IKEA – having comfortably established itself as the world’s premier purveyor of both budget-friendly designer furniture and Swedish meatballs from the same premises – is constantly seeking ways to break out of its enormous blue and yellow boxes, aiming to touch everyday lives with an ever-expanding portfolio of promotional tools and techniques.
After going big with a series of room-sized billboards last year, the flat-pack kings are now looking to drop their bright and breezy brand into the palm of your hand. IKEA’s Dutch agency Lemz has created an aesthetically appealing package of over 100 emoticons for your smartphone, allowing you to furnish your friends with tiny graphic versions of Billy bookshelves, Maskros lights, and even the famous blue bag.
If you were wondering how such emojis could possibly add anything to your communication arsenal — dense with hundreds of faces portraying every emotion imaginable as it is — IKEA have provided this handy video to show you just how these graphics will enrich the lives of everyone you might them to:
There is no denying it: these emoticons are clean-cut, contemporary, and cute, in keeping with the overarching aesthetic of the Swedish giants of product design.
If they are successful though, will this open the floodgates to countless other corporations ‘iconicizing’ their products and their brand? If, say, Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, and Disney were to jump on this bandwagon, the more commercially-minded amongst us could end up conversing with one another using a series of cheerful consumerist hieroglyphics.
Still, IKEA’s efforts should make it infinitely easier to remind your partner which bedside cabinet you require as they follow the labyrinthine path at your local store — allowing you to kick back and relax on your comfy ‘Klippan’ sofa.
Do not be deceived though: other furniture brands are available!
Yours iconically,
The Angry Architect
Images via IKEA; hat-tip to Designboom.