Re: Ikea Catalogue 2005 Pdf
Beatriz Fuentes
Good question! We know that a lot of people are curious about what the IKEA catalogue has looked like through the ages. The catalogue has always reflected the age and its views on interior design and everyday living, especially in Sweden, but in recent decades also internationally. The catalogue was in print for 70 years, and by digitising all the catalogues we could make them available to everybody. Making the story of IKEA available to as many people as possible is our main task at IKEA Museum. So we hope that the catalogues will bring some joy and nostalgia, and maybe even a few surprises.
I'm aware that "more copies" is not the same as "more read" or "more popular". But the numbers for the IKEA catalogue have increased, from 115 million in 2003 to 198 million in 2010 (see Peter's answer).
I assume IKEA wouldn't increase the number of copies if there wasn't a demand, after all printing them does cost the company money.
So even though the high print run doesn't necessarily mean it's also more read or more popular, it does seem to imply that the catalogue now reaches more people than any religious (or scientific) publication.
This makes me wonder: what does it say about our culture if the most distributed publication in our world is a furniture catalogue? (This is more of a philosphical question and therefore not part of my actual question)
The IKEA Catalogue (US spelling: IKEA Catalog; Swedish: Ikea-katalogen) was a catalogue published annually by the Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA. First published in Swedish in 1951,[1] the catalogue was considered to be the main marketing tool of the company and, as of 2004, consumed 70% of its annual marketing budget.[2] Approximately 208 million copies of the catalogue were printed in fiscal year 2013, more than double the number of Bibles expected to be printed in the same period.[3]
The first IKEA catalogue was published in 1951 in Sweden. It had 68 pages and 285,000 copies were distributed in Southern Sweden.[4] At its peak in 2016, 200 million copies of the catalogue were distributed, in 69 different versions and 32 languages, to more than 50 countries.[5]
Containing over 300 pages and about 12,000 products, it was distributed by mail, in stores and online.[6] Each edition of the catalogue takes about 10 months to develop from concept to final product.[3] Many different versions of the catalogue were created to reflect regional differences in product ranges as well as cultural differences. For example, photographs in the China edition may depict a smaller kitchen than the US edition.[7]
Most of the catalogue was produced by IKEA Communications AB in Älmhult, Sweden, the site of the original IKEA store and where IKEA Communications operates the largest photo studio in northern Europe (8,000 square meters in size).[1] As of 2012, the studio employed 285 photographers, carpenters, interior designers and other personnel working full-time on photo shoots.[3]
In 2017, IKEA worked with five paper suppliers and 31 printers around the world to produce the catalogue each year.[7] The catalogue itself was printed on chlorine-free paper of 10-15% post-consumer waste.[8]
According to Canadian broadcaster CTV, "IKEA's publications have developed an almost cult-like following online. Readers have found all kinds of strange tidbits, including mysterious cat pictures, apparent Mickey Mouse references and weird books wedged into the many shelves that clutter the catalogues."[9]
In December 2020, IKEA announced that they would be cease publication of both the print and digital versions of the catalogue, with the 2021 edition (released in 2020) being the final edition. The company said the catalogue had become less important as IKEA embraced new ways of connecting with customers. 40 million copies of the 2021 edition were printed.[4]
The company began experimenting with computer-generated imagery in 2005 by placing a single computer-rendered image of a wooden chair in the 2006 edition of the catalogue. According to Anneli Sjögren, head of photography at IKEA, customers did not notice that the chair was computer-generated.[3] In 2010, the first entirely computer-generated room was created for the catalogue.[10] By the 2013 edition, 12% of imagery for the IKEA catalogue, brochures and website was computer-generated.[3] As of 2014, 75% of product images (i.e. white background images) and 35% of non-product images across all IKEA communications are fully computer-generated.[10]
Augmented reality was introduced in the 2013 edition of the catalogue. "X-ray" views through furniture compartments, videos, how-to guides and other interactive content could be accessed by scanning a symbol on the catalogue with a mobile device.[11] The 2014 catalogue contains an augmented reality app that projects an item into a real-time photograph image of the user's room. The augmented reality app also provides an indication of the scale of IKEA objects in relation to the user's living environment.[12]
IKEA also publishes and sells a regular style magazine, titled IKEA Family Live in thirteen languages which supplements the catalogue. An English language edition for the United Kingdom was launched February 2007 with a subscription of over 500,000.[20]
The catalogue first launched in 1951, put together by Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad himself. Available only in Swedish and 68 pages long, it featured the MK wing chair in brown upholstery on the cover. 285,000 copies were printed and distributed in southern Sweden. In 2016, 200 million copies were distributed in 69 different versions, 32 languages to over 50 markets.
