Biomimicry for Designers – Veronika Kapsali
Summary
This timely overview is the perfect introduction for designers of all disciplines, and a reminder that inspiration may be just down the garden path.
The importance of biomimetics – imitating life’s natural processes – has been known for years. Designers are increasingly looking to the natural world for formal solutions, drawing inspiration from nature’s infinite examples of how to achieve complex behaviours and applications by using simple materials in a clever way.
In the popular imagination, the best-known example of biomimetics is the microscopic ‘hook’ on burrs that led to the development of Velcro, but there are many more applications, from kingfisher beaks inspiring the shape of bullet trains to shark skin being used as a model for advanced swimsuits.
