Tapiovaara wanted to design inexpensive furniture for a broader audience. He made use of materials that were readily available in Finland in the 1940s, such as solid birch. Later in the 1950s, he began to develop multipurpose chairs made of steel tubing and plywood.

Ilmari Tapiovaara designed Kiki in 1960. It was originally conceived as a chair whose stackability allowed it to be used to seat large groups, such as in auditoriums. In the Kiki series Tapiovaara employed a more clean cut design idiom instead of the more organic style he had favored previously. Instead of wood, he chose oval steel tubing as the structural and unifying element of the whole Kiki collection. Kiki was a success, establishing the current direction for furniture design at this time. Kiki's timeless and elegant design idiom has made it one of the most popular pieces of public furniture in Finland.

llmari Tapiovaara was one of the greatest interior architects and designers of his era. With the mind of an explorer and a soul of a craftsman, Tapiovaara was always seeking for new solutions to improve everyday objects. During his long career Tapiovaara created dozens of iconic objects loved by the public. He was revered as a master of characteristic and human objects and surroundings who captured the essence of Finnish identity. Ilmari Tapiovaara was awarded a total of six gold medals at the Milan Triennials as well as many other important awards throughout his career.