Just wanted to give a shout out to IKEA for keeping me (the end user) in mind and their awesome instructional design.

While putting together a new bed for my son, of course the first thing I do, after savagely ripping the cardboard off, is open the instruction manual.  Similar to the experience of bring home and opening a new Mac, my first experience from page one is clearly defined, fresh and inspiring. With totally scan-able graphics and the absence of text, I understand where the bed fits into this world. Of course without text, you get rid of the need for language localization…I wonder if that is part of their strategy.