IKEA to live stream Democratic Design Day talks with designers

Anna Winston | 6 June 2016 1 comment

Dezeen promotion: Dezeen is teaming up with IKEA to broadcast its annual Democratic Design Day event, which takes place in Sweden on 8 June, and will include news on the brand's upcoming releases and designer collaborations.

Dezeen readers will be able to watch all of the talks and presentations from the furniture giant's Democratic Design Day live from 9.30am UK time on 8 June.

Ikea-democratic-design-day-sweden-dezeen-936-sq — IKEA's annual Democratic Design Day sees hundreds of journalists and bloggers descend on the town of Älmhult in Sweden, home to the brand's first store

The event aims to make the company more transparent by sharing some of its behind-the-scenes research and processes, and will take place in Älmhult, Sweden – home of the first IKEA store.

During the live broadcast, IKEA will reveal its next round of collaborators from the wider design industry, following on from the success of its Sinnerlig collection by London-based Ilse Crawford last year.

Ikea-democratic-design-day-sweden-dezeen-936-3 — The Democratic Design Day aims to make the processes, research and thinking behind IKEA's products more transparent

The Democratic Design Day will feature new product announcements from IKEA's head of design Marcus Engman, and a panel discussion with designers that are working with the brand.

IKEA will also unveil its latest Life at Home report on the different behaviours and lifestyle choices that affect people's home lives around the world.

Ikea-democratic-design-day-sweden-dezeen-936-2 — IKEA has teamed up with Dezeen to make it possible for more people to view the livestream from the event

The event is the third of its kind since the brand launched the idea in 2014, and will bring together journalists, bloggers, senior IKEA team members and designers that the company is collaborating with.

Last year's Democratic Design Day included Crawford, who discussed her "deliberately low key" cork and natural-fibre homeware collection, which went on sale in August 2015.

Ilse Crawford Sinnerlig collection for Ikea — Last year's event included Ilse Crawford, who discussed her "deliberately low key" Sinnerlig collection of homeware

The brand also unveiled its Home Smart collection, featuring furniture and accessories embedded with induction charging stations for powering digital devices, and shared progress on the development of a new paper-based material called M-Board, which could replace wooden boards in its products.

This year's Democratic Design Day event will begin at 10.30am Älmhult time on 8 June, which is 9.30am London time, and 4.30am New York time. The livestream will be available on Dezeen.com from the beginning of the event.