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Vishal Thakur

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IKEA's Developer Portal

📌 What I did?

Redesigning structure and experience

Redesigned IKEA’s Developer Portal, transforming it from a developer-centric interface to a user-friendly platform.

🧩 What was my role?

My Impact in the Project

Enhanced the UX
Applied the Skapa Design System
Collaborated cross-functionally with Sweden team.

Enhanced the UX
Applied the Skapa Design System
Collaborated cross-functionally with Sweden team.

What is the IKEA Developer Portal?

A space where developers access APIs and build digital IKEA experiences.

👥 Who uses it?

IKEA teams, external devs, partners.

🌍 Why is it important?

Enables collaboration across countries.

⚙️ What's inside?

APIs, reusable components, design patterns.

Case Study Structure

Here’s a quick breakdown of the project journey.

1 Why Redesign?

2 Fixing the Flow

3 From Sketch to Structure

4 Consistency with Skapa

5 The Final Look

6 Outcomes & Reflections

3 From Sketch to Structure

5 The Final Look

6 Outcomes & Reflections

1 Why Redesign?

2 Fixing the Flow

3 From Sketch
to Structure

4 Consistency with Skapa

5 The
Final Look

6 Outcomes & Reflections

1 Why Redesign?

IKEA’s Developer Portal hadn’t been updated in over 2-3 years.
With the rise of new tools like IKEA Meetings, IKEA Spaces, and IKEA AR Shopping, the portal needed a major overhaul - one that would support global collaboration and align with IKEA’s evolving brand and product strategy.

IKEA’s Developer Portal hadn’t been updated in over 2-3 years.
With the rise of new tools like IKEA Meetings, IKEA Spaces, and IKEA AR Shopping, the portal needed a major overhaul - one that would support global collaboration and align with IKEA’s evolving brand and product strategy.

Key reasons why redesign was necessary:

🕒 Outdated & Unscalable

The portal hadn’t been touched in years. Its structure couldn’t support the growing number of digital tools IKEA was launching.

🌍 Global Collaboration Needs

IKEA planned to involve external developers worldwide. The old portal lacked clarity, structure, and accessibility for a broader audience.

🎨 Inconsistent with Skapa Design System

UI didn’t follow the Skapa Design System, creating a disconnect between the portal and other IKEA digital products.

2 Fixing the Flow

Before diving into design, we took a step back to understand the structure.

The existing portal lacked hierarchy and clarity - users couldn’t easily find what they were looking for.

Before diving into design, we took a step back to understand the structure.

The existing portal lacked hierarchy and clarity - users couldn’t easily find what they were looking for.

What we did?

Created an initial draft of the user flow to understand how many screens we’d need and how each section connects.
Identified unclear or missing content areas based on user needs and business goals.
Focused on discoverability, making sure important resources (like APIs, documentation, and support) are easily accessible.

Updated Information Architecture

3 From Sketch to Structure

Before jumping into high-fidelity designs, I mapped out initial ideas through quick sketches and low-fidelity wireframes.

This helped validate the structure early and align with the team on layout and flow.

Before jumping into high-fidelity designs, I mapped out initial ideas through quick sketches and low-fidelity wireframes.

This helped validate the structure early and align with the team on layout and flow.

Sketches

Wireframes

4 Consistency with Skapa

To ensure visual consistency across IKEA’s digital ecosystem, I followed the Skapa Design System while designing the Developer Portal.
Skapa provided ready-to-use components and design principles that aligned perfectly with IKEA’s brand identity.
But we didn’t just use it—we contributed to it. I collaborated with the Sweden team to review and propose new patterns that were added to Skapa during this project.

To ensure visual consistency across IKEA’s digital ecosystem, I followed the Skapa Design System while designing the Developer Portal.
Skapa provided ready-to-use components and design principles that aligned perfectly with IKEA’s brand identity.
But we didn’t just use it—we contributed to it. I collaborated with the Sweden team to review and propose new patterns that were added to Skapa during this project.

Contributing to Skapa meant ensuring the Developer Portal not only looked like IKEA -
but felt like it too.

5 The Final Look

Here’s a glimpse into the final screens designed using the Skapa Design System. Clean, functional, and built for developers.

Here’s a glimpse into the final screens designed using the Skapa Design System.

Clean, functional, and built for developers.

View the interactive prototype here to explore the designs in action.
Note: Due to NDA restrictions, not all screens and final designs are included in the prototype link.

6 Outcomes & Reflections

Meaningful Growth
This was one of the most impactful projects in my design journey.

Strategic Contribution
I contributed to Skapa’s evolution alongside IKEA Sweden’s design team.
Global Impact
The new portal enables developers worldwide to access APIs and build faster.

Meaningful Growth
This was one of the most impactful projects in my design journey.
Strategic Contribution
I contributed to Skapa’s evolution alongside IKEA Sweden’s design team.
Global Impact
The new portal enables developers worldwide to access APIs and build faster.

While I transitioned out before the launch, the handoff was smooth and the foundation for development was well-defined.