Mimicking Nature’s Genius
In biomimicry, the concept of using nature as a mentor, model, and measure is a main theme. The life's principles diagram is a tool used by designers who plan to integrate nature's genius into their own work by learning from nature. It is outlining the overarching patterns of the surrounding natural environment and translates them into innovative strategies of survival for both organisms and design.
Biomimicry : The design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes (Oxford).
The life's principles model encourages designers to keep in mind earths operating conditions; It needs sunlight, water, and gravity, a dynamic non-equilibrium, it has limits and boundaries, and consists of cyclical processes.
Design Lens, Biomimicry 3.8
Understanding these variables of the surrounding environment assists in decoding a way that human design can fit within. The life's principles model also lays out six main design lessons from nature. These six main principles consist of evolving to survive, adapting to changing conditions, being locally attuned and responsive, integrating development with growth, being resource efficient, and using life-friendly chemistry. Each design lesson has a checklist to mark off as designs are being fleshed out. This ensures the sustainability of the product, service, or environment that they may be designing. The main mantra of life's principles is “Life creates conditions conducive to life” this poses the question for designers - How can humans evaluate how conducive to life their actions and designs are?
In the fall of 2019 I was fortunate enough to be put on a team of young, open minded, conscientious creatives to deliver a biomimicry exhibit to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center.
Brought together by passion for design and nature, the Biomimicry Methodology Team was asked to explore the depths of their creativity.
The team had been given the opportunity and challenge to educate Tybee Island and its surrounding communities on what Biomimicry is. This eclectic group of designers has taken the challenge upon themselves to learn, research, ideate, and implement new content and activities for the upcoming Tybee Island Marine Science Center. This ultimately aims to bring unity and understanding of humans and other organisms functions alongside each other. The newly met and diverse team of students had been working in parallel with designers like Cambridge 7, Satille Satille, and Wall Crawls.
Check out my stuff to see the final exhibit and all the design thinking that went into it!