Rowland R (2017) Biomimicry step-by-step.

Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials

Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Volume 6 Issue BBN2
6(2): 102–112, Research Article
Received 29/05/2016 Accepted 09/01/2017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/jbibn.16.00019
Published online 13/01/2017
Keywords: bioinspired/biomimicry/bionics

ice | science ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Biomimicry step-by-step
Regina Rowland BA, MGD, PhD*
Professor (FH), University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, Eisenstadt,
Austria

The creativity found in nature is seemingly boundless. Designs and strategies that species have developed for survival
emerged through aeons of evolution and have therefore been refined for high functionality within the given context.
These survival strategies employed by single organisms and applied to whole ecosystems can be considered design
ingenuity and are worth investigating as they represent an extensive pool of potential solutions to human problems.
Many viable biologically inspired designs (BIDs) have already been emulated from nature and biomimicry offers one of
the possible processes for mimicking nature’s ingenuity and distinguishes itself from other bioinspired forms of
innovation in two ways: it has a firm sustainability mandate that is embedded directly in the design process and it is
applied to all kinds of disciplines beyond the usual technology focus of BID. The four phases of the biomimicry
thinking design process are described, step-by-step, in this perspective, from the position of teaching it to developers
of products and services, processes, structures and systems that are designed for sustainable futures. The perspective
ends with a list of challenges observed while teaching the process to designers, engineers and managers.

1. Introduction optimized to their needs’3 and can therefore serve as models for
Biomimicry is one of several ways to innovate bioinspired forms, inventions in human systems. Thus, developers could learn from
processes and systems into the human world and is underpinned nature’s designs and the millions of species alive on the planet today.
by the premise that life creates conditions conducive to life.1 These organisms (bacteria, fungi, plants, animals and humans) have
Specifically, it is an analogy-based approach2 to biologically learned to survive and thrive within the given operating conditions
inspired design (BID) and, as such, builds on the genre of on earth by completing 3·8 billion years of research and evolution.1
biomimetic design and innovation. Their designs have been perfected over aeons and allow them to
perform adequately in the environments in which they live.6
Biomimetics has been defined as ‘interdisciplinary cooperation of
biology and technology or other fields of innovation with the goal of In ISO 18458:2015,3 biomimicry is defined as a ‘philosophy and
solving practical problems through the function analysis of biological interdisciplinary design approach taking nature as a model to meet
systems [and] their abstractions into models’.3 The beginnings of the challenges of sustainable development’, which refers to
biomimetics and bionics – another ‘technical discipline that seeks to systemic sustainability (integrating all aspects of sustainability,
replicate, increase, or replace biological functions by their electronic such as social, environmental, economic and so forth, for the
and/or mechanical equivalents’3 – go back to the 1950s when the purpose of creating conditions conducive to life). Sustainability in
method of ‘transferring the principles of biological systems to terms of biomimicry relates closely to the concept of thrivability7
technical designs’3 informed the development of aircrafts, vehicles – a positivistic orientation towards breakthroughs and building on
and ships. Due to the influence of cybernetics in the 1960s, the what works. In terms of social sustainability, the concept of
central element of the field was defined as the transfer of knowledge. thrivability includes the possibility that the human brain can (co-)
During the 1980s, the genre expanded into micro- and nanoscale evolve through its plasticity and build new neural pathways for
dimensions and, since the 1990s, has stretched into the disciplines of generating leaderless social structures that function in the
computer science, nanotechnology, mechatronics and biotechnology. interoperative networked way ecosystems do. The Biomimicry
While biomimetics and bionics originated within the engineering Institute itself defines biomimicry as ‘an approach to innovation
fields of the 1950s,4 and can thus be considered the fathers of BID, that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating
the genre of biomimicry emerged in the 1990s from the disciplines nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies’.8 Biomimicry as a
of biology, ecology and environmental sciences that formed the practice refers to a specific BID process – the transdisciplinary
distinguishing features of biomimicry, such as the emphasis on four-phased biomimicry thinking design process9 – bringing
innovation for sustainable futures. However, the interdisciplinary, together system thinking, design thinking and biology in service
collaborative and highly challenging BID process is common to of the disciplines from which design challenges emerge.
many bioinspired approaches to innovation and is embedded in
biomimicry practice. Another common element is the underpinning Other similar BID processes have been developed showing
assumption or fact5 that organisms and their ‘biological structures are significant differences,10 such as the bionic procedural,11

