IKEA.
Working for our conceptual client IKEA, a furniture and homewares retail store. IKEA also has an IKEA Museum, as well as initiatives in designing for how we live in the future with H22.
Our team was tasked to understand what would motivate people to not only engage with IKEA Museum and H22, but to also make more purchasing decisions based on what they are learning and feeling inspired by from these parts of the experience.
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer & Researcher
Collaborated with Yeshara Pryor and Ross Tallents.
TIMELINE
2 Week Sprint
TOOLS
Figma, Miro, Photoshop, Illustrator
METHODOLOGIES
Surveys, Interviews, Contextual Inquiry, Affinity Mapping, Story Boarding, Competitive and Comparative Analysis, Persona Development, Sketching, Wire-framing, Iterative & Usability Testing, Prototyping.
THE CHALLENGE.
What is IKEA Museum?
Located in what was the very first IKEA store created in 1958 Älmhult, Sweden. The museum gives a history of IKEA and its 70 year journey created through IKEA Democratic Design principles and how it has shaped ways of working.
What is H22?
A partnership with IKEA in creating a sustainable and collaborative community in Helsingborg, Sweden. H22 is a long-term investment in welfare, urban development, and innovation; and a city expo to gather ambitions for the future.
We really struggled with how to find the differentiator of the IKEA Museum and H22 to the consumer because no one knew what those were, and through our research, we found that one of the biggest pain points for users was the online experience overall.
UNDERSTANDING OUR AUDIENCE.
MEET MICHELLE!
Michelle and her young family just moved to Austin from the west coast after many of the terrible wildfires. The recent events have sparked a lot more interest in Michelle's family to be more conscious of sustainability practices and the importance of community, especially in times of need. Michelle is excited for their new adventure in Austin and hopes to make it feel like home.
THE PROBLEM.
LOSING THE IKEA EXPERIENCE ONLINE.
Michelle wants to tell a story in her new home through the pieces she buys and is interested in a sustainable future. She wants a way to weave conscious design throughout her home. She wants to create positive change at home and through her community, starting at IKEA but doesn’t know all they have to offer. She has had great in-person experiences in the past with IKEA, but she is having trouble finding that same sense of discovery and inspiration from their online store.
“I have trouble navigating the site, there is a disconnect between the online and in-person experience.”
Michelle loves her in-store experience with IKEA and trusts the brand, but in her move and during COVID-19 she realized the online experience is a mess!
THE SOLUTION.
IKEA PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
AHA! The through-line of our all of our challenges, Michelle’s and IKEA’s was to bring everything that IKEA, IKEA Museum, and H22 represent together, capturing the essence of IKEA. Bridging the in-store experience to the online experience was the key to IKEA’s Past, Present, and Future. Merging physical and digital experiences in tandem, creating solutions that would be inherently sustainable and speak to the heritage of IKEA - full circle solutions!
Michelle’s favorite table breaks in the move and she is devastated! She goes to Ikea to find a replacement, while she is there she sees a Designer Collaboration going on with the IKEA Museum. One of her favorite designers has created a line of furniture inspired by archived pieces from IKEA’s past using repurposed materials from their up-cycle program!
FEATURES.
UP- CYCLE PROGRAM & DESIGNER COLLABORATION.
A designer collaboration with IKEA Museum, “History Reimagined.” Using elements from the up-cycle program, a designer creates exclusive limited product inspired by the museum. The up-cycle program accepts used furniture from customers as a discount incentive to increase sales and traffic in the store; while promoting a closed loop sustainable cycle.
While filling out her up-cycle form, Michelle stumbles across other sustainable living initiatives. Her family's future in their new home has been on her mind a lot. Michelle is inspired by the H22 mission and joins IKEA Community. There she finds she is able to join a community of people working to make Austin more sustainable through community gardens, composting, and other recycling initiatives with the help of IKEA.
FEATURES.
IKEA COMMUNITY.
Inspired by H22, we created IKEA Community program to help organize recycling, composting, community gardens, etc. in local communities. Similar to H22 on a smaller scale. IKEA Community program would promote shopping People + Planet products, community engagement, sustainability. IKEA would also have exclusive member pricing leading to brand loyalty and growth in this sector.
Walk through Michelle’s feature journey with our prototype!
MEASURING SUCCESS.
MAKING THE USER’S STORY PART OF IKEA’S STORY.
We hope our features and the redesign we brought to IKEA’s online site will bring a more seamless shopping experience from the in-store to the online experience; and bring more of IKEA’s great initiatives to the forefront, for a fully envisioned ROI.
How UP-Cycle Program & Designer Collaboration will bring value:
Familiarizes people with the history of IKEA and encourages engagement of the museum while also marrying it with the future ideals and initiatives of IKEA’s Sustainability Future.
Invites people outside of regular customers to become IKEA customers by incentivizing them with a discount and lets them feel good about contributing to a circular future, and retains existing brand loyalists.
Introduces customers to new designers, adds artisanal quality to the IKEA brand.
How IKEA Community will bring value:
Embraces the ideals and concepts of H22 on a manageable scale for the community to adopt and be inspired by. Encourages community engagement and investment.
Continually bring traction to site, inviting people to shop the site more by also giving the community incentives such as member priced discounts.
Invites people into the store for themselves and their community. Familiarizes consumers with more products and the IKEA brand overall.
Dig deeper into our PROCESS
>DISCOVER - Research & Behavior
>DEFINE - Analysis, Synthesis & Identification
>DESIGN - Ideation, Consideration, & Features
>DELIVER - Iterations & Prototyping
NEXT STEPS
Due to time constraints, we weren’t able to able to address everything we wanted to, but some things we’d like to see moving forward:
Conduct and further iterate on usability testing to better enhance the flow and continue to update the online experience.
Gain a better understanding of the logistics of interactions of the in-store and online cooperation needed for both features.
Create a fully fleshed out landing page for “A Sustainable Everyday” and “Our Story”
Go deeper into the “Our Story” path and find a way to possibly integrate a virtual museum experience.
Start with a sustainable everyday!
