Tasarımın İstanbul'da yaratıcı ekonomideki rolü: Seramik ve cam endüstrisine dair bir çalışma

This thesis explores the role of design in the creative economy since the cultural aspect of design in value creation has been overlooked in previous design ecosystem studies, despite the rise of the role of culture in the new economy since the 1990s. The study attempts to offer a new approach to explore the functioning of the design ecosystem, presenting theoretical foundations to identify the actors and their relationships, reveals the seminal role design plays among them, and highlights their interdependencies to work as an ecosystem, presenting insights for policy intervention. In order to carry out this research, a combined approach of interdisciplinary literature review, interviews, and a mapping tool was adopted. The field study was carried out in Istanbul, a design city of UNESCO Cities Network, and the ceramics and glassware industry was selected as the sector of focus. Major conclusions include: (1) Design binds the cultural industries, the creative industries, and the wider economy to work as an ecosystem, to form 'interconnected meanings' leading to the distinctiveness of productions in the city. (2) Design ecosystem and the creative economy are intertwined; hence, the creative and cultural industries and non-design NGOs are also actors of the design ecosystem. (3) Design is a project business, where the collaborations among designer entrepreneurs and major producers encourage innovation in the city. In light of these conclusions, cultural and creative industries and non-design NGOs were included as actors in the design ecosystem, and the interdependencies among the actors of the design ecosystem were revealed in order to inform policy-making.