Design District Zagreb Calls Designers & DIYers to Hack IKEA’s Products

(photo: Francesco Pepa)

Zagreb – Design District Zagreb invites all interested creative people to apply for the Hacking IKEA competition and join the globally spreading trend of conversion and modification of products which they will personalize and make unique, witty and unexpected…

IKEA Croatia supports this competition which is organized by Design District Zagreb, a new design festival taking place from the 16th to the 19th of June in Zagreb, which will hold the competition and then showcase the ‘hacked’ products for the duration of the four-day event.

In partnership with IKEA Croatia, the festival Design District Zagreb has organized a competition called Hacking IKEA for the first time in Croatia. We invite all interested creative people, regardless of age and status (professional designers, design students, DIY enthusiasts, artists and others) to participate in the creation of new, unique solutions by hacking existing products and joining the growing global community of IKEA hackers. The trend has become popular thanks to the independent blog www.ikeahackers.net, and in the last decade it has resulted in books, tutorials and thousands of new concepts, where the products are hacked even by renowned international designers.

(photo: Francesco Pepa)

The aim of the project is to motivate and encourage thinking outside of the box and to search for new values, opportunities and inspiration in the existing well-known, globally distributed products of the Swedish giant.

During the two days of the competition, three experienced younger generation designers who are focused on conceptual and engaged design will participate, as well: Nina Bačun and Ivana Fabrio from Zagreb, and Erik Olovsson from Stockholm, founder of the multidisciplinary study EO, and until recently, art director of the brand Acne.

The set theme “Life in the kitchen and around it” refers to the conversion or modification of products selected from IKEA’s current range, so that they get a (new or additional) function to use in areas around the kitchen, dining room and pantry, regarding preparation, consumption or food storage. In recent decades, the kitchen has undergone a major transformation, from design style, purpose, and especially in terms of social interactions. Once used solely for preparation and consumption of food, today the kitchen and dining room are a focal point of the household and the first association to the intimacy and warmth of home. There we cook, socialize with friends and family, help children write their homework, celebrate special moments, all while maintaining its primary purpose – preparation and consumption of food and storage of foods and dishes.

(photo: Francesco Pepa)

Since the kitchen and dining room are the main spot for our daily activities, one of the ways that the needs and expectations of a family can be met is through the personalization of existing products that equip them.

Applications
You can apply for the competition exclusively using the online application form on the official website of the festival Design District Zagreb (designdistrict.hr) from May 9th to May 31st, 2016. The final selection of the five finalists will be announced on June 2nd at the same place which contains all other important information relevant for the course of the competition.

Awards for the competitors
The winner of Hacking IKEA will win a trip to the Swedish town of Älmhult where the company IKEA of Sweden AB, responsible for the design and development of the IKEA range, is located. There they will participate in the event “Democratic Design Days” and have the opportunity to find out about product design at the source of design ideas of IKEA. Other finalists will be awarded gift cards.