*Corresponding author e-mail address: [email protected]

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 Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Biomimicry step-by-step
Volume 6 Issue BBN2 Rowland

hybridised bioinspired design and theory of inventive problem perspective, is ‘particularly valuable for its focus on solution
solving (Triz),12 a toolset for systematic creativity in a six-step discovery, as opposed to solution validation’.22 Kolko’s23 Exposing
model,13 the biomimetic as a design methodology model,14 a the Magic of Design outlines this difference between scientific
design process providing iterative feedback and refinement loops2 approaches, in particular the difference between deductive, inductive
and a model focusing on the functional establishment of a pattern/ and abductive thinking, the last of which is characteristic of the genre
model of biological models.15 In spite of their differences, they of design where developers work on their hunches and test them
have commonalities that are also inherent in the biomimicry through constructed feedback loops early in the innovation process to
thinking design process, shown in Fayemi et al.’s16 problem- improve emerging prototypes (rather than starting with a hypothesis
driven biomimetic process, highlighting the need for biological that is proven through quantitative research processes as is customary
knowledge in various innovation process steps,15,17–20 proposed in the natural and applied sciences).
different approaches to help close this knowledge gap without
biologists and/or ecologists at the design table; however, none of More information about biomimicry can be gathered from two
these have tackled the issue of ‘selection of the right biological organisations: Biomimicry 3.8,25 the for-profit organisation, and
model(s)’.16 Likewise, in the biomimicry thinking design process, the Biomimicry Institute,8 the not-for-profit partner organisation.
it is suggested to include the role of a scientist-at-the-design table
for accurate emulation, and Biomimicry Taxonomy is offered as a
2. Biomimicry foundation and practice
tool to help non-biologists focus their research. Fayemi et al.16
have developed and are still validating a new model, a translation 2.1 The philosophy: the three essential elements of
tool that was designed to help designers and engineers ‘pre- biomimicry
analyze biological systems … with a focus on the global system’ The biomimicry philosophy is contained within three essential
(instead of specific functions) and select the right analogies by elements: (re-)connect, ethos and emulate.9 The element of
combining ‘concepts of ideality, resources and system modeling’. (re-)connect refers to people spending time in nature, realising
The model is not meant to replace scientists-at-the-design table, themselves as part of nature, observing its patterns and processes
but to postpone their involvement for a more focused choice of directly and learning from these observations. Biomimicry
the kind of expertise needed during the BID process. practitioners build these activities into their daily lives in formal
and informal ways. For example, a formal way of practicing is to
The biomimicry thinking design process can be applied to any kind complete iSites, structured ways of observing phenomena in
of problem; its steps are not unique and were not invented by the co- nature directly, through quiet observation and reflecting on this
founders of Biomimicry 3.8, Janine Benyus and Dayna Baumeister. observation in the form of field notes and sketching.
However, one of their contributions to the genre of BID was to
introduce this particular innovation process to various disciplines The biomimicry ethos concerns the requirement of working
beyond the typical technology-oriented applications. In addition, they towards systemic sustainability and adhering to the 26 biomimicry
developed the philosophy of biomimicry, with its three essential life’s principles representing common patterns in nature that apply
elements of biomimicry, that include looking to nature as a model for to most, if not all, organisms in order to survive, thrive and
inspiration (reconnecting with nature directly), a mentor to learn from evolve on the planet. There are six main principles, each
(emulating nature’s strategies for survival) and a measure for including a set of subprinciples (Figures 1 and 2). The
sustainability benchmarks (biomimicry ethos with a sustainability sustainability mandate here refers to innovations that create
mandate) – it is this focus on sustainability built into the specific ‘conditions conducive to life’,1 assuming that following life’s
design process that represents a major distinguishing aspect of principles will guarantee this outcome. It is worth mentioning that
biomimicry. The steps through the four phases are outlined in this these life’s principles seem easy to comprehend at first, but are
perspective by sharing the experience of teaching biomimicry to actually difficult to emulate. In order to meet the sustainability
design, engineering and management students and conclude with mandate, they need to be specifically applied at deep levels of the
listing some challenges observed throughout teaching BID from the emerging designs.
perspective of design management. The discipline of design
management has been defined as encompassing ‘the ongoing The element of emulation involves the four phases of the
processes, business decisions, and strategies that enable innovation biomimicry thinking design process: scoping, discovering,
and create effectively-designed products, services, communications, creating and evaluating (Figure 3).
environments, and brands that enhance [the] quality of life and
provide organizational success’.21 As such, design management These three essential elements of biomimicry build the foundation
emerged in the nexus of business, organisational development and on which the practice of biomimicry rests.
design and is based on social science practices with a focus on
contextual (user-based) qualitative research – offering a way of 2.2 The framework for the practice
innovating and researching which is different from the natural and The biomimicry practice follows a well-organised but flexible
applied sciences, such as physics or engineering. Biomimicry, taught transdisciplinary team-based design process applicable to any kind
through the discipline of design management as described in this of tangible or intangible design challenge. The process may take

