One Critique

Nature settles for "good enough," not "optimum," design. Results are all driven by natural selection and what is immediately sufficient for survival, not what's the best design. But even so, after 3.8 billion years of refinement, the existing designs at least provide seeds for even better ideas, ideas we wouldn't have thought of without nature's inspiration.

“Nine Laws of Nature”

With my many trips to the library I came across a book which has been super helpful with all things regarding Biomimicry. I came across something that made me realise nature also offers some good insights into reinterpreting the processess and organizational structures that are found within the graphic design profession. Here’s what she (Janine Benyus) calls the “Nine Laws of Nature”:


Nature runs on sunlight.

Nature uses only energy it needs.
Nature fits form to function.
Nature recycles everything.
Nature rewards cooperation.
Nature banks on diversity.
Nature demands local expertise.
Nature curbs excess from within.
Nature taps the power of limits.

Think about some of the evolving traits of great organizations. They’re efficient and well-designed, close to and insightful about their markets, and increasingly are energizing and transparent, attentive to ethical and social values, diverse points of view and teamwork. What are some of the practices and processes graphic designers would like to change? and how can we look to nature to solve them?

Source: Biomimicry - Innovation Inspired by Nature - by Janine Benyus

Looking at Nature as Model, Measure, or Mentor

If we want to consciously emulate nature's genius, we need to look at nature differently.  In biomimicry, we look at nature as model, measure, and mentor.  

Nature as model: Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s models and then emulates these forms, process, systems, and strategies to solve human problems – sustainably.  The Biomimicry Guild and its collaborators have developed a practical design tool, called the Biomimicry Design Spiral, for using nature as model.

Nature as measure: Biomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the sustainability of our innovations.  After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned what works and what lasts.  Nature as measure is captured in Life's Principles and is embedded in the evaluate step of the Biomimicry Design Spiral.

Nature as mentor: Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature.  It introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but what we can learn from it.

Re-Designing: Part Two

In this part I tackled the Nando's packaging project. I applied the design spiral once again and asked the question again What do I want the design to do?


Fit together in a structurally sound way
Save space
Create a pattern
Open up interestingly


By using asknature.org once again and from previous research I had done on Biomimicry I started with the structure.


Structure


Beehives and cells serves as a hexagonal structure


The beehive's internal structure is a densely-packed matrix of hexagonal cells made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen), and to house the "brood" (eggs, larvae, and pupae).


Whether we look into beehives, man-made devices, living tissues or even atoms we can find surprising examples of a characteristic hexagonal pattern. We call it hexagonal close packing and it is in fact most effective to pack the largest number of objects in a minimum space.

Using the beehive as inspiration this is what I have produced.

Results:

The images below are examples of the flat designs of the packaging. You will notice that I didn't change much of the design style because I thought that it was successful in that respect. The only thing that I did do was update it somewhat and tidy up the end result.

Pop Your Cherry

Have Him Anyday Not Just Sunday

Split That Banana

Below is an image of a scaled down version of the package mocked-up. The hexagons fit perfectly together. If these packages were produced and packed up for distribution they would be able to fit a large amount of objects together in a minimum amount of space.

Morphotex Structural Coloured Fibers

Colored fibers and fabric without chemical dyes

While scouring the great wide web for resources I came across a company as well as an artist that are working with structural coloured fibers. 


Product or Process


Morpho butterflies remain a vibrant blue throughout their lives, without ever needing a coat of paint to spruce up a dull finish. The scales on their wings are made of many layers of proteins that refract light in different ways, and the color we see often is due entirely to the play of light and structure rather than the presence of pigments. Teijin Fibers Limited of Japan produces Morphotex® fibers. No dyes or pigments are used. Rather, color is created based on the varying thickness and structure of the fibers. Energy consumption and industrial waste are reduced because no dye process must be used.

Below: An example of the reflective fabric

Above: A close up of the butterflies wing.

The artist Signe Rand Ebbesen has started incorporating hand woven paper yarn and the morphotex fibers into his artwork to create unusual results with textiles.

You can clearly see the reflective quality of the textile. What I want to find out is if this technology can be applied to the fibers of paper. To create the same effect. Thus utilising the reflective quality in the paper to hide text or imagery and it is only revealed once positioned towards the sun. I will be getting in contact with a biologist to find out if it might be possible.

...Sheena...

Re-Designing: Part One

In the previous post I spoke about some of the ideas I had started to think about with regards to Biomimicry in Graphic Design. I decided to focus on the project titled peep. I went back to the Design Spiral and asked myself the question: What do I want the design to do?


I want it to...


Glow in the dark
Camouflage itself
Be discreet but pretty
Reflect light
Automated
Hidden in plain sight


With the following things in mind I started to research these verbs on www.asknature.org which is a brilliant resource of all things Biomimetic. The two things that stood out for me was camouflage and hidden in plain sight.


Camouflage

Stripes serve as long-distance camouflage: lionfish

The stripes on a lionfish serve as camouflage by breaking up the outline of the fish when viewed from afar.

This form of camouflage got me thinking about how I can apply this technique to a business card or any form of corporate stationery.

Results:

The images below are examples of a business card front and back using the vanishing lines camouflage.

The image below is what the business card looks like without the lines placed on top of it.

This particular vanishing lines camouflage can be used in analog animation. Which requires the person the shift a transparent black lined sheet over an image made up of arbitrary lines to create an animation that moves or stays in the same place. Below are some examples of the analog animation using the concept of vanishing lines in a lion fish to animate a piece of paper. I have animated the key hole from the previous corporate identity as well as the logo and an image of some strippers. The business card may very well look like something completely random until the sheet is placed over the image and the animation comes to life. This is best demonstrated by the key hole animation.

 Below: The black and white grid

Above: The unrecognisable image that needs to be animated

Above: The animated key hole

The following examples are where I have applied the camouflage line technique in a more obvious way.

Below: The logo animated by shifting the grid over it.

Above: Various stripper poses being animated.

Above: An image of what it looks like beneath the grid.

I think the current experimentation is heading in a good direction now I need to find another way of doing a similar thing but still using biomimetics. I also still want the business card to fold up or disguise itself in a way that mimics nature.

...Sheena...