Back in the days before 3d rendering was a thing, to create the beautiful images you see in their catalogues, IKEA would have to use a very expensive, time consuming and inefficient method of physically building each and every set. They used to ship in all the various components needed to build a kitchen, bathroom, living room etc to a huge warehouse, build the set and then spend days getting lighting and props just right so they could get the shots for the catalogue.
In 2005 IKEA decided to dabble in 3d rendering for their catalogue. They inserted an image of one of their chairs (see below) into their print catalogue as a test to see if anybody would notice it was a 3d rendering and not a real photo. Nobody did. So they decided to do more. Since then more and more of their catalogue and online imagery has been entirely 3d. And now an amazing 75 percent of the product shots on ikeas website and in their catalogue are computer generated.
With large companies like ikea, nobilia, miele and many more all utilising 3d imagery in their marketing communications, the benefits are becoming more and more apparent. Creatively, the ability to have such complete control over every single element in a marketing communication is amazingly beneficial. From tailoring every single detail in an image towards a particular target group and using scenes/scenarios that would be impossible to re-create in the real world, it seems that 3d visualisation is the way of the future and more and more businesses (large and small) are getting on board. As technology gets better and artists get more creative, the level of 3d visualisation is continually evolving. Ikea, being the manufacturing behemoths that they are are leading the way in their integration of cgi into their marketing materials. Anybody still building real life physical sets are not only getting stung financially but are missing amazing opportunities for increased creativity and productivity in their product marketing.
The better course would have been to send the regular IKEA catalogue with photos intact to Saudi Arabia, she says. "Of course, there would be a good chance that the Saudi censors assigned to review imported magazines would take out their black markers and ink out the offending photos of women. Letting the Saudis decide when and what to censor would have meant that it would be the Kingdom, rather than IKEA getting the flak for ensuring that women stayed invisible."
The 2014 IKEA catalogue works with the IKEA app on a smartphone or tablet. Customers put the catalogue on the floor as a marker and can then select the product they want to see in that location via the app.
The print version of the IKEA catalogue will also feature over 50 pages that readers can scan with their mobile to get access to additional product information, videos and alternative views of products.
The 2014 IKEA catalogue gives you the ability to place virtual furniture in your own home with the help of augmented reality. Unlock the feature by scanning selected pages in the 2014 printed IKEA catalogue with the IKEA catalogue application (available for iOS and Android) or by browsing the pages in the digital 2014 IKEA catalogue on your smartphone or tablet. Then simply place the printed IKEA catalogue where you want to put the furniture in your room, choose a product from a selection of the IKEA range and see how it will look in your home!
As shoppers move online, the company announced on Monday that its current 2021 catalogue, released in October, will be the final version after seven decades. IKEA seems ready to turn the page for a more digital approach.
The move do to away with the catalogue is in keeping with the chain's broader environmental push, which has seen the retailer try to reduce its carbon footprint, and start selling used furniture as a way to extend their life.
Efros said there was similar noise and consternation when other iconic catalogues, such as Victoria's Secret, cancelled their print version in the past. Victoria's Secret stopped making its paper catalogue five years ago, when the company said it cost $150 million US to make about 300 million copies of it.
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