NEW GENERATION CRAFT: IKEA HACK AND ITS TAXONOMY

Abstract

In this research, IKEA-hacks are examined according to their main characteristics and classified according to these examinations. In the study, IKEA-hack and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and the IKEA Effect subjects are included to expose the IKEA-hack issue comprehensively. The IKEA-hacks examined in the classification were selected from the studies on the ikeahackers.net website. At first, a pilot study was carried out and a review table was created as a result of some improvements during the pilot study. The classification includes; the information about the intended use of products before and after the hack, to which hack category they belong to, how many IKEA products have been used in process, the instruments used in procedure, and which spaces the product has been prepared. The hack categories were divided into two main categories as visual and functional modifications. These modifications are discussed under 2 categories and 8 sub-categories. The first category is visual changes that includes only-colour modification (A), material change (B), colour and material change (C) as sub- categories. The second category is dedicated to functional changes and includes sub-categories such as; the products used without any modification but for a purpose other than specified by IKEA (D), improved functionality (E), those with added functionalities (F), modifications on the indented use specified by the company by making some modifications on the product (G), and creating a new product by combining independent parts (H). Among 6313 works presented on the ikeahackers.net website published between 2006 and 2018, 378 works involved in the sample were examined; the analyses were separately performed for every year and the changes were compared between the years. Examining the outcomes, only 21% of the practices were conducted for visual purposes only, %79 is about functionality. In visual based practices, category C comes front in which colour and material change performed at the same time. Whereas in the functional practices, people mostly performed Category G in which hackers redefine the context of usage of the IKEA products.