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 Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Biomimicry step-by-step
Volume 6 Issue BBN2 Rowland

brium
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Figure 1. The six main biomimicry life’s principles © 2013 Biomimicry 3.8. CC BY-SA

one of two particular paths: biology to design (Figure 4), where design team moves back and forth through the phases until all
the process begins with an inspirational biological insight that is aspects of the innovation are aligned and the design is determined
then applied to a design (also called biology push and understood to meet the design criteria. The desired outcomes are considered
as a bottom–up process),3 and challenge to biology (Figure 5), achieved when the criteria are fulfilled, life’s principles have been
where a particular design challenge has been identified for which thoroughly considered and the application has been demonstrated
a bioinspired solution is sought9 (also called biology pull and wherever possible (meeting the sustainability mandate). It is worth
understood as a top–down process).3 mentioning that meeting all the principles is nearly impossible
given the current knowledge base, social norms and available
The challenge-to-biology design process is best applied in problem- materials; nonetheless, there must be proof in the end that solid
driven collaborative environments. This approach includes upfront attempts have been made to meet the sustainability mandate.
research about well-defined functions – an analogy-based approach2
– that are present in biological systems and lead to the desired 2.3 The four phases of the biomimicry thinking design
solution in the human context in which the design is supposed to process for the challenge-to-biology approach
solve a specific problem. The strategies and their mechanisms for 2.3.1 Step 1: scoping phase
these functions are then emulated through certain innovation steps. During the scoping phase, the design challenge is contextualised
While the challenge-to-biology design process is generally and eventually communicated through a design brief that includes
described as flowing sequentially through the four phases of (a) the description of the chosen design challenge, (b) the
scoping, discovering, creating and evaluating in a more or less description of the context in which the challenge arises as a
linear fashion, the actual live process is also highly iterative. The problem and in which its potential solution must perform, (c) a

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 Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Biomimicry step-by-step
Volume 6 Issue BBN2 Rowland

non -equilibrium • Limit

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Dyn bou
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Life’s principles
Biomimicry DesignLens

Biomimicry.net | AskNature.org

Figure 2. Six main biomimicry life’s principles and their subprinciples. © 2013 Biomimicry 3.8. CC BY-SA

design statement listing the specific function that a potential of sight for the people living in the area), an approach might be to
solution must fulfil, (d) a vision statement for the desired outcome develop a communication strategy that connects the local
and impact in the described context and (e) life’s principles most community to the reef. It is important to note that the function
relevant to the specific type of design challenge. The desired must be described in the form of a verb (what the design is
function and most relevant life’s principles form the beginning of supposed to do). This focus on action (expressed in a function
the design criteria set to be used in subsequent phases. verb) may steer developers away from premature solution thinking
(as in thinking about a specific concept or object to be designed).
Activities typical for the scoping phase include collaborative By not front-loading the work with final concepts or objects to be
system mapping to explore fully the context and system designed, and instead front-loading it with a desired action that
boundaries in which the design would need to perform. the design should perform as an outcome, developers may stay
Depending on the nature of the project, the scoping phase might more open for discovering innovative design options in nature.
also involve extensive user-focused contextual research to further
investigate the problem state. Hundreds of methods for this type In order to work towards systemic sustainability, it is important to
of research can be found in Kumar’s26 101 Design Methods and determine the level of the system at which the solution should
in Martin and Hanington’s27 Universal Methods of Design. perform and various system leverage points for entering the
system need to be investigated so that the proper entry point can
In terms of function, for instance, for the innovation of a new be determined where the potential solution would have the desired
elevator system, a design statement might be phrased as moving impact. An excellent tool for this determination is Meadows’28 set
people and things vertically in the most efficient way. For the of leverage points. A simple tool for determining various layers
development of a strategy to motivate change of unsustainable of the problem state, and eventually, yielding its root cause is the
behaviour in a coastal area with a coral reef offshore (hence, out five-why-question series of the biomimicry process.10

