How IKEA builds and scales its Design System
1. Context
Why IKEA talks about Design Systems
IKEA is one of the most trusted brands in the world.
That trust has to hold up across hundreds of digital touchpoints.
The IKEA Design System called Skapa, supports everything from mobile apps and websites to in-store kiosks, internal tools, large screens and even email marketing.
Today the team ships design and code across web, iOS, Android and more.
2. The problem
What becomes hard at scale
Cards are one of the most common UI patterns at IKEA.
And also one of the messiest.
Before the redesign:
| Issue | Impact |
|---|---|
| Countless variations | Cards existed in countless variations across products |
| Inconsistent terminology | Teams used the word "card" for very different things |
| Missing accessibility | Accessibility was often missing |
| Too rigid | Existing components were too rigid for real use cases |
| Inconsistent behavior | Some cards were static containers, others fully interactive, animated or clickable |
| Visual inconsistency | Many were visually inconsistent and not accessible |
The existing core component simply could not support the reality of IKEA's product landscape.
3. Their approach
Principles, decisions and mindset
Instead of designing yet another card, the team stepped back.
They:
- collected card examples from across IKEA products
- ran workshops with product teams
- defined what a card is and what it is not
- mapped real use cases instead of ideal ones
To get there, they:
- worked closely with product teams from the start
- released early alpha versions in Figma and code
- created fast feedback loops
- treated design, engineering and documentation as one workflow
Accessibility and brand consistency were treated as foundations, not features.
4. What worked
Concrete learnings from practice
Several decisions proved critical.
Instead of endless custom cards, IKEA created a small set of card types with shared structure but clear purpose.
Cards can adapt from minimal content to rich editorial layouts without breaking brand or accessibility.
The new media container supports images, video, shoppable markers and interactive content.
Keyboard navigation and screen reader behavior were redesigned to reduce friction, especially in dense layouts like carousels.
A large part of the work lives outside Figma in documentation, Storybook and the internal knowledge hub.
At IKEA's scale, adoption takes time. Reaching over 80 percent adoption on web was considered a success, not a delay.
5. What others can learn
Patterns that transfer to other teams
not how we wish they would
at scale
rigidity blocks it
when no official pattern exists
not just onboarding
not finished artifacts
6. Source
Where this use case comes from
Caroline Dahl
she/her
Product Owner, IKEA Digital Design System, Skapa
Jonatan Grönkvist
he/him
Senior Design System Designer, IKEA Digital Design System, Skapa
Watch the full session
This use case is based on a live session by the IKEA Design System team, presented during an Into Design Systems meetup and recorded at Spotify.
The talk covered the evolution of IKEA's card components, their design decisions and real-world challenges at scale.
If you want to learn how other teams apply similar patterns in practice, these kinds of real-world workflows are explored in depth at Into Design Systems.
