New Delhi, 26th September 2012: As excitement for the forthcoming 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix builds – title sponsor Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced that it has appointed renowned Bengaluru-based designer Michael Foley to craft the trophy for the forthcoming race. The design of the trophy for 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix is an aesthetic interpretation of a contemporary and forward looking India on a global pedestal. To be bagged by the winner of the 2012 edition of Airtel Indian Grand Prix, Foley’s trophy is all set to be an aesthetic interpretation of a contemporary trophy with a touch of Indian tradition.
Ace designer Michael Foley creates trophy for 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix
Expressing his thoughts on the design, Michael Foley said, “Designing the trophy for 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix was an exciting challenge that we were happy to take on. Formula One is an interesting combination of sports, technology, glamour, entertainment and youth – and we wanted the trophy for Airtel Indian Grand Prix to reflect each of these elements. After a lot of design work, we finally arrived at a trophy that is a perfect blend of contemporary and traditional India. We are getting the trophy ready and look forward to finalizing it within the first week of October 2012”. Foley created 20 different designs before the final one was picked. His team took concepts forward through a series of processes which detailed and engineered each idea. The conceptualization stage lasted over a month and the final trophy in production now.
The 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix trophy makes use of new-age materials like aircraft-grade aluminium as well as relying on traditional ornamentation. Mirror-finished internal surfaces and a fine matte finish on the outer surface, while the Ashoka Chakra is subtly embedded as the base foundation. The inspiration takes the Indian ‘Chakra’ as a focal point in discovering the concept of speed. Chakra is integral to India’s Identity – bridging the ornamental design ethos of Indian culture in the form of a contemporary expression. The design uses a ‘victory procession’ inscription from old Indian architecture – stylized with a red enamel filled engraving that envelopes the Airtel Indian Grand Prix trophy – thus creating a strong visual connect with India. The ‘mystique’ of internal reflections also brings up a play of colours of the Indian flag.
The brain behind The 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix trophy, ace trophy designer Michael Foley has various grand projects to his credit including the laudable commonwealth’s queen’s baton. An alumnus of NID, Michael has every bit of “Indianess” in him which he further translates in his designs. He set up his own design studio ‘Foley Designs’ in Bangalore, a couple of years ago.
About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 260 million customers across its operations at the end of August 2012. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com
Tags: 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix, Designer, F1, Indian Grand Prix, Michael Foley, Trophy
