

S C A N D I N AV I A N F O L K A R T Expressive. Spirited. Bold. Sweden’s folk art from the 1700’s was heavily influenced from fables, Rococo styles, and chinoiserie imported from the Swedish East India Company. The folk art, rosemaling, or “flower painting,” consists of stylized flowers in scroll forms using colors derived from local raw materials.

The painting would be done on wooden items, directly on walls and ceilings, on wallpaper, and on tapestries. The following pages show traditional Scandinavian folk art, then compared to contemporary adaptations by IKEA.

AMERICAN MODERN DESIGN “Modernism is not a style, but an attitude,” claimed Marcel Breuer, a member of Germany’s Bauhaus school and the creator of the famous Wassily chair. Breuer was an early adherent to modernism, which emerged in the late 19th century as a broad cultural movement spanning art, literature, architecture, music and philosophy.

Modernism, at its essence, was a rejection of tradition — a real embrace of moving forward. Technology was changing things quickly.

This era's American designers had at their disposal a dizzying array of new materials and processes that had been developed during wartime. Resins, plastics, fiberglass, metal alloys and laminates allowed for unprecedented innovation, as well as mass production.

C H A R L E S A N D R AY E A M E S With their pioneering contributions to architecture, industrial design, and popular culture, Charles and Ray Eames helped shape postwar America. The celebrated American couple could do no wrong, from their experiments with plywood to their Mondrianesque Case Study house. They even made short films, including the mind-boggling Powers of Ten, created for IBM. Charles famously said, “Choose your corner, pick away at it carefully, intensely and to the best of your ability and that way you might change the world.� And so he and his wife did.

S O U RC E S IKEA.com HermanMiller.com Classic Herman Miller, by Leslie Piña Charles and Ray Eames, by Architect Scandinavian Design, by Lar’s Bolander Classic American Style: Mid-Century Modern, by Apartment Therapy Scandinavian Design: Combining Function and Aesthetics, by Katrín Eyþórsdóttir