Finally!! It was worth the wait. I had seen the construction of the building for a long time. The branding exercises with the autos were refreshing. All the autos had the IKEA blue. As designers, you understand the value of fonts in design and sometime TYPE is design. But, with IKEA you know it.
Stepping into the theme park
It’s been a long time since, I stepped into a theme park – I even forgot the joy and jubiliation when entering one; the last time would have the school excursion to Dizzee world! I felt the same before entering IKEA, Hyderabad. The circular entrance was still closed and maybe they are on pilot mode still. But, you can clearly see a lot of people walking in, not the best of the entrance experience. It was more like entering a manufacturing shop.
After the security check, a poster suggested that you need the app to shop. I tried installing the app in the store believing that’s necessary to buy in IKEA. Nobody around were installing the app. and soon got distracted by the famous ‘Marius’
Selling the idea
Elaborate room of different sizes furnished with everything a small room can potentially have. This room definitely succeeds in generating a need – and putting the notion that what you have in your house is old wood and is asking for retirement.
Getting the user into a different world. Priming has been used for ages in the advertisement world, but IKEA has a new spin to it. It kindles your subconscious and successfully converts every single person who passes the myriad puzzled path into a customer or even an aspirant.
There is a urge to buy something, but you can’t get anything in your hands yet. For the impatient, there is a want to move to the place where you can buy something.
And then finally, the EXPERIENCE of the self-serve area, where you pick you furniture. At this point, you have to ponder over you camera images and find which ones you want to fininalize to pick.
Location, Rack – yes. its really simple, there are close to 33 racks. Now you realize that its very easy and the entire journey makes clear sense. And you wonder how can you picks something way up in the top; its easy. you don’t . everything is within your reach. rest of the place you would realize is used for storage.
What would be like if there was no – showroom and you went into the market place directly? You will never realize what you don’t have. But, all showroom’s try to recreate this but IKEA take it to a different level.
Will IKEA have a online app? They have an app that has all the products, there are plenty of delivery service out there which can deliver the flat packs. Why won’t it be an online superstore. If that happens, that we will buy only the few things that we want.
“You will only buy what you want in Online – the scope of me buying more increases with offline shopping” Parkavi
IKEA is an Experience; It would be interesting to find out when IKEA moved from furniture store to an experience. Did they look at data; was it a insight from a research deck or was it was a sudden random thought which culminated into what it is today – THE IKEA EXPERIENCE.
Makes you wonder how many designers worked on this project. The light arrows, the Marius stool at the start, the ad outside showing the chicken balls outside Ikea, the light arrows that can be positioned at whim by altering the frame that reflects.
The road inside that’s ideal for uber pick ups. – everything unfolded like a well written screen play. And the, yellow bag – I missed this one, there is a place where you drop the yellow bags before the marketplace and pick up a trolley.
Notes: Somethings which needs more digging. Democratic Design at IKEA.
Will I use the app to make the list next time? I want to..
