IKEA has decided to side with the many people and to offer them great products that contribute to a better everyday life. Democratising design is not only about everyone’s right to a good home with high quality products that are beautiful, functional, sustainable and affordable. It’s also about the democratic effect for people and planet when many people get access to better products which have been developed and produced in a sustainable, people and planet positive way.
STARKVIND is a smart air purifier and also a side table: marrying technology with home furnishing in this product resulted in a solution that saves space and blends into people’s homes. The product was developed by IKEA designer David Wahl and Product owner Henrik Telander.
“This is a product where we've worked hard to combined technology and interior design. We're very happy that we won a Red Dot Award for STARKVIND table with air purifier. STARKVIND is more than an air purifier, it's a beautiful addition to the home”, says Henrik Telander, Product owner at IKEA of Sweden.
SALJEN wash-basin mixer tap is IKEA lowest price water-saving tap designed to enable the many people to have a more sustainable life at home. The product was developed by IKEA designer Mikael Axelsson, together with a big team including product developers, engineers and suppliers.
To achieve the affordable price point, the plastic material was used for the body of SALJEN mixer tap while keeping high-quality internal standardised components and fittings to ensure a long service life and upgradeability. The body is today partly made from recycled plastics, with the intention to increase the share of recycled and/or renewable material.
“By using plastic for the body we were able to explore the form language considering moulding and split lines instead of milling. The split lines and draft angles are a big part of the design – they need to be there from a production point of view, instead of hiding them, we have emphasised them to create a stronger form language and better production capabilities making it possible to reach a lower price. I think it’s amazing that you can get a high-quality water-saving tap with ceramic discs and 10 years guarantee for such an affordable price”, says Mikael Axelsson, IKEA in-house designer.
The Red Dot Design Award is one of the biggest design competitions in the world and an internationally recognised seal of excellent design. In 2022, designers, design offices and manufacturers from around 60 countries entered products in the Red Dot Award in Product Design discipline. Following the motto “In search of good design and innovation”, the 48 international members of the Red Dot Jury assessed each product.
“We are both happy and proud that IKEA has received the Red Dot Awards 2022. For us, this is not only a recognition of the two great IKEA products, but also the design philosophy behind them, our idea of democratising good design,” says Johan Ejdemo, Design Manager, IKEA of Sweden.
