IKEA furniture assembly vlog proves its instructions are totally indecipherable

February 22, 2012 By Natt Garun

Don't know how to put together IKEA furnitures? You're not alone, and new IKEA instructional videos are here to help... aren't they?

IKEA is a place of heaven for a lot of homeowners, renters and young professionals on a budget. Its furniture pieces are modestly priced and have a minimalist design that suits every kind of lifestyle. The problem with IKEA never was its pricing structure or array of furniture lineup, it’s what happens when you bring the box home and realize you have to put these funky-named pieces together yourself. Do you fancy a game of real life Tetris?

Admitting to these confusing furniture assembly instructions, the Swedish company has begun posting video tutorials on YouTube to help frustrated consumers put together its products. The first in the anticipated series is the MALM bed frame, a four and a half minute video that contains pop up tips relating what the instruction pictures are supposed to signify in real life. See that figure of the arrow pointing two sticks together? You’re supposed to pile them on top of each other then screw those together, silly! A cutesy, upbeat tune also accompanies the video to alleviate the possible pain you might be having in real time.

Having an instructional video tutorial also helps IKEA customers because they can pause, rewind and fast forward to the parts on which they need more clarification. The more IKEA releases these videos, the more users will also be able to see ahead of time how a particular piece of furniture is assembled before deciding if they will be able to take on the challenge. It’s always very nice and pretty in the catalogs, but never the same when you have all the bits and pieces lying across your home.

The MALM bed frame instruction video has been live for about three weeks, and the public’s verdict?

“I watched this and still didn’t understand,” one commenter said.

IKEA’s YouTube representative responded to the poor commenter, apologizing for the troubles and suggesting users who are still confused to write IKEA at social@ushelp.ikea.com or call the customer service line to provide feedbacks on how the videos can be improved.

But it’s not exactly the videos that users are truly having a problem with, it’s the basic idea that these instructions are not at all intuitive. Why IKEA hasn’t hired technical writers, we will never know or understand. How is someone supposed to figure out how to create a computer desk out of piles of wood with just random figures and barely any words? While the solution to move to a more humanized, guided visual content certainly helps, the company should just invest more time in writing better instructions and hire translators to make them friendly for all 38 countries it currently services.

What do you think of the IKEA instruction situation? Are the major issues addressed with tutorial videos, or should IKEA revamp its instruction model from scratch? If they choose to do the latter, we’ll certainly appreciate the effort but miss the various parodies that have been inspired by these jumbled cartoon panels.

