Tracing its Evolution and History

IKEA’s iconic blue and yellow logo has evolved over time, influenced by a skilled logo design company, reflecting the company’s evolving business model and logo.

Explore IKEA’s logo transformation from 1943 to 2018, showcasing meticulous craftsmanship in logo design USA, from a simple letterhead symbol to the brand’s identity.

This journey showcases the meticulous attention to detail and commitment to innovation synonymous with IKEA. In a realm where logo design services play a crucial role, IKEA’s journey serves as a testament to the significance of thoughtful branding in establishing a company’s identity and resonance in the market, particularly in the USA where logo design for companies holds paramount importance.

Through each iteration, the logo design agency behind IKEA’s transformational journey has strived to capture the essence of the brand, ensuring that the logo remains not just a symbol but the very embodiment of IKEA’s ethos and vision.

A logo is a graphic element in a brand’s visual identity, encompassing perceptions and attitudes towards the company. The IKEA wordmark, used without the logotype’s oval and frame, is used on store fronts and flags, with a slight difference in typography.

The IKEA logo — history and design

Our logo is one of the most recognizable components of the IKEA visual identity. Learn about what it means, how it was designed, and how it developed over the years.

The word ‘IKEA’ is an acronym that celebrates our Swedish heritage. I stands for Ingvar, the first name of the IKEA founder. K is for Kamprad, his last name. E is for Elmtaryd, the name of the farm where Ingvar grew up, and A is for Agunnaryd, the name of the parish in Småland, Ingvar’s home village.

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA.

Elmtaryd farm is where Ingvar Kamprad grew up and started the IKEA business.

A time of experimentation

The first registered trademark, 1943.

The logo’s evolution and history reflect the company’s growth, first registered by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, showcasing trustworthiness in traditional rural peddling.

Ingvar’s mail order business experienced a significant growth, reflected in the logo’s accent, addition of “Agunnaryd” and railway address Liatorp, indicating expansion.

The Evolution of the Logo

The business and logo grow

The accent on IKEA was likely inspired by French pen manufacturer La Société Evergood, and possibly the addition of ‘import-export’ to the word, making it a graphic logotype.

New ideas in the 1940s were visible also in the logo

IKEA, the furniture company, began in 1948 with the addition of the word ‘Möbelfirman’. The logo and range varied over time, with occasional upper and lower case logos.

New side businesses like ‘Förlag’ added new words around ikéa. The logo appeared on compliment slips, letterheads, bills, and address labels.

Attempts at clarifications, 1940s

Different businesses, same name

Between 1948 and 1952, ikéa-nytt was published, an ordering catalogue and the predecessor to what would later become the annual IKEA catalogue. The logo remained unchanged during these four years, in italics and lower case.

The forerunner to the IKEA catalogue, 1948–52

IKEA’s logo, drawn by hand, featured a cloud, upper case company name, Möbler furniture, and Bosättning home setting.

The correspondence between IKEA and Sandstorms design agency in Sundsvall from 1951 suggests a desire for a more established image.

IKEA created a logo with help from the printers, 1951

The first home furnishing catalogue, 1951

The quality guarantee, ‘Kvalitetsgaranti’, first appeared in 1951 with IKEA’s first home furnishing catalogue. Although short-lived, it became a central aspect of IKEA’s brand-building.

A new version designed by Gillis Lundgren in 1952.

In 1952, advertising legend Gillis Lundgren redesigned the Sandström logo, incorporating hardwood furniture, a quality hallmark, and a diagonal word-group in upper case.

The forerunner of today’s logo began emerging during the 1950s

Möbel-IKEA formed new word-groups, often with ÄLMHULT, for showrooms. The first store in 1958 in Älmhult featured a stylized building image and logo variations. Capitals stayed.

One of the additions was the occasional illustration of the first store.

1960s

Gillis Nilsson, a professional production designer, standardized the IKEA logo in 1962, removing the accent above the E and redesigned the font.

The logo became horizontal, IKEA inside an oval, and black and white. When the Kungens Kurva store opened in 1965, the words appeared beneath the emblem.

The accent vanished in 1962.

The logo when IKEA Kungens Kurva opened in 1965

1970s to 1980s

IKEA expanded in Scandinavia and opened its first European store in Switzerland in the 1970s. The international name IKEA became the sole logo.

The company’s expansion led to graphical deviations, such as using exotic Swedish elks in Germany, a statue of an elk in Austria, a stylised Viking in Japan and Canada, and a cheerful teddy bear in Denmark.

IKEA is a piece of Sweden, exported

Germany and Austria used elks

Canada and the USA used Vikings

Japan opted for Vikings too

The Danes, on the other hand, decided to ‘cosy up’ with a teddy bear

The first manual

In the 1980s, IKEA underwent a change process, introducing various colors and characters. The first visual profile manual was published in 1984, defining IKEA as a trademark and granting it copyright protection.

1990s forwards

IKEA, a Swedish furniture company, became globally popular with its catalogue becoming a widely distributed printed work. From 1991, blue stores with the yellow IKEA wordmark were built, showcasing the company’s global reach.

Despite the red and white logo remaining in Scandinavia, the brand remained stronger than the uniform.

Updated logo 2018

The logo, last updated in 2018, aims to enhance legibility, ensure consistent recognition, and maintain color reproduction in the digital age, ensuring compatibility across various platforms.

IKEA’s logo has remained consistent since the 1960s, reflecting its commitment to being cost-conscious and preserving its origins.

Founder Ingvar Kamprad emphasized the company’s focus on providing good products at decent prices, a statement that has been echoed by many major brands.

FAQs

What does the IKEA logo represent?

The IKEA logo represents the company’s founder, Ingvar Kampard, and birthplace, Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, with a heavy sans-serif font symbolizing confidence and stability, and a yellow and blue color palette representing energy and loyalty.

What font does IKEA use?

If you are a designer, you might ask yourself what font is used for the IKEA logo. At first, it is a bold typography using very light serifs and upper case lettering. IKEA asked Robin Nicholas to create a custom font for them, and this is how IKEA Sans was designed.

Did you know that the IKEA logo was changed in 2019?

Last year’s logo redesign involved minor changes, keeping colors, dimensions, spacing, and serifs. Letters were slightly reworked, the inner oval shape was rounder, and the serifs at the end were softened. This demonstrates that simplicity is often the best approach when redesigning a logo.

How IKEA can inspire you when creating your logo in 2023?

The IKEA logo, inspired by Sweden’s flag and confidence, uses blue and yellow colors. The company’s name and region are prominent elements. The simple monogram logo features a blue rectangle and yellow circle with letters. Taking inspiration from values and origin is crucial.

Conclusion

The IKEA logo serves as a compelling source of inspiration for professional logo design services in various ways. Firstly, the deliberate selection of blue and yellow hues, reminiscent of the Swedish flag, establishes a universally recognizable brand identity, instilling feelings of assurance and positivity.

IKEA emphasizes its brand name as the logo focal point, using strong, authoritative characters to convey its values. Integrating regional symbols, like BMW’s Bavaria coat of arms, can enhance corporate logo design services, offering unique elements.

Lastly, it’s crucial not to shy away from adaptation and redesign, a principle applicable across industries, including fast food logos and graphic designs logos, as showcased by IKEA’s continuous evolution.