University Final Major Project - IKEA Surrealisms
The Concept
My idea for this project is to develop upon the idea that digital representations of commodities through the medium of 3D design in advertising and marketing, lose all grounding in reality, allowing for depictions of everyday objects to stray further and further into the surreal. The idea behind this is that 3D design’s ability to replicate objects in a realistic way from a completely digital and non tangible origin, makes for an outcome that lends itself to the unnatural aesthetic of surrealism.
The Brand
I feel that the Swedish retail brand IKEA would be a suitable brand of which to work as an extension of because IKEA produces 75% digitally created and rendered imagery within their catalogue, as it helps with tailoring their advertising to a more region specific demographic without the commitment of physically constructing said modifications. This practice however works with the context of my project as IKEA's representations of their products no longer hold any physical grounding due to their creation and depiction now being in the simulated reality of the computer.
Goal
I am going to develop upon IKEA's use of 3D design to now exaggerate the hyperreality created by using this medium. I am going to depict a hyperreality where the continued depiction of non tangible objects in a realistic setting has prioritised the products visual aesthetics and functionality over its physical functionality.
Front Cover
For the front cover, I was tasked with creating an image that helps to convey all the typical themes of an IKEA catalogue whilst also clearly asscociating it with the concept of surrealism. I decided to do this by creating a parody image of René Magritte's 'La Légende des siècles' where I then substituted the smaller more ornate wooden chair with that of an IKEA one.
Inside Spread
For the inside spread I took inspiration from russian matryoshka dolls of which are filled with smaller variants of themselves. This makes the doll seem like a surrealist object as it contains a much larger volume of other objects than would be initially expected. This effect was something that I have tried to replicate on the wardrobe by curving the wooden draws in an unnatural way that makes it seem like they wouldnt fit back into the frame.
Second Spread
For the second spread I had set out to create an object that would have little to no functional value, but in doing so the aesthetic qualities of the object become the focal point. To produce this effect I created the 'Sinusvåg' barstools of which would serve no practical qualities as the design would be incapable of supporting someone yet, the stylistic curve in the stool's stem creates a much more captivating visual object.
Third Spread
The third spread was to focus on taking inspiration from Dali and 'The persistence of memory' where concepts such as time and the physical properties of materials are given a surrealist twist. I tried to replicate a similar effect by producing a series of three glass vase's that are all depicted in different stages of decomposition where the glass is melting down into a puddle.
Back Cover
For the back cover I decided to focus on producing an image that is more in line with the typical page of which is produced by IKEA. The decision to not incorporate any themes of surrealism into this final page is to then strengthen the catalogue's connection to IKEA and also reality by not giving the viewer any obvious hints that the object they are seeing is not one created digitally.
Conclusion
In conclusion I would say that I am very happy with how this project has turned out. I think that what I have created has met the visual brand identity of IKEA well whilst also incorporating themes of surrealism into their typical marketing.
Due to time constraints within this project, I feel that I could have dedicated more time to properly planning out my outcomes and defining the reasons for my creative decisionmaking. The result of this rushed planning resulted in my application of surrealism within the spreads to be quite inconsistently applied. An example of this can be observed in spread 3 where the vase's still function as usable objects in reality whereas the wardrobe and barstools marketed in the first two spreads are incapable of functioning.
