A Biomimetic Approach to Contemporary Design

In 1997, Janine Benyus popularized the emerging discipline of biomimicry that has since taken the design world by storm. Biomimicry is an innovative approach to design challenges by imitating nature’s processes, forms, or systems to create sustainable solutions. “Biomimicry is viewed as a relatively new environmental theory and a design approach that studies nature; its models, systems, processes and elements and then imitates or takes creative inspiration to solve problems sustainably” (Benyus, 1997). In contemporary design, designers might find inspiration by evaluating existing man-made technologies or through analyzing user pain points to solve complex design challenges. Biomimicry takes the designer out of the material world and introduces them to solutions that are already developed and thriving in the natural world. The emulation of “nature’s genius” (Benyus, 1997) is what will drive designers toward creating innovative, sustainable solutions. Contemporary designers are called by their audiences to create with sustainability in mind to minimize the impact design solutions have on the environment. Professor Mehmet Sarikaya of the University of Washington believes that as biomimetics continue to research new sustainable design solutions there will be a shift in the creation of materials. He claims, “we are on the brink of a materials revolution that will be on par with the Iron Age and the Industrial Revolution. We are leaping forward into a new era of materials. With the next century, I think biomimetics will significantly alter the way in which we live” (Banda, 1995). Biomimicry is a compelling approach to solving design challenges because it allows for interdisciplinary collaboration, innovative solutions through exploration of nature’s processes, and it answers the call for sustainability.

A biomimetic approach to design encourages the inclusion of disciplines outside the field of design to help with learning and understanding how the natural world has remained sustainable and how nature has solved challenges on its own. “After 3.8 billion years of evolution, natural systems have learned to be efficient, innovative and sustainable by identifying what works, what is appropriate and what lasts” (Benyus, 1997). Biomimicry does not recreate the organism or farm the organism so that the work of that organism is used to solve the challenge. It is important to note that biomimicry is not about copying but it is about learning. Collaborating with other disciplines encourages the designer to think outside the realms of design. Biologists or biochemists can assist designers in learning the process and emulating the function of the organism. Both designer and scientist work together using best design principles. In Janine Benyus’ book entitled, Biomimicry Innovation Inspired by Nature, she explains the biomimetic principles and how a designer should approach a design challenge using biomimicry (fig. 1).

Figure 1. List of the three biomimicry principles. 1997. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus, New York, NY.

The biomimetic principles are basic, yet they perfectly outline how a designer should look to nature for complex challenges. The straightforward approach to using biomimicry principles in the field of graphic design is to find inspiration in nature’s patterns (Nature as model). Even though natural patterns are vital to our world it is more important for designers to understand why patterns are needed and how they affect human behavior (Nature as measure). The designer must adopt a curious approach to design challenges and create a solution during the process of exploration and discovery in nature’s genius by questioning why specific patterns are necessary in a specific environment (Nature as mentor). These natural patterns and the knowledge learned from those patterns can be used in the creation of graphics to fulfill the need of a small part in a large project. “It is necessary to take a closer look at how organisms live, function and communicate. In doing this, designers will come to realize that creatures have the same intuitive intelligence as humans do that allows them to recognize certain symbols. For instance, bees find honey down a diverging maze by navigating colonized directional patterns after a few attempts” (McKosky, 2012, 38). 

Biomimicry is changing the way designers approach a design challenge and the strategy for design research. The practice has impacted a variety of fields including: architecture, medicine, transportation, agriculture, energy, and even communication. The Shinkansen Bullet Train is a fascinating transportation biomimicry example of how an engineer reduced air pressure noise for the fastest train in the world by studying birds, specifically the kingfisher.

Eiji Nakatsu, an engineer with JR West and a birdwatcher, used his knowledge of the splash less water entry of kingfishers and silent flight of owls to decrease the sound generated by the trains. Kingfishers move quickly from air, a low-resistance (low drag) medium, to water, a high-resistance (high drag) medium. The kingfisher’s beak provides an almost ideal shape for such an impact. The beak is streamlined, steadily increasing in diameter from its tip to its head. This reduces the impact as the kingfisher essentially wedges its way into the water, allowing the water to flow past the beak rather than being pushed in front of it. Because the train faced the same challenge, moving from low drag open air to high drag air in the tunnel, Nakatsu designed the forefront of the Shinkansen train based on the beak of the kingfisher” (AskNature, 2017).

Engineers created small vortices, similar in design to the serrations of an owl feather. The vortices were added to the structure of the train, thus reducing the noise and improving its aerodynamics. The beauty of the solution is that it had been time-tested by nature and was proven to be effective. The train now travels 10% faster using 15% less energy than before and biomimicry is a direct result of those improvements.

Using biomimicry to solve a complex design challenge requires the designer to follow the three stages: scoping, creating, and evaluation. (Benyus, 1997) Scoping is used to formulate a design question and translate the question using biological terms. In the scoping phase, the designer must first identify the challenge in the form of a question. This is the section where asking “How might we…” is helpful in understanding how nature can help solve the challenge. This is the same question that is posed during the human-centered design process, however, instead of only thinking of the user, the designer must also think about how nature solves the challenge. Designers should investigate the functions of organisms, systems, patterns, principles, or strategies used by nature. Next, the designer should define the context of the challenge. The context will allow the designer to fully understand the environment and the conditions of that environment. Finally, the designer will need to use biological terms to formulate the final design question they will be using to solve the design challenge. Creating is the second stage to solving a biomimetic design challenge. In the creating stage, designers must use what they discovered in the scoping stage. This stage is about brainstorming and innovation and exploring the knowledge learned from nature to solve the design challenge. The sustainability of the solution is achieved by learning how to emulate the process carried out by the organism. The system where the form and process exist is another important factor for creating a sustainable solution. The solution does not exist on its own. It is part of an ecosystem that is part of a biome that is within a biosphere and it is necessary to understand how the form and process live within the system so that a biomimic can create a solution without causing harm to the natural world. Evaluation is the third and final step of the biomimicry process to designing a sustainable, nature-inspired solution. This stage is when the designer must evaluate the results or circumstances of the solution. The solution must meet the way nature would solve for the design challenge by emulating the process or function of nature’s genius.

Designers have an ethical responsibility to create sustainable technologies for the future of our planet without creating harm to the natural world. It is important to be innovative without being destructive for our own selfish needs. The future of design could look completely different if designers used nature’s genius to solve complex design challenges. What would life on Earth look like if design solutions adapted to changing conditions? What if all design was multifunctional? Designers in all fields, including visual communication, need to look past man-made technologies and repetitive design solutions that limit the potential for innovation. Designers need to answer the call for sustainability with nature-inspired solutions by learning and imitating nature’s processes, forms, or systems. Nature has already solved these challenges and it is up to future designers to discover the technologies that have withstood the test of time and turn them into usable strategies for a more sustainable future.