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What is democratic design?

Democratic design is the IKEA approach to developing products that combine form, function, quality, sustainability and a low price.

The five dimensions of democratic design

When developing a product, we consider five dimensions:
  • form: its appearance and style
  • function: its purpose and ease of use in everyday life
  • quality: its design and suitability for its intended use
  • sustainability: its useful life and the environmental aspects considered during the design process
  • low price: a price that makes the product accessible to as many people as possible.
We consider these five dimensions together to find the right balance for the product and how it will be used.

Why is this approach important?

At IKEA, we believe that good design should be for everyone. Democratic design helps us develop products that are useful in everyday life and accessible to as many people as possible.

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