Creating unusual connections … Concept fusions take multiple ideas – often nature or science, other sectors or markets, modular or decoupled – and connect them in novel ways.

May 18, 2023

Tinker Hatfield joined Nike in 1981, having started out as a pole vaulter and then trained as an architect, and rapidly became its lead shoe designer. He realised that his architectural skills could be applied to shoes, and is credited with designing the “cross-trainer” as a multi-sport shoe when he realised people at his Oregon gym brought various shoes with them for different activities.

He first made a name for himself, working alongside basketball legend Michael Jordan to create the Air Jordan boots that set Nike on a path to global brand success. In 1987, Hatfield designed the Nike Air Max running shoe after visiting the Centre Georges Pompidou high famously included a window in the shoe’s midsole to see the air cushion.

At 67 he is now Nike’s Vice President for Design and Special Projects, and overseas Nike’s Innovation Kitchen. A profile of Hatfield in “1 Granary” magazine, said “to make an impact, whether it’s in science, poetry or design, you need out of the box thinking. Unexpected ideas. The type of epiphanies that extend beyond the traditional confinement of your field. People who can produce them are rare, but once they find their creative outlet, true magic happens.”

Creative fusions

Out of all the creative techniques which you will come across, the one that I have found that most powerful is the ability to connect two unconnected ideas. Like the Medici’s of years gone by, it is about bringing unfamiliar ideas, situations, talents, challenges, and solutions together. I am also driven by the ancient Chinese wisdom of yin and yang, the opposing forces which always seek each other, and when they come together, they form something of beauty and harmony.

In The Ascent of Man Jacob Bronowski claims that “a genius is a person who has two great ideas” and the ability to get them to fit together. Consider Ravi Shanker bringing together the music of India and Europe, Paul Klee combining the influences of cubism and primitive art, or Salvador Dali combining scientific perspective with random visualisation.

One of the easiest ways to think more creatively in business is to apply existing ideas from outside your market. Look at what is happening in other sectors, in other countries, in other companies, and creatively explore how you can apply these to your business. The great thing about these ideas is that they are already tested, they can be produced, and people buy them, albeit in a different context. The challenge therefore is to find the relevant “parallels” and to apply the lessons in new and relevant ways.

The simplest but most provocative questions are ones like “How could we create the iPhone of our industry” which encourages people to think of the whole business model by which devices and content, distributors and customers work together and make money. It might actually deliver an idea for digitalising the basic products into components, renegotiating relationships with suppliers for exclusive content, and letting customers select and combine them like iTunes, or it might be about creating the most aesthetically pleasing.

Fusion might also be about more radical crossovers. Whilst it is many years since I studied particle physics, I still use some of the simple ideas in my innovation projects with clients. Understanding atomic structures is a model for thinking differently about how products and services work together. Applying the characteristics of astrophysics gives me a categorisation tool for managing portfolios. Or I might apply my love of running. Imagine applying the discipline of track athletics to the entertainment industry, to create more drama in games and shows, or seeking to replicate the breakthrough of Nike’s Air sole to new types of bottles for chilled beer.

The most creative people in your business, don’t have that talent by birth but through different experiences. We sometimes call them border-crossers, people who bring with them insights and expertise from completely different fields. The musician who works in the design team might seem an odd-ball, but could be the source of most creativity. The astrophysicist in your creativity workshop might seem like she has her head in the clouds, but is probably capable of some of the best cross-over thinking, and most distinctive ideas.

Inspired by nature

The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR was launched at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show, as a futuristic concept for mobility. Its radical appearance, like a translucent liquid blurring into its environment, was described as “a new interaction between human, machine and nature” by fusing its exterior, interior and user experience. It’s 4 wheel drive, allowing each wheel to work independently allows a crab like motion, including sideways, powered by graphene-based organic fuel cells, eliminating all metals, and carbon impacts.

