When I think of my experiences of IKEA stores in America and England, I often think of interesting home furnishing designs. I also often recollect the one-track maze of the floor layout, which forces you to navigate the entire store. Moreover, I recall the Sunday afternoon amusement park atmosphere brought about by hordes of families making their way to the fun fair that is the children’s section. What I did not think about is a store full of cats. Until now. The ad agency Mother has developed a beguiling ad for IKEA that has given my perspective of the store a new dynamic. It is a fabulous work of video production and I feel certain will connect with the target audience. Be sure to watch the longer “making of” video below as well. I’d love to be able to say to a client, “What would happen if [insert odd scenario]? Let’s just try it!”

I once made the mistake of referring to a font and was reprimanded. Typeface is correct for a family of visual representations of a series of letter, numbers and the like. Fonts are elements within the typeface family. For example, the Helvetica family is a typeface while its italicized or bold representations are Helvetica fonts. Then again, really, who cares?

The answer should be anyone working in design, of course. It also seems to apply to many who shop at IKEA. Now I confess that I have regarded IKEA as a place for good looking, but inherently cheap and temporary furnishings. My memories of interminable Sunday afternoons guided around the one way floor plan maze are more abiding than anything I have purchased there. Still, many regard IKEA as a beacon of design integrity amid the aesthetic darkness of corporate perspectives. Indeed, the insipidness of many corporate attitudes made IKEA appear to be a bastion for those who saw well considered design an inherent part of elevating our lives through our interaction with our environments. (more…)