Free Professional Development
Use your own name as a jumping-off point for brand identity, product naming, and illustration exploration.
Print out as many copies as you have people who want to play.
Fill in your worksheets.
Share with the group.
IKEA has a strict protocol for naming products.
You can read more about the naming protocol here: http://www.paulsquiz.com/Miscellaneous/List_of_Ikea_Product_Name_Meanings
Just as the names of IKEA products are guided by a linguistic rubric, IKEA's product assemby instructions follow a strict design principle.
At first glance simple, these wordless line drawings prove surprisingly cryptic.
Explore the archive of assembly instructions here:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_service/assembly_instructions.html
For about a half century, IKEA used Futura and Century Schoolbook as its type choices.
IKEA switched to Verdana in 2009. Graphic designers across the globe commented.
For a great article on why IKEA's typeface matters, see http://idsgn.org/posts/ikea-says-goodbye-to-futura/
Amidst the typesetting-specific discussion in IKEA Says Goodbye to Futura, linked above, is the claim that the IKEA catalog is "the world's third most printed publication (next to the Bible and Harry Potter)."
Try this multiple-choice quiz, which randomly generates actual IKEA names and asks readers to match the name with the products:
http://www.iamcal.com/games/ikea/
There is much to say about Scandinavian design, branding, and related topics. More TK.
