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Biomimicry Designer
Designs products and systems inspired by nature — using billions of years of evolution as a blueprint.
Did you know?
Velcro was invented after a Swiss engineer noticed burrs sticking to his dog's fur — nature designed the hook-and-loop system
How subjects help
- Biology: Study how a gecko's toes grip walls or a lotus leaf stays clean to borrow nature's tricks.
- Engineering: Turn a natural shape, like a kingfisher's beak, into a quieter nose for a fast train.
- Art & Design: Sketch and model products whose shapes and patterns are inspired by plants and animals.
- Environmental Science: Design buildings that stay cool like termite mounds so they use less energy.
A famous name
Janine Benyus: Her 1997 book Biomimicry made the idea famous; she co-founded the Biomimicry Institute to help designers.
Try it yourself: Reverse-engineer a flower
- Gently pull the flower apart by hand and lay out every part in a row.
- Draw each part and write a guess about its job: attracting insects, protecting the bud, holding pollen and so on.
- Choose one part and think about how its shape or trick could solve a human problem, like a petal that folds up at night or a stem that bends without snapping.
- Sketch your invention and label which part of the flower inspired it. Wash your hands afterwards.
Biomimicry designers study how living things solve problems and borrow those strategies for products, buildings and materials.
Adapted from Biomimicry Institute (AskNature): Introducing Biomimicry in Middle School.
Also try: Design something easier to hold.
Known for it in
USA, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Australia