THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF IKEA

Under the instruction of Alex Manu, we delved into the fascinating world of strategic foresight on the topic of Globalization/Glocalization. In small groups, we researched emerging trends in user behaviour, then leveraged them as building blocks with which to envision the future of a brand — IKEA, not just a big Swedish furniture company, but the world leader in value-creation through supply chains and retail space. THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF IKEA is the realization of the trend we identified as Regional Demographics, which itself is a portmanteau of Regional Manufacturing and Post-Demographic Fluidity. In the twilight of production on international scales, the creation of goods has rediscovered a more regionalized paradigm once again, and becomes inextricably linked to the creation of local consumer identities. With the advent of digital globalization technologies, retail spaces become omnipresent à la Blade Runner, and the ubiquitous “IKEA showroom” (along with the IKEA brand) metamorphoses into a new experiential space, grounded in Critical Regionalism as a community centre of sorts, and in this experiential space are consumers empowered to feel again, to plant themselves and their identities where they stand even as the Cloud comes over their heads. In the experience economy, genuine interactions informed by local contexts take place in tangible spaces. Collaboration with Samson Graham and Gregoire Dechaine. “Conceptual Tools,” OCAD U, September-December 2018.