6 DESIGN BY IKEA

ways, but the point is that our perceptions of past and present are influenced by stories,
images, metaphors and words that help to explain what would otherwise be an incalculably
complex and fragmented world. The narratives scarcely reproduce reality like a blueprint
but simplify and refine our perceptions. Also important in this context are: who is
responsible for the narrative and what are their aims.
It is a well-established truth that companies do not just produce material artifacts or
offer services, but that they also create brands that are by no means confined merely to a
logotype and a product. Competition between manufacturers is no longer just a matter of
price and quality but also of corporate narratives. Business has changed in step with a
shift from focus on actual, material goods to immaterial aspects. Branding also includes
feelings, ideas, images and stories.15 There is no fixed meaning as such, no permanent
content but constant change according to time and context.
As brands have developed into more than just a label, the importance of brands and
branding has spiraled. In psychology identity has long been interpreted as a consistent
and coherent ego but, in more recent times, has been defined as something that develops
rather than something that is. Accordingly, there is simply no ego to manifest but it can,
on the other hand, be constructed. Of course a brand identity can be understood in
similar fashion. Companies commit major resources to building and preserving their
identity. With the help of narratives about values and characteristics and conscious
management of elements such as graphic design a ‘personality,’ a distinct and unique
identity is created.
Branding is, quite simply, a matter of defining what one is in order to distinguish and
position oneself in the market. It is a matter of values and meanings, in addition to the
company’s products or services, that are communicated by stories and images. How the
brand is actually perceived is not, of course, the same as how the brand seeks to be
understood. There can be a large discrepancy between how a company formulates its
identity and how this identity is actually received. Thus the images and narratives that
companies construct to describe themselves can differ from those actually generated in
the recipient’s consciousness.
During the 1990s there was increasing corporate interest in dramaturgical notions and
so-called corporate storytelling became increasingly popular. The economic potential of a
good story was emphasized and management consultants claimed that brands should be
launched and organizations should be described using narratives. In the public domain
they are used as marketing tools while internally they are a way of strengthening the
corporate culture and promoting a sense of community among employees. American
management and marketing books in particular, with titles such as Shakespeare on
Management (1999) and The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to
Hemingway (1999) testify to inspiration from the literary world.16 The pervading opinion
shared by advocates of the policy is that narratives are more effective than information
communicated in traditional ways. The key to success is, quite simply, considered to be a
good story. Or as Rolf Jensen put it in his book The Dream Society (1999): ‘whoever tells
the best story, and whoever tells it the best, will win.’17 The superiority of the genre has also
been explained with the idea that conviction is the core to all forms of successful business
activities, and that if one is to convince people one has to know how to tell a story.18