Daily Life of an IKEA Shop Designer

 Reykjavik IKEA entrance, taken in early October of 2025, believe it or not

Prior to IKEA I had never worked in a 9-5 office setting. I had been used to seasonal work, service jobs and self employment. The switching off at the end of the work day was such a refreshing change after being a full time tattoo artist, prior to IKEA.

Daily Life

Life as part of the Shop Design team is made up of daily tasks like morning rounds, changing opening offers and team meetings that fit around larger scale projects like department redesigns/renovations and seasonal display changes like Christmas and Summer.

Each day in IKEA for me starts with a coffee in my thermos that I sip as I do rounds of my assigned departments, to get them looking tidy and presentable for the customers. These 3 hours before shop opening are when I tackle any tasks that I´d rather do without customers around- like changing signs, constructing displays, filling holes in the walls or painting. My favourite time in IKEA is when we go into media changes. These are the temporary displays that change every 3 or so months, and usually line up with a seasonal theme. I like the routine of it all, and the satisfaction of seeing a completed project.

A Steep Learning Curve

I´ll admit I didn´t really understand the job when I first applied back in October 2024. I thought I was going to be at a desk all day, planning changes that would be carried out by other people. I didn´t realise I would be a part of that team on the shop floor carrying out those changes that had been planned. If you ever catch me on the shop floor I guarantee you I will be carrying a tool bag, a ladder or a measuring tape, sometimes all at once. It´s a much more hands on job that often leaves me sweaty and dusty at the end of the day- and a minimum of 10,000 steps under my belt. Most days I feel like I learn something new and I´m building on my hard skills which is a big bonus of the job. But there was an adjustment period where I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and I had accidentally bluffed my way into a job with a shiny portfolio but no idea what my the job actually entailed. The imposter syndrome has worn off but there´s still a lot that I haven´t yet mastered.

Sal x