The colourful PUZZEL children’s collection included a table, a chair, a stool and a low play-stool for the youngest. PUZZEL was designed by siblings Knut Hagberg and Marianne Hagberg, who personally voted the group as their favourite among all the furniture they had designed at IKEA over the years. They worked together at the design department at IKEA of Sweden for 41 years, so they had plenty of products to choose from.
Knut and Marianne remember working on PUZZEL: “When we designed it in 1986, our starting point was the child’s inner world. We put the emphasis on playfulness, imagination and good function. We gave the furniture strong, bright colours, which are easy for a child’s eyes to register. The products feel independent, with a soft, fun design. In a child’s imaginary world, they can depict different animals. The low stool has a seating function, while it also works for instance as a safety stool for a child to stand on at the kitchen or bathroom sink. That’s why the legs protrude so far.”
The series became a best seller and also won an Excellent Swedish Design award. It was included in a major year-long touring exhibition called Faces of Swedish Design, which was held in the USA in the late 1980s. It was also displayed in the Swedish pavilion at the Universal Exposition of Seville, Spain in 1992. PUZZEL stayed in the IKEA catalogue until the 1996 edition.
