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IKEA

Content Management System
I led design for Inter IKEA’s CMS, creating a tool that content creators across Marketing & Communications use daily to
produce and distribute assets. I mapped workflows, redesigned information architecture and content models, and
introduced reusable templates and blocks to cut repetition. I also established a Figma-based design system, usability
testing cadence, and QA processes to ensure accessibility and scalability. The CMS enabled faster delivery of
shoppable imagery, improved efficiency for creators, and raised the design maturity of the organisation through
I led design for Inter IKEA’s CMS,
creating a tool that content creators
across Marketing & Communications
use daily to produce and distribute
assets. I mapped workflows, redesigned
information architecture and content
models, and introduced reusable
templates and blocks to cut repetition. I
structured rituals and systemisation.
also established a Figma-based design
system, usability testing cadence, and
QA processes to ensure accessibility
and scalability. The CMS enabled faster
delivery of shoppable imagery,
improved efficiency for creators, and
raised the design maturity of the
organisation through structured rituals
and systemisation.

My role

Visual / UX Designer

Team

Product Owner
Business Analyst
Agile Coach
Visual Designer
Solution Architect
Front-end Developer
Back-end Developer
QA Tester

Timeline

62 weeks

Year

2021
2022

Project name

Komponera

Constraints

  • Must work within IKEA’s global content strategy and governance requirements.
  • Deliver a tool fit for both novice and advanced content creators.
  • Ensure accessibility, localisation readiness, and brand consistency
  • Create design ops processes to keep a cross-functional team aligned

Overview

Problem

Content creators were spending excessive time on repetitive tasks and struggled with unclear, inconsistent processes across channels. The lack of a cohesive CMS meant inefficiency, duplication of effort, and difficulty in maintaining consistency at IKEA’s global scale. The business needed a tool that simplified authoring, reduced manual work, and enabled content to be created once and distributed across multiple markets and channels.

Challenge

  • Create a CMS that improves efficiency for content creators, reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.
  • Establish a design system to maintain consistency, accessibility, and scalability.
  • Support a “create once, publish anywhere” approach to streamline distribution.
  • Foster design maturity within IKEA’s internal teams.

Solution

  • An internal CMS tailored to content creators’ workflows, with simplified navigation and task flows.
  • Content-authoring models that separate text and assets from presentation.
  • Modular templates and reusable blocks for efficiency and consistency.
  • A Figma-based design system codifying tokens, components, and patterns for scalability.
  • Developer-ready specs and QA processes to ensure smooth implementation.
  • Iterative usability-tested prototypes that guided incremental releases.

Results

  • Delivered a CMS that reduced repetitive work and improved speed for content creators.
  • Early releases enabled faster delivery of shoppable range imagery to retailers.
  • Design system improved velocity and reduced UI inconsistencies.
  • Content creators reported clearer workflows and less time wasted.
  • The organisation established design maturity within Marketing & Communications through rituals and systematisation.
Two screens from the content management system designed for IKEA.

Research

Activities

  • Stakeholder workshops with content creators, product managers, and tech leads to map workflows.
  • Task analysis of content creation, review, localisation, and publishing processes.
  • Usability testing of prototypes with content authors at multiple stages.
  • Audit of existing content tools and systems to identify inefficiencies.

Insights

  • Content creators wanted reduced repetition. “Don’t make me write the same thing three times.”
  • Separation of content from presentation was critical for scaling across markets.
  • Templates and reusable blocks were essential for consistency and speed.
  • Training time needed to be minimal. The tool had to be intuitive and support onboarding.

What to track post-launch

  • Time to complete common authoring tasks (pre vs post-CMS).
  • Reduction in duplicated content across markets.
  • Adoption and satisfaction among content creators.
  • Reuse rate of templates and blocks.
Two screens from the content management system designed for IKEA.

Process

1. Discover

  • Mapped creator workflows.
  • Conducted workshops.
  • Audited inefficiencies.

2. Define

  • Established design principles (efficiency, clarity, reuse, accessibility).
  • Prioritised features.

3. Design

  • Produced wireframes, prototypes, and design system components; wrote copy and states for complex tasks.

4. Validate

  • Ran usability tests, iterating on navigation, editor flows, and error handling.

5. Deliver

  • Shipped high-fidelity specifications.
  • Design system documentation.
  • QA support for implementation.

Key decisions

Separate content from presentation

Build content models that allow creators to author once, then distribute to multiple channels. This reduces duplication, improves governance, supports global scale.

Reusable templates and blocks

Design modular templates and reusable blocks to standardise content creation. This speeds up workflows and ensures consistency across regions and teams.

Accessible, brand-aligned UI

Apply IKEA’s brand system and WCAG standards to all templates and components. This ensures inclusivity and global coherence.

Figma-based design system

Create a scalable, atomic design system with clear tokens, components, and documentation. This accelerates delivery, keeps teams aligned, and reduces design/engineering drift.

Design rituals and QA

Embed design reviews, documentation, and QA into the development cycle. This ensures build quality, reduces rework, and supports long-term maintainability.

Risks and how they were managed

  • Complex workflows. Solved by mapping end-to-end processes and validating with creators.
  • Scaling across regions. Mitigated with modular blocks and localisation-ready models.
  • Design/development drift. Prevented by introducing QA checks and design documentation.
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