Showing 16 comments

coppercarla at 8:42am 5th March 2012 I incorrectly assembled one of my first Ikea purchases that had graphic-only instructions. It wasn't until after I'd attached something using finishing nails that I realized I'd put drawer dividers in backwards - I didn't decipher that though the drawings at first. As I couldn't pull the finishing nails out easily without damaging the product, I left it as it. Functionally, it works. Aesthetically, it bothers me.I'm a technical writer, and what many people don't realize is that different people have different learning/comprehension styles. Some do better with graphic-only instructions, some do better with written instructions, and some require a combination of written and graphical instructions for the best comprehension.Adding the video options will be a bonus for many purchasers. They should go further and add translated written instructions that are available through the web. Add a URL and a statement translated into 38 languages that says, "Videos and expanded instructions available online at ."
Jim in Geneva at 4:18am 4th March 2012 I live in Western Europe, and the vast majority of our furniture has been purchased at IKEA over the last 28 years. 100% of it was assembled by me.Without exception, I've found the IKEA furniture to be at a very correct price-quality point. There have been perhaps 1 or 2 cases where there was a missing part, typically no more serious than a screw which I could replace from my toolbox. The instructions require a certain standard of care in reading, "dry-fitting", and testing, but that should come as no surprise.I have absolutely zero problem with the cartoon / icon - driven instructions supplied with the furniture. I have never, ever had to call for help. Perhaps back up one step when I misinterpreted an orientation, but that's been it.Anyone who puts together IKEA furniture needs to have an electric screwdriver with a variety of tips, a normal claw hammer, and once in a million years an electric drill for the very rare misalignments. Quality control today is a thousand times better than when everything was manufactured in Poland, East Germany or Czechoslovakia.I'd buy from them again and again and again.
Merlin Mobility at 11:31am 28th February 2012 Check out Merlin Mobility's IKEA Solution. Our Augmented Reality(AR) platform enables companies like IKEA to create AR Instructions for their products! http://youtu.be/gv3w3S5-_pA
LibraMediaLtd at 2:10am 23rd February 2012 I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS POST! For years I have been trying to get through to IKEA that I have a PERFECT solution to this problem. I have been creating animated assembly instructions for a while now and I can't believe a company as big as IKEA tell me 'We don't accept suggestions from people outside of IKEA'. What's wrong with them? Maybe they just don't like the fact that I have come up with a solution all on my own whereas the WHOLE of their employees couldn't. If you want to see what I mean just look here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyOsKuSt6fY This is just 1 of many I have produced which you can see on this channel. Come on IKEA get into this century! I rest my case :D
Ian Bell at 10:23am 22nd February 2012 I have yet to see someone put together a piece of IKEA furniture where it went perfectly smooth. Either there are parts missing, or the wood splinters because the screw didn't go in straight etc. And a lot of their furniture doesn't last long in my opinion either.On the other hand, you get good looking furniture incredibly cheap though.
andrew at 9:39am 22nd February 2012 I do think IKEA instructions are a bit confusing, but I also see what they are trying to do. Isn't part of it an effort to save resources, and while it may seem small, adding an extra 10-20 pages to every set of instructions is a bit wasteful when customers are currently getting along just fine with the instructions the way they are.Also, if the poor instructions were truly deterring customers and cutting into their bottom line, i'm sure they would have changed things up a long time ago.I do think the vlog is a great step, especially fro some of the more complicated pieces they sell.
1. Natt Garun at 10:31am 22nd February 2012 I don't think the instructions necessarily need 10-20 additional pages, but perhaps a sentence or two to caption what the pictures are trying to say!
Somphou Richard Keomisy at 5:07pm 22nd February 2012 I bought lots of various products from Ikea and I never had any problem except missing parts.. I don't think I am any smarter than anyone else but... Really?.. Is it this hard to use common sense?..
1. andrew at 9:41am 22nd February 2012 My only other problem is not being able to get to the assembly because i get caught up making fun of the goofy little characters in the instructions.
2. Ian Bell at 10:27am 22nd February 2012 I would say 60% of the stuff from IKEA comes with parts missing. They need to include extras just in case like some companies do.
jesterking at 8:47am 22nd February 2012 Errrmmm... I don't think they are "Completely indecipherable". The picture that you provided for example. I get that.step 8. place washer and tighten screw. step 9. First bubble : take the wire and place under the cap. Second bubble : push cap snugly down Third bubble. Tighten lock.Seems fairly straight forward to me.Also, if you can't follow simple instructions be it paper, or video, you really have to be of sub-par intellect. Half the time, I just look at the parts and figure out how it gets put together before I actually install it.Gotta love 'merica!
1. Natt Garun at 8:51am 22nd February 2012 Good on ya for figuring it out, but to me, I think pictures should accompany words and not the other way around the way IKEA is attempting. Doesn't hurt to be a little more clear, no?
  1. jesterking at 9:12am 22nd February 2012 No I agree. I do think that it's silly, in this day, to not provide a video when you have to put something together. It's not like it costs thousands of dollars to produce a video anymore.
    Ian Bell at 10:28am 22nd February 2012 What they should do is promote "user videos" where their customers get reward points for making how to videos for them. Customers always have a better perspective IMO on how things should be done because they are the ones using it for the first time.
    jesterking at 12:55pm 22nd February 2012 That's a good idea... Only problem is, it requires IKEA to swallow their pride, and actually admit that they don't know how to give decent directions to assemble their own products! Could you imagine!?!?
Nwj Abangan at 8:39am 22nd February 2012 I think the video helps though. It´s much more easy to see it comes together than relying on imagining how it fits. Sure its a puzzle but that what makes IKEA fun! Not all the time we have access for internet so I agree they should work on their how-to-do instructions.