Below are three sources, bookmarked on my delicious.com account, that relate to technobiophilia, biomimicry and new media narratives, as a whole. The theme running throughout the sources is using the principles of biomimicry in design to create more sustainable solutions that help us feel more connected to the world around us. Furthermore, packaging is a storytelling medium because it provides a platform to educate and entice the consumer about the contents within. Therefore, these sources are also about telling a story through packaging design and doing so in such a way that combines the natural world with hi-tech industries.
Biomimicry’s Surprising Lessons From Nature’s Engineers TEDTalk by Janine Benyus
New Media Narratives’ technobiophilia guest lecture by Professor Sue Thomas was incredibly interesting to me for a number of reasons. I have been trying to piece together how I can look at packaging design (both graphic design and structural design) from a different angle in the context of increased sustainability, using natural materials and keeping concepts such as minimalism, simplification and function in the back of my mind. For the longest time, I have not been able to put my finger on how to combine all of these elements within the context of communications and technology. This has sparked my interest in the concept of bringing together “natural technologies” with hi-tech solutions to today’s products and problems.
Biomimicry’s Surprising Lessons From Nature’s Engineers TEDTalk by Janine Benyus
New Media Narratives’ technobiophilia guest lecture by Professor Sue Thomas was incredibly interesting to me for a number of reasons. I have been trying to piece together how I can look at packaging design (both graphic design and structural design) from a different angle in the context of increased sustainability, using natural materials and keeping concepts such as minimalism, simplification and function in the back of my mind. For the longest time, I have not been able to put my finger on how to combine all of these elements within the context of communications and technology. This has sparked my interest in the concept of bringing together “natural technologies” with hi-tech solutions to today’s products and problems.
For all of these reasons, my first delicious.com bookmark is an insightful TEDTalk by biomimicry expert, Janine Benyus. This talk explores the bigger picture of relating technology to the natural world and how we can use 3.8 billion years of Mother Nature’s R&D to solve man-made problems. I believe it links back to our course, specifically in the area of technobiophilia, because humans respond powerfully to the natural environment (even a simulated or virtual natural environment). This power has yet to be harnessed in the packaging industry. I believe that consumer behaviour theories, storytelling capabilities through packaging and sustainability measures could be amplified if examined through the lens of biomimcry. Packaging is a product designed to be thrown out, so how can we use what we know about communication in a hi-tech world to leverage the future of packaging to leave the world better than we left it for our children?
The Supermaterial That Could Make Plastic Obsolete Is… Mushrooms by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan
This is a fascinating article about a design concept using the principles of biomimicry and innovation and it’s also an entrepreneurial success story. Two students began experimenting with fungus for use as a packaging material as part of a school project and then decided to take their idea to market. Their business now employs 60 workers to grow and manufacture the fungus (Mycelium) for consumer packaging applications, as well as for industrial applications, such as housing insulation. The most innovative aspect of this product is that it harnesses the power of natural fungus to solve the man-made problem of shipping fragile materials long distances. The growing fungus conforms to any mold shape, acting in a similar way that dense foam does, so it can be used in a variety of applications. This type of innovation demonstrates that harnessing millions of years of Mother Nature’s ideas can result in very practical and sustainable solutions where unnatural materials are currently being used. This also creates opportunities for businesses who use this packaging product to make it part of their brand story to consumers. This product will ultimately help reinforce a company’s commitment to sustainability and environmentally-friendly practices. It may even increase market share for adoptive companies because of the theories of technobiophilia that we, as humans, are drawn to natural experiences. Perhaps the next laptop you purchase will be protected from damage by fungus (and how often can you say that your packaging was made by a “fungi”!?).
On the use of Biomimicry as a Useful Tool for the Industrial Designer by Nina Louis Volstad and Casper Boks
This article is so important because it emphasizes the importance of industrial designers becoming aware of and supplementing their designer’s toolkit with principles of biomimicry. The article continues to suggest that design inspired by biomimicry does not have to be a literal interpretation of a natural solution, but instead, these concepts can be used as one of many sources of inspiration. I love this type of “cross-pollination” of disciplines that facilitate greater innovation overall, which I think mirrors the themes our New Media Narratives course very well. By looking at the big picture, we may be able to find ways to better tell a story or better design a product that by approaching problem solving in a siloed environment.
The authors of this article go on to suggest a practical solution to industrial designers not having access to this important information. They suggest the creation of a new tool called the biomimicry card deck: “This card deck format was found to be a ‘lightweight’, physical, and accessible tool, meant to employ biomimicry in a less intimidating, time-consuming or committing way than by using books or databases, and usable without any previous knowledge of biology or biomimicry” (Boks & Volstad, 2012, p.195). The cards tell different stories about specific principles of biomimicry and are presented in a medium that industrial designers can easily use. One of the mock-ups in the article depicts bees and a honeycomb on one side of the card and straightforward, hierarchical information regarding the “natural R&D” significance on the other side. This links back to the concepts surrounding technobiophilia, whereby the design of these cards may not only facilitate solution innovation, but the beautiful imagery on the cards could attract the industrial designers to want to use them. In Sue Thomas’ work, she articulates the innate attraction we have to the natural world. Industrial designers typically work in very hi-tech work spaces, using technology to more efficiently and accurately execute design work. By incorporating natural concepts and imagery into their work, this may help fulfill a longing to want to spend more time with nature, whether they realize it or not.
References
Benyus, J. (Presenter). (February 2005). Biomimicry’s surprising lessons from nature’s engineers. TEDTalk. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs
Campbell-Dollaghan, K. (2013, June 6). The supermaterial that could make plastic obsolete is...mushrooms? Retrieved from http://gizmodo.com/the-futuristic-material-that-will-replace-plastic-is-511544462
Boks, C., & Volstad, N. L. (2012). On the use of biomimcry as a useful tool for the industrial designer. Sustainable Development, 20, 189-199. doi: 10.1002/sd.1535
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