IKEA India
As IKEA prepares to launch for the first time in India, our team was approached to redesign their homepage. By remodeling IKEA’s homepage for their new Indian customers, we aimed to display product information, interior design recommendations, company offers, and build instructions in a respectful manner that aligns with India’s unique cultural representation.
Team & Role
Services
Date
+3
Web Designer
Web Design
User Research
UI DESIGN
OCT 2022 (2 Week Sprint)
Orange Flower

Assumptions Based on Culture

Our assumptions for this redesign are based on the six dimensions of Geert Hofstede’s Model of Culture.

This model is a framework that identifies the cultural values of a society, based on the metrics of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation, and Indulgence.

Individual countries are ranked on these metrics on a scale from 1 to 100, with 1 being a low score and 100 being high. These are our assumptions about IKEA’s Indian customer base:
Call for
Nationalistic Imagery
77
India scores a 77 on Power Distance, indicating an appreciation for leadership, positions of power, and nationalistic ideals.
Call for
Cooperative Features
48
India scores a 48 on Individualism, indicating a society that shares both collective and individualistic values.
Call for
Masculine Imagery
56
India scores a 56 on Masculinity, indicating an appreciation for displays of individual success and power.
Call for
Simple Navigation
40
India scores a 40 on Uncertainty Avoidance, indicating an acceptance of imperfection and a somewhat warm adjustment to current circumstances.
Call for
Product Specs
51
India scores a 51 on Long Term Orientation, indicating an affinity for quality products and services.
Call for
Helpful Information
26
India scores a 26 on Indulgence, indicating a culture of restraint and appreciation of helpful, practical, and communal products and services.

Recommendations

1. Nationalistic and Masculine Imagery: Based on India’s scores on Power Distance and Masculinity, we recommend adding imagery of nationalistic pride and individual success, as well as using high contrast.


2. Concise and Helpful Information: Based on India’s scores on Long Term Orientation and Indulgence, we recommend adding menu options for product specs, build instructions, and company offers, as well as a virtual assistant/chat box for additional help.

Recommendations Continued

3. Linear Navigation: Based on India’s score on Uncertainty Avoidance, we recommend adding a simple and linear navigation style throughout the home page. User’s should have multiple options to choose from, and have them spread out across the homepage.


4. Localization Features: Based on IKEA’s constraint to localize recommendations, we also recommend adding a drop-down menu for local languages. This menu would be localized via the user’s location within the country and display their local language based on their location.

Challenges & Constraints

Challenges:

1. Avoiding offensive design elements - We did our best to not include any imagery that would offend the Indian populace, such as including images of real leather couches and additional furniture. While we made sure there were no further offensive design elements within the scope of the home page, ensuring every aspect of the website is non-offensive was a continuous challenge.


2. Matching the web style that is preferred in India - Considering we are used to designing for the American populace, designing a home page to fit India’s cultural representation was a unique challenge. While some design choices were initially outside our purview, in India they look fitting and natural.


Constraints:

In order to make the home page scalable and easy to implement, we used UI components that Ikea already has. Since no new material is needed, this design decision sped up our process, but also limited our ability to show additional details.

Outcomes & Results

Based on the six dimensions of Geert Hofstede’s Model of Culture, we redesigned the IKEA India home page to better fit the needs of India’s cultural ideals. Our redesign included more nationalistic references and masculine energy, new tabs for build instructions, a virtual assistant chat box, and a more linear user flow throughout the entire website.

Additionally, based on IKEA’s constraint to localize recommendations, we also implemented a drop-down menu for local languages. This menu is localized via the user’s location within the country, and displays their local language based on their location.

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