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 Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Biomimicry step-by-step
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Identify
g
in function life
Int
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’s p gra
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Creating du
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© 2013

Biomimicry thinking

Biomimicry DesignLens

Biomimicry.net | AskNature.org

Figure 3. Biomimicry thinking design phases. © 2013 Biomimicry 3.8. CC BY-SA

The scoping phase is successfully completed when the dynamics principles that emerged during the discovering phase and the
of the design challenge are fully understood in its context (systems already-defined life’s principles most relevant to the design
perspective) – when the various system levels have been challenge in question.
discovered and a certain entry point to the system has been
determined; when the design challenge has been crystallised into a The discovering phase begins with biologising the function-based
function-based design statement, aligned with the vision of the design statement into a biology-based research question. By using
desired outcome and impact in the chosen layer of the system; and the same examples for function-based design statements described
when the desired outcome is clearly communicated in a in the scoping phase above, the research questions might be
(beginning) set of design criteria that include the life’s principles rephrased to ‘how does nature move organisms vertically
directly relevant to the challenge and the desired function a (elevator design challenge)?’ Or ‘how does nature, in particular a
potential solution should fulfil. It is in the task of looking to nature reef ecosystem, recruit (communication strategy design
as a model in the next (discovering) phase that aligns biomimicry challenge)?’ A very useful tool for biologising the research
with the other forms of analogy-based biomimetic approaches. question is the Biomimicry Taxonomy, as it helps especially non-
biologists find the right language to research specific functions in
2.3.2 Step 2: discovering phase the scientific literature.
The discovering phase yields the final design brief, which
includes the same items as defined in the scoping phase with the Researchers may conduct fieldwork and observe nature directly to
addition of (a) biologised research question/s, (b) a set of function experience and see what they can learn from its dynamic
cards and (c) the final list of design criteria, including the basic processes; they may also consult with experts or review scientific
function defined during the scoping phase, abstracted design literature and other secondary research sources. The data are then

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 Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Biomimicry step-by-step
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Identify
ng Int
function life egra
i
op ’s p t
ne t rin e
Sc

x cip
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De te
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© 201

Biomimicry thinking

Biomimicry DesignLens

Biology to design

Biomimicry.net | AskNature.org

Figure 4. Biomimicry biology-to-design process © 2013 Biomimicry 3.8. CC BY-SA

sorted into (function) categories, and the relevant information ecosystems, altitudes and climates, but scientists-at-the-design
from each model is recorded in the particular format of a function table also help developers with their research by pointing them to
card, listing (a) the common and Latin names of the organism specific information sources, organisms or environmental
and/or system, (b) the particular function investigated (this may conditions relevant to the research question that a non-biologist
be a subfunction of the overall function of the design challenge), would not even know to ask. Another aid comes to the researchers
(c) the strategy with which the organism and/or system fulfils this with the AskNature30 resource, where many functions in nature are
function and (d) the mechanism for this strategy from which listed and summarised for non-biologists, including information
(e) design principles are then abstracted. This abstraction is a about the specific organisms fulfilling those functions. The most
form of unbiologising the instructions again so that all kinds of recent addition to the set of research tools from the Biomimicry
participants can understand the design instructions and participate 3.8 team is a commercially offered Web-based support system,
at the design table during the creating phase. called Synapse.bio, ‘providing curated, sector-specific biomimicry
content and access to world-leading biomimicry experts’.31
It is highly recommended to engage a biologist, ecologist or
naturalist who can teach researchers and/or biomimicry workshop In summary, the discovering phase is successfully completed when
participants about organisms, processes and systems29 – in champion organisms or ecological relationships have been found
biomimicry, scientists-at-the-design table. Not only can they guide that address the function-based research question adequately, when
participants in exploring nature in real time, where they quickly function cards have been developed for these models pointing to
learn about patterns, similarities and differences in various local the relevant design principles. At the end of the discovering phase,