James Cameron, the director of Avatar, the movie which explores how humans would coexist along other natural, and mixed life forms, said “When I look at this beautiful car, I see the physical manifestation of the velocity of an emotional, spiritual idea”.

Biomimicry is the imitation of animals and plants, the models and systems of nature, to inspire new ways to solve complex human problems.

An early example was the study of birds to enable human flight. Although never successful in creating a “flying machine”, Leonardo da Vinci, who trained as an anatomist was fascinated by the flight of birds, inspiring his designs for mechanical flight. Centuries later, the Wright Brothers succeeded in human flight, apparently inspired by racing pigeons.

Otto Schmitt developed the concept of “biomimetics” in the 1950s, studying the nerves in squid to engineer a device that replicated the biological system of nerve propagation. A decade later, Jack Steele coined the term “bionics” as “the science of systems which have some function copied from nature”.

Examples of innovations in today’s world inspired by nature include

Bullet Train inspired by the kingfisher: the world’s fastest train enabled by a nose cone that imitates the bird’s long beak, reducing noise and increasing speed
Gecko climbing shoes inspired by geckos: mimics the tiny hairs on a geckos toes which allows it to climb up vertical surface, creating an adhesive force.
Cylus backpacks inspired by armadillos: the rigid yet flexible structure takes its cues from the scaled mammal using a series of recycled rubber inner tubes.
Mariek Ratsma shoes inspired by bird skulls: copying the hollow and exceptionally light bone structure to create strong, lightweight shoes.
Kau prosthetics inspired by tentacles: a highly flexible and controllable replacement arm using a curling motion at its tip to grip objects.

“When we look at what is truly sustainable, the only real model that has worked over long periods of time is the natural world” says James Cameron

Inspired by parallel markets

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes Formula One car has a steering wheel more like a games console.

It might look like an Xbox controller on steroids, but it is designed like this for a reason: all the critical controls need to be within reach of Hamilton’s thumbs so he doesn’t have to move his hand from the custom grips while taking a corner. Those at the bottom of the wheel are for when he’s on a straight. However it is not just the layout, materials are made as light and thin as possible, helping to reduce the overall wait of the car.

To manufacture, the wheel costs around $50,000.

On a similar theme, McDonalds has reengineering its Drive-Thru concept with the help of F1 motor racing teams who design the pit stop environments and processes for absolute speed. Every hundredth of a second, whilst changing tyres and refuelling can make the difference between winning or losing a race. McDonalds even takes its Drive Thru service staff to live F1 events so that they can witness the spectacle of the pit stop crew.

Learning directly from other markets – retail from transport, finance from healthcare, fashion from entertainment – has the advantage that many of the ideas are already proven to work in other environments, and familiar to consumers. Whilst it might be a radical innovation in your own sector, you can embrace it with more confidence and speed.

Here are some examples of innovations inspired by other sectors:

Yo Sushi! restaurants inspired by baggage systems: the winding airport systems were the inspiration for delivering food on a table-top carousel.
Dyson vacuum cleaners inspired by sawmills: Dyson took inspiration from a sawmill for is cyclone system of collecting dust without needing a bag
McLaren baby strollers inspired by aircraft wheels: the hydraulic landing gear of aircraft was the inspiration for the foldable mechanism.
Philips light bulbs inspired by mobile phones: “pay as you go” payment models inspired Philips to offer LED light bulbs, charging only when used.
Hilti power tools inspired by car leasing: the manufacturer was inspired by the car leasing model to offer tools, service and repairs, for one monthly fee.

“Parallel” markets are typically contexts which have some similarity to your own – maybe dealing with long queues, or needing to personalise service – where you need a fresh solution. It might even be from your own sector, but a solution found in different geographies, or parts of the market. There is nothing wrong with “copying” an idea, provided it isn’t illegal, although it may require some adapting before applying it.

Excerpt from “Business Recoded” by Peter Fisk

More from the blog