Exploring meanings and affordances: A case study on how ballet dancers make use of evryday objects in Turkey

Design aims at creating meaningful objects and products that will improve users' lives. Meanings usually arise when users interact with the products and are been regenerated in every different context of interaction. Relying on the concepts of meaning and affordance in design, this research focuses on a specific user group in Turkey. The ballet dancers are how they see and make different uses of everyday objects related to their profession. Aim of this thesis is exploring the concept of affordance by studying ballet dancers interactions with everyday objects in Turkey. It focuses on how a particular group of users, ballet dancers, see and make different uses of everyday objects and somehow relate them to their professional practices. Previous observations on the exercise and practice of ballet dancers, as well as backstage settings, demonstrated that ballet dancers usually do not have the proper equipment, products or tools for their exercise or warm up sessions always ready in Turkey. This has several reasons, such as the high cost of the products, the shipping limitations of the countries producing these products, the lack of a proper interior, and etc. The situation eventually lead ballet dancers to create their own solutions with what they already have in hand, i.e. the everyday objects, and discovering what they can afford them for their practical purposes. In order to fulfill the aim of thesis, first a non-participant observation and document analysis phase took place. After that, an empirical study is conducted with twenty ballet dancers who are members of Istanbul State Opera and Ballet House. Thus, totally I had a chance to reach fiftyfive ballet dancers who are active dancers in Istanbul State Ballet. To gain a deeper understanding of how they make sense and use of different everyday objects, three research methods are utilized, which are surveys, unstructered interviews, and observations. Based on the outcomes of the surveys, unstructured interviews, and observations, it is been found how everyday objects and products afford different meanings and use for ballet dancers. However, the parts of these findings are interesting, compelling, and non-overlapping .These industrial objects have common and prevalent meanings for industrial designers and users compared to ballet dancers. Throughout the research process, it is been apparently seen that the ballet dancers have their own routines and lifestyles. In their routines, they have a different schedule if it is been compared with people who do not play ballet. According to research process of three methods, there are seventeen findings about affordance of the everyday objects in cultural context for ballet dancers in Turkey. To consider, these seventeen findings about the unknown meanings of the industrial objects for the ballet dancers in Turkey, is not surprising. According to survey results, they use the dance materials for strengthening, stretching, balance, condition, and the coordination propreception (Table 4.2). Affordance in this context relies on three different aspects of objects/products: These three aspects are about (1) dimensions, (2) materials and (3) structures, or forms. These aspects are important for exploring meanings and affordances on how ballet dancers make use of everyday objects. Thus, there is an important and effective gap that is about this designing and planning process have a relation with affordance in cultural context. By these three aspects, we had a chance to understand the needs of ballet dancers on how they make use of seventeen everyday objects in their daily life. Consequently, I could say that, this thesis relied on a local context that is about the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet dancers in Turkey. However, this subject could be developable and leveragable in global and different cultural context.