It’s Nice That and IKEA explore how personalisation will impact design for the masses

Mass production and globalised design no longer mean forgoing individuality. Innovations in technology and seismic changes in consumer habits have come a long way in the past few years, meaning consumers expect much more control over the design of their possessions. To explore this fascinating and rapidly evolving topic, It’s Nice That has partnered with IKEA to co-host an evening event titled The future of design: How personalisation is on the rise for the mass audience, exploring how personalisation on a mass scale might impact the role of designers.

The event in Shoreditch, London on 2 May will feature a panel of leading creatives and experts on the subject, including British designer Tom Dixon, Bethany Koby from Tech Will Save Us, Unmade’s Kirsty Emery and IKEA’s head of design Marcus Engman, speaking about how customisation in various areas of the industry will change what, and how, we consume design. The four speakers will share insights from their sectors of product, furniture, toy and fashion design, and discuss the importance and prevalence of personalisation and how it’s affecting design methods.

Find out more about the speakers and sign up below for free tickets to the event, taking place on the evening of 2 May 2018 at Protein Studios, Shoreditch, London.

Tom Dixon

Internationally renowned designer Tom Dixon recently collaborated with IKEA to develop DELAKTIG (the Swedish word for “involvement”), a modular, customisable furniture system. The design process was charted on a recent BBC documentary about the global furniture giant and showed how Tom and the brand worked through a multitude of challenges to make a mass market product that could be personalised – the first of its kind for IKEA. Tom will be speaking about the design, and what it means for the luxury of customisation to reach affordable, everyday products.

Marcus Engman

Marcus Engman is head of design for IKEA, a role he’s held since 2012, though his history with the brand goes much further back. His role sees the designer work with the in-house design team and external designers, such as Tom Dixon, Ilse Crawford and Form Us With Love, to develop the brand’s countless ranges of products. He will be speaking about the challenges the brand faces in developing customisable, and unique, products on a mass scale, and why it’s vital IKEA does so in this shifting design landscape.

Bethany Koby

Bethany Koby is the co-founder of Tech Will Save Us, a pioneering STEM toy design company based in Hackney that gives kids the tools to learn and play with coding and electronics. Its DIY kits, for example, the Synth Kit and Mover Kit, provides the user with a box of parts to make toys and then learn how to programme them, making them interactive, adaptable and educational. Its ethos is to inspire kids to invent – Bethany will be talking about this vital skill and how it might shape a future generation of consumers who want more involvement in the creation of their products.

Kirsty Emery

Kirsty Emery is the co-founder of Unmade, a fashion brand based in Somerset House. The innovative company enables what it calls “curated customisation” – customisable design produced through industrial manufacturing, giving consumers the power to tailor their products to their personal taste. Via an online platform, a user can edit their clothing – from the size and colour to manipulating the patterns on a sweatshirt – to make it completely personalised. Kirsty will be speaking about how this engages consumers, and how the fashion industry itself is adapting to the desire for individuality at all levels, not just the high end.