Why Biomimicry Makes For A Better World
One of my favorite design perspectives is biomimicry which is an approach to innovation that seeks to create materials, structures, and systems that mimic the biological structures throughout the world. Because the approach is based on nature’s processes, there is an inherent empathetic and interconnected feeling of how we can best fit into the world — we can use biomimicry not only to learn about the world but to heal ourselves in the process.
Building upon natural selection means we don’t need to recreate the wheel
This way of thinking is known to bring more sustainable ideas to the table because it is based on the inherent process of natural selection. The central idea behind biomimicry is that nature has already solved many of the problems we face today — a great example of this is the kingfisher-inspired bullet train in Japan. One of the major issues with fast trains was noise.
Japanese engineer, Eiji Nakatsu, who was also a bird watcher had an idea that considered the aerodynamics of three different bird species: wing composition of an owl, the belly of a penguin, and beak of a kingfisher. These insights ultimately led to a redesign that eliminated the tunnel boom that occurred with several prior versions.
When we think about the evolution of animals, plants, and all other living things, we can see that their genetic qualities have adapted to the changes in the environment. The earth is constantly evolving and problem-solving. With this in mind, we can see that design is not about recreating the wheel; it’s about uncovering nature’s naturally selected qualities and using them to recreate more sustainable solutions.
Adding value to existing systems is an important part of innovation
One of the beautiful things about biomimicry is that it values the perspective of interconnected systems. As Scott Berkun would say, “ideas are made of other ideas.”
Think about all of the things we engage with today: email, eCommerce websites, phone applications, you name it. Most of the code is used again and again to create a more seamless user experience. Imagine if each application created its own software that could only be accessed through its own system? The internet surely wouldn’t be what it is today. Mark Zukerberg didn’t invent social media, he simply saw the value of the internet and added a piece to an overwhelming large system of things.
As creators and designers in the world, it is easy to fall into the idea that ideas exist in opposition to one other. However, no single idea in this world exists on its own — we do not live or think in a vacuum. In order to become better designers and innovators we must become observers first — ideas contain a myriad of different inputs, ingredients, and experiences.
Recognizing that our role in the world is multifaceted
All things in nature serve a variety of purposes. For example, water provides our bodies a way to stay hydrated, which produces energy, and is a habitat for many of the world’s animals. Water services multiple objectives in the world just by existing. Biomimicry follows the ideology that we should be reducing waste and in the process be creating systems and products that accomplish multiple objectives at once. Just like water, our designs should mirror the multifaceted nature of the world.
When thinking about design, I immediately think of the Lean UX approach which values cross-functional collaboration — this means involving stakeholders, developers, engineers, etc throughout the design process to create a unified understanding of the audience and business problem. A large portion of the design community has implemented the Lean UX approach to product development and it has shown to be effective. Instead of marketers working on marketing, accounting working on accounting, companies are slowly starting to shift to a mentality that each and every person within the organization should have some idea of how they contribute.
Not only is this approach following the values of biomimicry, but it is shaping the way we perceive work in our lives. By conducting cross-functional team workshops we are able to connect with the people we work with and appreciate the vast variety of skills each person brings to the company. These acknowledgments are contributors to creating more resilient businesses and fostering work environments that welcome curiosity. We still have a long way to go, but I have faith that more and more businesses will incorporate diversity and embody resilience in order to create more human-centric systems and products.
