IKEA Konstnär
Brand Extension
The 'IKEA effect' is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created.
After researching into the 'Ikea effect', IKEA Konstnär was born. The idea behind IKEA Konstnär is to add to this effect by making products more personal and customizable, resulting in customers feeling a larger sense of accomplishment.
IKEA Konstnär is a way to express yourself. The word ‘Konstnär’ means ‘Artist’ in Swedish and it was named so because it is a way for people to get creative, to introduce individuality in to homes, and to build more than what’s on the box.
Part 1: In-Store Customization
With the in-store customization part of IKEA Konstnär, I wanted to use the best-selling IKEA products because these are the most inexpensive and have the potential to come to life. I wanted to take something simple and let the customer customize the product by choosing a pattern or design from a selection of 15-20 options to get printed on the parts of the product. The word ‘customized is usually associated with being expensive - however at IKEA, it will be affordable, hence making the customization option accessible to more people.
Some of the best selling products in IKEA are the ‘Billy’ bookcase series, the ‘Malm’ dresser series, ‘Pax’ Wardrobe series and the ‘Lack’ table series. I wanted to focus on these products because customers are inspired to buy the products due to their reduced price. The simplicity of these products can be enhanced by printing patterns / designs on it. Since these products are also only sold in solid colours such as white, black or wood grain, it will be easy to print on them.
Part 2: Self-Customization
Part 2 is the more creative part out of the two. A lot of people get inspired by DIY projects they see online or in magazines, however most of them do not make the effort to buy different supplies and bring them together. But at IKEA, Konstnär would do that for you. In the self-customization part of IKEA Konstnär, there are a selection of 3 products that are provided with art tools so that the customers can create their own masterpieces. Each product will be sold with certain art supplies, however more supplies will be available for separate purchase. This part of IKEA Konstnär targets those people who love creative projects and want unique products in their homes.
The selection of the 3 products sold are a smaller version of the LACK table, which will only be available with Konstnär, a solid white lamp which will be provided with translucent paints and a plain white bedside table. These products are all simple and plain white because the focus is on the customer’s creativity and how they transform the product into something else.
