Design Principles from Nature

In this Step, you will think about the principle behind each of the Natural Strategies and mechanisms you have discovered so that you can begin to work on a Design Solution.

Design Principles are the building blocks of your Design Solution which you will go on to create in the next Phase. To make use of what we have learnt from nature we need to put it into language which is compatible with design.

To translate your biological description into a principle a designer or engineer can understand, you need to identify the key words and concepts. For example:

'Trees in windy locations can begin to grow in a spiral pattern to give the tree more strength. The spiral shape gives the tree more flexibility and it can absorb higher wind speeds more easily. During storms, the spiral pattern transfers the compression and tension forces along the spiral to the other side of the tree, therefore equalizing the stresses.'

Reassemble your description without using biological terms. For example:

‘Spiral patterns transfer compression and tension forces equally and reduce stresses on a single point.’

The spiral pattern was used by designers at Logoplaste Innovation Lab in Portugual to rethink the design of Vitalis water bottles. The final design increased strength and reduced raw material use by over 250 tons each year.

Test your final Design Principle to check it is clear and understandable. You could:

• Imagine explaining it to someone who knows nothing about biology.
• Imagine explaining it without using any biological terms.
• Try explaining the Design Principle as a Tweet.
• Try explaining it to someone not involved in the project.
• Ask a friend to draw a diagram of the Design Principle based on your description – what is the result?

You can find some more examples in the completed Species Report Cards below.