ikea

The Science of Meaning and How to Stay Motivated in Our Work

At TEDx Rio de la Plata, author Dan Ariely gave an interesting talk on motivation and how to feel good about our work. Challenging the conventional belief that money equals motivation, he shows how injecting meaning into our work -- be that by making the work itself harder or having others acknowledge it -- has a huge impact on why and how we stay motivated.

The video doesn't specifically mention photography, but the lessons still apply. Without meaning, motivation dies; and the ways we get meaning are either by having others acknowledge/use our photography or by challenging ourselves to push the limits of our skill.

IKEA Catalog Photoshop Controversy Spawns New Internet Photo Meme

IKEA received a lot of bad press around the world earlier this week after it came to light that the company had Photoshopped women out of its Saudia Arabian catalog. The company has since apologized, but the Internet isn't planning to let the story die down without poking some fun at IKEA's expense.

IKEA Caught Photoshopping Women Out of Its Saudi Arabian Catalog

IKEA found itself in some hot water today after it came to light that a number of women seen in its catalog photographs had been Photoshopped out of the frame for the Saudi Arabian edition. Swedish newspaper Metro broke the story today with a scathing piece titled, "Women Cannot be Retouched Away," writing that IKEA's new catalog reflects the country's oppression of women by editing out every single human with two X chromosomes.

IKEA Slowly Shedding Photography in Favor of Computer Renders

Of the two images above, one of them is a computer render and one of them is an actual photograph. Can you tell which is which? If you can't, why should IKEA?

The Wall Street Journal reports that IKEA is slowly moving away from using photography in its catalogs in favor of CGI for its online and print publications.

Make a DIY Slide Projector Using an IKEA Lamp

Here's a cool DIY project, courtesy of creator Derte84 and the folks over at Instructables, for those of you who have a bunch of slides sitting around but no slide projector in sight. Putting the whole thing together will require a little bit of hardware (e.g. you'll either need the tools to cut the wood yourself or an account with a laser cutting service) but the final product is pretty cool.

A Review of the IKEA Cardboard Camera

Yesterday I attended a VIP sneak preview of the new IKEA PS designer furniture line in Malmö, Sweden. I was not the slightest bit interested in the designer furniture. I was there for one reason, to play with and acquire the new KNÄPPA, IKEA's cardboard camera.

IKEA Cardboard Camera Called KNÄPPA, to Land on Store Shelves Soon

Earlier this week a photograph of a mysterious IKEA digital camera crafted out of cardboard took the web by storm. Now more details are emerging and we now know that the camera is very much real. It will be called KNÄPPA, and was designed in collaboration with Stockholm’s Teenage Engineering. Billed as "the world's cheapest digital camera", the KNÄPPA is made out of a single piece of folded cardboard, a single circuit board, a camera sensor, and an integrated USB connector.

Beautiful Photos of IKEA Kitchen Items Neatly Arranged

IKEA scored a viral advertising hit in 2010 when it released a cookbook with photographs by Carl Kleiner showing the ingredients of each recipe neatly arranged on a table. Now, the Swedish furniture company has teamed up with the photographer and stylist Evelina Kleiner again for a series of photographs showing kitchen items in beautiful arrangements.

Beautiful IKEA Baking Recipe Ingredient Photos by Carl Kleiner

IKEA recently created a baking cookbook titled "Hembakat är Bäst" (Homemade is Best) and hired photographer Carl Kleiner to provide images for the recipes. Kleiner shot beautiful photographs of the recipes' ingredients, neatly arranged in geometric patterns by Evelina Bratell.