Friday, February 20, 2009
User Experience and IKEA
I wrote about IKEA's interactive website in a previous post, before the new IKEA store opened in my area, and since then, I counted the days until it opened.
The grand opening was this week, and I went shopping there last night with one of my daughters.
I ate the Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria. I wanted to buy things.
We decided that IKEA uses some sort of aroma-therapy/mind control through out the store.
This was my first visit to an IKEA, and it was awesome. They had flat-panel televisions all over the place. I was hoping that one of the displays would be connected to that cute IKEA website, KOM IN I GARDEROBEN. The English version: Come Into the Closet.
It would have been fun to control the dancers while sitting on a showroom sofa, using gestures.
From the IKEA Website:
"This is a campaign to promote IKEA's wardrobe solutions. IKEA wanted to show their huge range of styles and all the smart features on the inside....All the movements on the web site are controlled by sound and music.So change songs, upload your own music, play on your keyboard or sing into the microphone."
For more details:IKEA's Interactive Dancing and Musical Website
Enjoy the site!
Monday, January 5, 2009
IKEA's Interactive Dancing and Musical Website "Welcome to the Closet", via Kinetic Interface (cross-post )
Doug Fox, of the Kinetic Interface blog (part of Great Dance), shared IKEA's new promotional site that allows for tons of multimedia interaction. The website features a series of rooms to highlight various products.
Visit Come into the Closet!
IKEA Interactive Multimedia Game
Unlike most static, or even flash-based websites, the user has control over many dimensions of experience:
- Simply watch the dancers and listen to the music, navigating from room to room
- Control the dancers by tapping on your computer's keyboard
- Control the dancers by clapping, singing, or making other noises
- Combine tapping your keys while watching and listening
- Upload your own Mp3's and watch the dancers dance

Here is a video preview of some of the dance interaction in the site:


Duncan, of the Inspiration Room, also posted credit information regarding the IKEA website:
The following credits were posted by Duncan on the Inspiration Room Daily:
"The site was developed at Forsman Bodenfors, Sweden by web director Mathias Appelblad, copywriter Fredrik Jansson, art director Anders Eklind, designers Anton Robsarve and Christoffer Persson, agency producers Peter Gaudiano, Charlotte Most, Asa Jansson, account director Philip Mascher."
"An earlier version of the site was developed in 2006, winning a Yellow Pencil at the DandDs, and can be viewed online at Forsman Bodenfors."
"Web development was done at Kokokaka, Gothenburg."
"Filming was shot by director Amir Chamdin via Chamdin & Stöhr, Stockholm, with director of photography Gosta Reiland."
"Music is by Dead Mono."
Cross-posted from the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.

