In The Medici Effect, author Frans Johansson explores one simple yet profound insight about innovation: in the intersection of different fields, disciplines and cultures, there’s an abundance of extraordinary new ideas to be explored. Putting together ideas from different areas — ideas that were always seen as completely apart — can easily generate an explosion of new ideas. And since the best way to have great ideas is to have lots of ideas, the best chances for innovation are at those intersections.
The Medici Group has an annual event, known as the Medici Innovation Hall of Fame. The Medici Innovation Hall of Fame recognises and honors the most innovative organizations that have created a wonderful environment for innovation. You don’t have to be an Apple or a Nike to make it to the “Medici Hall of Fame” for Innovation. It’s not about one breakthrough products or services. It is about great processes that encourage employees to experiment and make mistakes! It is about having innovation as a strategic priority, managing business with a portfolio of ideas and having a culture which propagates innovation.
This year, The Medici Institute along with Harvard Business Review, Titan and MYRA School of Business, conducted the maiden award function in January 2013 at Hotel Trident, Mumbai during the mega event "Reverse Innovation Meets Medici Effect".
Titan's contribution to the event was the design and creation of the trophy, which would be awarded to ten Indian organization that have created wonderful environment for innovation.
This is the story about how the trophy was conceived and developed at the Titan Design Studio, driven by Ritika Gandhi with a team of craftsmen; with Soundarajan and Rohith K. assisting her in execution of the trophy.
The fundamentals of Medici Effect is all about using diversity which we have in abundance in India and then take that to create solutions. So getting people to this "intersention" of ideas, culture, ethnicity, religion etc is crucial for innovation. As a country rich in heritage and culture, India provides a multitude of opportunities to explore various craft skills that have evolved in various cultures over many years. The craftsmen derive their inspiration, innate wisdom and skills not from books, but from nature. Crafts reflect the immense creativity of ordinary people and their quest for self-expression and fulfillment.
Ritika says, "As of now, most of the trophies are made using acrylic, crystal and other such industrial materials, with the machining route. Breaking away from these materials and processes to using rich handcrafted techniques in making a contemporary trophy provides it uniqueness.
The trophy signifies The Medici Effect not just through its form but also through the process with which it is made."
The form of the trophy is inspired by intersections. The elements of varying heights are symbolic of diversity. When seen from the top, the intersection between these elements creates a pure form of circle, thus signifying how coming together of diverse elements can bring about true innovation.
The elements are made using the Bidri craft of Hyderabad, which is more than 4000 years old. Bidriware is manufactures from an alloy of copper and zinc by casting. the zinc content gives the alloy a deep black colour. The craftsmen use small chisels to engrave the design over the freehand etching. Fine wire or flattened strips of pure silver are then carefully hammered into these grooves. For the final blackening process, a special variety of soil which is only available in the unlit areas of the Bidar Fort is used. The finished product appears black with brilliant silver inlay.
The craft route not only provides uniqueness but also provides a very apt route since trophies are made in limited numbers. It also turns out to be more economical than CNC route in the long run.
With Titan, if the entire Tata group were to use handcrafted trophies and hence other groups were to follow, the corporate world would have revolutionized the craft sector in a big way!
