DEMOCRATIC DESIGN

Ikea’s Head of Design Marcus Engman in an interview

Only very few enterprises enjoy as much affection among people across the globe as the Swedish furniture and home furnishing company Ikea. The wonderful, diverse designs on offer at Ikea’s countless emporia allow everybody to express their personality. However, just what steps the individual products have to go through before being added to others on the shelves in stores is known only to very few. The primary focus of the rigorous design process is always very clearly on customer benefit. As Head Designer, Marcus Engman manages a team of 20 designers, responsible for creating and producing all Ikea products. We spoke to Marcus about his exciting work and the design philosophy behind it.