‘I don't take myself too seriously’: Gustaf Westman on designing for joy with Ikea

Five giant fibreglass meatballs sat at the centre of a press conference in Seoul’s Hannam-dong today, where journalists gathered for the launch of Ikea’s latest designer collaboration. They rest on a huge elliptical plate – an outsized version of a new design by young Swedish designer Gustaf Westman, part of a 12-piece collection teased over the summer. The regular-sized porcelain tray, Westman notes, neatly fits 11 meatballs – his (and Ikea’s) favourite Swedish dish.

Alongside the tray, the debut includes a chunky teacup with a saucer designed to hold a generous portion of biscuits; a donut-like portable lantern with a rotating mechanism that allows it to be angled; a glass vase in a springy spiral frame that bounces at the lightest touch; and an LED candelabra, among other tactile tabletop pieces, such as curvy porcelain plates and candlesticks.

Shiny, cartoonish and brightly coloured in shades of red, green, bubblegum-pink and baby blue, the collection channels Westman’s playful design language – a style that has earned him a devoted following since he launched his Stockholm studio five years ago (fans can try for a stay at his apartment, recently listed on home-swapping app Kindred, or dip into his guide to Stockholm). This collaboration with Ikea now makes his work accessible to a much bigger global audience for the first time.

‘There's obviously a lot of pre requirements when you work with Ikea, and there's a lot of things you can't do but a lot of things you can do as well, and you just have to learn about that at the beginning of the process,’ Westman says. ‘For example, there’s one person whose job it is to tell you, like, “If we take away 3mm from this plate, you can fit 100 more in a pallet.”’

The collaboration began three years ago as a conversation between Westman and Ikea creative leader Maria O’Brian, and was initially imagined as a Christmas collection. But, as the designer recalls, this didn’t sit quite right: ‘It felt a bit scary for me because I didn't feel like Christmas was the best fit for my aesthetic,’ he says.

Instead, he proposed a more inclusive collection designed for celebrations across countries and cultures. It's also the reason why the launch is taking place in Seoul (it’s Ikea’s first product launch in Asia), a location rich with traditions and celebrations, and a bright, experimental design landscape where Westman’s work feels perfectly at home.

Since he exploded onto the scene five years ago, Westman’s sense of whimsy and irreverence has drawn comparisons to Ettore Sottsass and Jean Royère, designers who embraced colour, play and a touch of the surreal. But Westman insists his own influences come just as much from growing up in 1990s and 2000s Sweden.

‘One of the things that we really fell for and why we wanted to work with Gustaf was that he really creates humorous objects,’ says O’Brian, noting the creative synergy that Ikea believes will resonate across generations and geographies. ‘We don't expect everyone to bring everything home, although there will be some die-hard fans who buy everything – we tried to make a collection where you can find your own favourites.’

So why are people so drawn to Westman’s playful designs? ‘I don't know, honestly,’ he shrugs. ‘But I feel like this whole sphere – the design world and the architecture world – has been taking itself very seriously for a long time. Of course, there’s space for that, but my way of designing is to have fun. I don't take myself too seriously, because I am not doing anything serious. There are people who do serious stuff, and that's for them, but I don't think that's what I'm gonna bring to the world.’

In an industry that often leans towards rigour and restraint, Westman seems intent on serving up joy – one oversized teacup, wobbly vase and fibreglass meatball at a time.

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