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“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.” — Leonardo da Vinci
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If you live near a large metropolitan area, chances are you are not that far from an IKEA store.
And if you don’t, IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer–to say their offerings are popular is an understatement. Where else can a young couple go to buy a room full of furniture for under $500?
The purpose of this post is not a plug for IKEA, not meant as a vehicle to spleen vent about quality, the changing tastes/values of youth, or lack thereof, world resource management, political/ethical/trade balance issues… I just happen to believe IKEA might be one of the best furniture design classrooms you will encounter–and the lessons are free.
Regardless of what you think about the quality, Scandinavian minimalism, the materials, durability, etc, what you won’t see at an IKEA store is bad proportions.
In preparation for a talk I am giving in a couple of months, I recently spent a day in our local IKEA store with a couple of simple tools that you can make yourself to help you avoid what is likely the biggest deadly sin of furniture design–poor, or bad proportions.
In the image below (FYI; 1:1.618 ratio) is a standard 3″ x 5″ note card. For those of you who believe the Golden Mean, is well, golden, all you have to do is trim 9/64’s of an inch off a standard note card to have a Golden Mean proportion template.
Above the note card are five 1″ square pieces taped together. Here is how you use them;
Whenever you want to determine the overall proportions of the designer’s intent, hold the card(s) out far enough from your eyes until it obscures the piece perfectly. Maybe it is the Golden Mean card, maybe it is two to one, or 3:1…you get the idea. The nice thing about the foldaway 5:1 card is that it will fit in your wallet. I use one in my wallet to cover up the the strung out drug dealer pictured on my driver’s license…
What you will quickly learn about the fascinating topic of proportion is that there is a small range of proportions that seem to pop up all the time–these are the proportions that resonate with us, and we derive comfort from them. In other words, these frequent proportions happen for a reason. Mind you, there are no rules, but it cannot hurt to have a baseline understanding of what is considered aesthetically pleasing proportions by a significant percentage of world furniture buyers. It is an aspect of furniture design that should never be ignored.
You will also notice in an IKEA an abundance of mixed materials and color. In my design classes I like to suggest that 100% wood, 100% of the time, risks being 100% boring. (It is also fair to say that this falls on deaf ears too often). Regardless, it is important to entertain new ideas and then reject them than to not consider any alternatives at all.
Maybe young people think IKEA furniture is cool not only because it is affordable, but because the proportions seem to never offend.
–John
Hi John,
I’ve been to IKEA once and my thought was: “great design, poor execution!” Some of the furniture was very cool and clever in how it was to be used, but of course something has to give to make a low price point. I know that I’m just as guilty as the next guy, maybe even more so because I realize that there are all kinds of great and mostly free places where you can go to look at great design and I don’t. We really all should visit museums, historical places and furniture stores to cultivate ideas and get motivated.
-Rutager
P.S. I had a great lunch in their cafeteria and picked up a delicous bag of maple leaf cookies in the grocery area!
Rutager;
Regarding the IKEA cookies; were they pro-portions?
Did I just write that?
-John
PS: Looking forward to your review of the upcoming American Craft Council Show in the Twin Cities. Take lots of pics–I think you would make a great guest blogger here with that report….the DSN would be grateful.
I love spending time in IKEA. Gillian and I will often go there on a weekend, just to look at things. I love their designs, have the catalog memorized, and have quite a bit of their furniture mixed in with my own in the house. I think they’re remarkable value – beautiful, and impossible to re-create for the price. The constraints of working with flat stock that can be assembled by an idiot is no mean feat (check this out: http://dornob.com/ikea-henj-8-step-diy-instruction-manual-for-stonehenge/). I think that it’s a design challenge that would be good for us all to attempt.
Sure, the veneer all peeled off Gillian’s bed in the sun. And sure, the reveals of their doors are not always perfect. But then mine aren’t either. It’s great starter furniture, and you can make a very elegant house for very little money. I love their lamps, too – especially the paper ones. In my other life, I’d love to be an IKEA designer. It must be very stimulating.
Thanks for the tip on the golden mean, John. I’ll have to trim up a credit card to the correct proportions.
But who comes up with those names?!?
– Peter
P.S. “Pro-portions”?!? Booooo!
I guess you could say that the Golden Mean is related to the Golden Rule: Don’t design a chair for someone that you wouldn’t be willing to sit in yourself…
I think IKEA is especially great for stuff that young tots will outgrow fairly soon, like cribs, etc. I’ve done a lot of gluing, fortifying and modifying to make sure the stuff lasts through the second child, but it’s easy and fun to do and you don’t have to sweat the damage inflicted by overactive kids (are there any other kind?). And speaking of frugal Swedish things, that reminds me of a joke told to me by one of my close Swedish friends: Q: What do you get when you win the Swedish National Lottery?
A: You get a krona a year, for a million years!
Just couldn’t resist–it seems a lot of stuff I read on this blog reminds me of a joke or a pun…
Teo
“Regarding the IKEA cookies; were they pro-portions?”
“Did I just write that?” NO, you did not, I think it would be reckless for any of us to encourage your pun making!
John,
I’ve marked the date for the American Craft Council Show on my calendar(April 15th-17th) and will be attending. For those who aren’t aware; this is not one of those craft fairs where most of the things for sale have potpourri, pine cones and ribbons held together with hot melt glue. It is craft not crafts, and will have textiles, jewelry, woodworking and other high end items made by skilled artisans- should be very cool and idea generating! I’ll report back.
-Rutager
Looking forward to the report, Rutager!
– Peter
Lucky, lucky Rutager! Have you been to the American Craft Council Show before? If not, you are in for a TREAT that will exceed all your expectations. Can’t wait to read your report!
Off to trim my recipe cards and tape some little paper squares together now….
“Craft, not crafts”, thanks Rutager, a simple, meaningful distinction.
Our nearest Ikea in 100 miles-away in Burbank which is one factor that keeps us from owning a thousand metric tons of their stuff which often represents a remarkable value and rarely less than good quality with thoughtful design. The other thing that prevents our buying too much Ikea stuff is my pathology that requires me to make my own, even if I spend a day duplicating a $4 toilet paper holder.