The illusion of weightlessness

Abstract

The ballet pointe shoe is an interesting example of a product that has developed from the experimentation of a dancer to extend the art form. Over time, as the use of such a shoe became part of the tradition the form stagnated and there was little formal interaction with the user as to its continued effectiveness in terms of injury, cost and fit. This work re-examines the shoe from the dancer's point of view and demonstrates a way forward that illustrates that even with severe constraints the designer with a user-centred approach can improve the performance of a product whilst maintaining a required external aesthetic.

Keywords:

• ballet
• shoes
• user behaviour
• user participation
• case study

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Alex Gilks for his help in producing the figures for this article.