Dutch Design Week
IKEA Design Challenge
CREATIVE JAM 2023 \ CREATIVE JAM 2023 \
Dutch Design Week 2024 - Creative Jam
TIMELINE
3 Hours
🏆 DESIGN COMPETITION
♻️ CIRCULARITY
🎓 STUDENT PROJECT
On October 27th, 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in the Creative Jam design competition during Dutch Design Week, hosted at Sint Lucas in Eindhoven. The competition began with a significant moment – receiving our brief from Eelko Lommers, Global Director of Product Experience Design at IKEA, and Miranda de Groot, Service Design Leader for Circularity at IKEA. They tasked us with pitching a design solution aimed at extending the life of IKEA products, emphasising the need to create ideas that don’t involve transportation.
PROJECT ROLES
IDEATION
DECKMAKING
PITCHING
RESEARCH & CONCEPTUALIZATION
Given only 2 hours for ideation and pitch-development, we strategically chose to focus on users with high-frequency repair needs, specifically Airbnb hosts, as our target group hoping that this would yield significant impact with minimal resource expenditure.
To gain a deeper understanding of their needs, we consulted an Airbnb owner, a relative of one of our team members. Their firsthand experiences in frequent furniture repair and maintenance were invaluable in shaping our concept, ensuring it was both practical and impactful.
To efficiently tackle the challenge, we divided tasks effectively between the team members. My teammates conducted user interviews and developed product and UI mockups, while I was responsible for designing the pitch deck, including its flow and content.
OUR WINNING IDEA
Our team's winning concept, "First-Aid by IKEA," was essentially a customized repair kit tailored for IKEA customers. This kit comprised a physical first-aid box containing essential items such as paint retouchers and furniture wraps. Alongside the physical kit, we also conceptualized an Assistant app designed in the iconic IKEA instruction manual style.
The judges highlighted our focus on a high-impact target group and were particularly impressed with the scalability and practicality of our solution. Winning the competition was a testament to our team's understanding of the challenge and stakeholders.
MENTORSHIP EXPERIENCE
As part of our prize, I received a mentorship session with Eelko Lommers. Meeting him at the IKEA Digital office in Amsterdam in December 2023 was an enlightening experience. I shared my professional history in advertising and video, and also discussed my aspirations in experience and interaction design.
Eelko provided invaluable insights into the European design ecosystem, emphasising the significance of AI-assisted design processes and mixed reality experiences. This interaction helped me articulate my identity as a senior designer with a dual focus. On one side, my passion lies in Brand Experience, employing my experience in storytelling and motion design. On the other side, I am deeply invested in Human-Computer Interactions, emphasizing spatial interfaces and phygital prototyping.