RECOMBINATION INNOVATION FROM TAIWAN

By Alex Li,

Managing Director,

Medici Creativity Co., Ltd.

In recent years, toy makers often ask us, “What does your company contribute?” In other words, what is the contribution we provide in our toy concepts? It’s definitely a challenging question from the position of an inventor. Reminiscing just several years ago, we provided an electronic toy with touch application. At the time, toy companies thought it was fantastic and really innovative. However now, they say this is just what mobile phones can do. In fact, most technologies that are ready to market and cost effective to the consumers can already be done by mobile phones like iphones and android phones.

So what can inventors like us do now? We are always searching for that “eureka moment” innovation and using our creativity to focus on combining existing technologies in new ways.

We can certainly gain some insight in Taiwan’s toy and game market even though it is a small market that’s shrinking every year as the birthrate drops to 0.9 per family in 2012. We can’t expect “big” toy/game business here. So what can we hope that Taiwan can contribute to the toy and game field? Clearly, it is finding ready technology, niche manufacturing skills and radical creativities. This year, Taiwan companies and designers got 314 design awards in global leading competitions (iF, Reddot, G-mark, IDEA and iENA), including getting 6 best of the best awards in iF and Reddot, and 83 awards in iENA.

For all above ready technologies, skills and creativity energies, we can make connections and network with one another in Taiwan, making a breakthrough toy or game happen here, and then transfer this o the toy companies who need special products.

Taiwan is not only a toy or game manufacturer but now it is a good source for technology, special skills, and creativity. Medici Creativity is in the position to bridge distant worlds to make new combinations rather than just coming up with completely new and original concepts from thin air.

(November 2012)