It’s efficient, consistent, and cost-effective — a true global success story.

But here’s the catch: minimal doesn’t always mean easy.

When “no text” feels harder to interpret

If you’ve ever assembled a flat-pack wardrobe, you know that even the clearest pictures can be tricky. One wrong screw, and you’re undoing half the work.

That’s because pictures, like words, depend on shared understanding. What feels intuitive in one culture can be confusing in another.

So while IKEA’s manuals avoid the need for translation, they still require careful localisation thinking — just in a different form. Every gesture, expression, and arrow needs to communicate meaning across cultures.

What we can learn as translators and localisers

The IKEA approach works brilliantly when content is practical and universal: furniture, electronics, or user interfaces. In these cases, design plus minimal text can be more powerful than words.

But in other areas — marketing, UX writing, or customer service — cutting out text can lead to misunderstanding. Here, tone and nuance matter.

• “Can Icons Outperform Text?” (ACM, 2023) – icons work well when users recognise them, but ambiguity rises when they don’t.
• “Icon Usability” (Nielsen Norman Group) – even familiar icons need labels for clarity.
• “Balancing Global Consistency and Cultural Adaptation: Case IKEA” (Mansouri, 2025) – IKEA’s visual strategy adapts subtly across markets while staying recognisable.

Other brands that speak visually

IKEA isn’t alone. Brands like Apple, Tesla, and Dyson also use design-driven communication, relying on sleek visuals and minimal words to connect with audiences worldwide.

Even McDonald’s has run global campaigns that need no translation — just an image of fries and the golden arches.

Each of these brands understands that sometimes, design is the language. But they also know when to let words carry emotion, persuasion, and culture.

When less really is more — and when it’s not

The takeaway? Going “text-free” isn’t about skipping translation. It’s about designing communication that travels well.

Minimalism can be powerful, but it requires deep cultural awareness — the same kind of awareness professional translators bring to every project.

So next time you open an IKEA box or a wordless instruction sheet, remember: it’s not that translation isn’t needed — it’s that translation has already happened, quietly, through design.