LACK is from 1979 according to IKEA but the first one I could actually find (purely out of curiosity) is in the 1981 catalog on page 68 (in 5 colors). It is also on the front cover.
IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
11–20 of 143 posts
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#12Is there a reason IKEA doesn't bring back all of the classic designs from time to time?
They bring select designs back ALL the time. What do you mean?
Here is just one example (with historic catalog images included): https://www.ikea.com/global/en/stories/our-roots/vintage-ike...
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#13Someone is a Tested viewer...
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#14The progression of the catalogue and furniture design from 1950 through to 1960 is remarkable. What a transformative time.
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#15Where did the Eames chair lookalike disappear to after '68? I want one.
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#16This is awesome! I wish Omega, Zenith, Seiko and other watch manufacturers would do the same and publish their historic catalogs online! And auto manufacturers, and really everyone who is in the kind of business where catalogs like this exists.
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#17Is there a reason IKEA doesn't bring back all of the classic designs from time to time?
Some would be hard for them to make at a reasonable price today and they wouldn't sell in big numbers at a higher price.
Adam Savage recently posted a video about his favorite IKEA cabinet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLAAxxjM_7U
The drawers have box joints which is something I can't imagine IKEA of today doing.
It's on page 311 of their 1997 catalog FYI.
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#18Crazy how few of their decades old designs look "wrong" today. Their combination of high quality design, low price, and (depending on price...) workable to good build quality is pretty unique.
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
No need for AI --- I used to work up automated typesetting systems for a previous employer --- feed in the database as a properly tagged XML file, provide all the graphics in a folder, and a couple of typesetting runs later, one had a fully paginated PDF w/ ToC and Index. The problem is, no one wants to pay for this since no value is seen in such a paginated view --- even if AI could create such a typesetting routine…
I mean, what I'm after is a page layout that is designed with compactness and readability in mind. Going from a product database to that requires quite a lot. An example: https://archive.org/details/mouserelectronic00unse/page/190/...
A printed catalog also provides discovery that no website has ever matched.
Re: IKEA Catalogs 1951-2021
#20Crazy how few of their decades old designs look "wrong" today. Their combination of high quality design, low price, and (depending on price...) workable to good build quality is pretty unique.
I just renovated an Ikea table from 1980-something. Actually found it in the catalog too.
It's solid wood, so it'll probably last another 40 years at least.