Designology

Lesson 1: Names are Hard

After spending literally a whole day writing down every permutation of the words Biology, Mimic, and Home (even delving into Greek and Latin words) I finally settled a on a name for my biomimicry housewares brand: Niche.

I chose the name because it really touches on many ideas behind the product line. ’Niche’ comes from the french word for ‘nest’ and represents the appropriate position or home for a person or object. In science, an ecological niche is the role a species plays in it’s community. Hopefully this product line will exemplify how biology has it’s own niche in the design process. #cheese 

Resin and Ash Console Table-

As a segue from my Biomimicry project, this is what I’m currently working on for my furniture class. I was inspired by objects encapsulated in clear resin: Like this super useful seashell ashtray. I’m using the resin as the actual joinery for the table legs to connect with the table top. According to my professor, this is uncharted territory so I’m a little nervous about the process. Either way, I’ve got a lot of testing to do. 

Brainstorming Design Ideas: 

First week of school was a blur and now it’s time to get to the dirty work. I spent a lot of time racking my brain over which Biomimicry strategies I wanted to focus on and ended up with a gigantic list, then realized I had no concrete design problem yet. Smooth move. 

Since I want to present Biomimicry in an accessible way, I’m focusing on the housewares arena and where biology can fit into the design process there. Basically everyone is familiar with housewares since they interact with them everyday, so I think it’s a great launch pad for my project to start. 

Velcro = Biomimicry 

One lovely day this summer I went on a picnic in the california hills on Skyline Blvd. It was a perfectly romantic excursion with my beau - fruit, blankets, sunset and all. Except for the fact that i had 200 burrs stuck on my butt. 

The inventor of Velcro had the same experience as I did (except with his dog, and less romantic). Turns out these seemingly innocuous plants have tiny hooks on the ends of each burr in order to hitch a ride on passing creatures, or in my case, to ruin my favorite pair of tights. Anyway, you can see where the inspiration came from. 

Sometimes I really love Reddit.

Biomimicry Reading List: AKA How many times can you use the word “Nature” in a title?

Through the ever-helpful resources of the Biomimicry Institute, I’ve put together a list of books that I want to skim through before the semester starts. I’ve already read through Janine Benyus’ Biomimicry (aka The Bible) but I definitely want more literature on specific case studies. Of course, all the relevant books I could find were about architecture or engineering, but mark my words there will one day be one with industrial design!