The Biomimicry Institute, the non-profit organization who is focusing their efforts on furthering and spreading the knowledge about biomimicry has published the Life’s Principles. These principles are abstract suggestions that describe how our planet and its living organisms adapt in order to grow and survive. They are a list of strategies that have been employed by nature to ensure sustainability, and it has done so successfully for 3.8 billion years.
I have combined these life’s principles with universal principles by Buckminster Fuller (1970) [1] as well as from Hoagland and Dodson (1998) [2] to develop “nature’s factors”. Designers can incorporate these factors as part of the ten-step-naturefactor approach to increase the biomimetic or sustainability effect of their solutions. The more factors are followed, the more sustainable and greater the success of the design.
Not all of these factors fit easily into graphic design. Nonetheless, this guide attempts to translate most of them into workable examples to make it easier for graphic designers to follow and get inspired.
This guide is not comprehensive, but rather a suggestion to a new paradigm shift about biomimicry in graphic design. The hope is to spark interest and future explorations by many intellectuals who will add to the knowledge of this new approach.
On the right is a menu with links to an ever growing list of nature’s factors and examples on how they can be applied in graphic design ~ I hope these examples inspire you to find your own solutions ~ enjoy!
header photo credit: Anumeha Nahrain
1. Fuller, R. B., & Meller, J. (1970). The Buckminster Fuller reader. Cape.
2. Hoagland, M., & Dodson, B. (1998). The Way Life Works: The Science Loverâs Illustrated Guide to How Life Grows, Develops, Reproduces, and Gets Along. New York, NY: Times Books.