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 Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials Biomimicry step-by-step
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tify
Iden Int
n ction e
fu life grat
g
in

’s p e
op

ne t ri n
Sc

x cip
co efi
te
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© 2013 Biomimic

Biomimicry thinking

Biomimicry DesignLens

Challenge to biology

Biomimicry.net | AskNature.org

Figure 5. Biomimicry challenge-to-biology process. © 2013 Biomimicry 3.8. CC BY-SA

the Function Bridge tool is used to demonstrate the successful a problem and its potential solution must perform); (c) the design
translation of biological strategies back to the human design world statement (the specific function a potential solution must fulfil);
where they are to address the original design challenge. The (d) the vision statement (desired outcome and impact in the
function bridge demonstrates graphically the walk across the described context); (e) the biologised research question/s; (f) the
function bridge outlining how the design challenge was function cards of the champion organisms and/or chosen
(a) properly contextualised and embedded in a function question relationships in ecosystem, including the functions investigated,
during the scoping phase and (b) how this function question was strategies for these functions and mechanism of these strategies
accurately biologised and scientifically investigated during the described, from which abstracted design principles emerged; and
discovering phase, yielding (c) champion models in nature from (g) the final set of design criteria (basic function/s, abstracted
which to emulate, and (d) how nature’s strategies were accurately design principles, life’s principles). With these instructions for
translated back into the human system as instructions for designers. innovation, anyone can participate in the next step, the creating
phase, including guests-at-the-design table who may not have
The takeaway from the completion of the first two phases partaken in the scoping or research efforts.
(scoping, discovering) is a detailed and complete design brief that
directs the next two phases (creating, evaluating). The final design 2.3.3 Step 3: creating phase
brief is composed of (a) the description of the design challenge; This phase is best started with a dynamic design charrette that
(b) the description of the context (in which the challenge arises as involves additional guest participants from a variety of disciplines

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to bring a diversity of fresh perspectives to the design table.29 The than technology-focused applications and the strong sustainability
design charrette is front-loaded with a thorough review of the mandate that distinguish biomimicry from other BID approaches.
design brief elements. Once the group is fully informed, the fun
begins with collaborative transdisciplinary brainstorming and 2.3.4 Step 4: evaluating phase
design activities, such as decomposition matrices, kinaesthetic During the final evaluation phase, the final prototype is formally
modelling and storyboarding that lead to initial design concepts. assessed, again and on a much deeper level, against the 26
Many such methods for designing and evaluating concepts can be biomimicry life’s principles and goes through a series of other
found in the already-mentioned studies by Kumar26 and Martin sustainability-related assessments, such as addressing what nature
and Hanington.27 For instance, small teams might combine and would do or not do in this scenario, how specifically the solution is
criss-cross various brainstormed options, and create three- sustainable and what might be missing or left to investigate. Each
dimensional (3D) models of potential solutions through intuitive life’s principle is addressed separately and thoroughly, and the
thinking by building collaborative structures in silence. The teams team discusses and confirms how well each principle is embodied
learn about the nature of their own constructions and that of other in the proposed solution and what would need to be improved in
teams’ through a specific form of debriefing their kinaesthetic the final prototype to achieve better alignment with nature’s
models (teasing the meaning to the surface) and rotating through patterns. The tools used for this phase are (a) the design brief
the various structures to optimise the mixing of ideas and then developed by the scooping and discovering team/s and (b) the
storyboarding potential concepts. The charrette is usually a Life’s Principles sheet offered as part of the DesignLens materials32
marathon event that may last for 1, 2 or 3 d. It ends when the available to the public under a Creative Commons licence.
teams have developed initial concepts in 2D and 3D renderings
and can communicate how their proposed designs would operate In the end, the design team may not be able to satisfy all design
in the defined context. It should be mentioned that many other criteria due to lack of knowledge and/or skills, and issues may
techniques and tools have been developed that can, of course, also remain open for further investigation. In these cases, specific
guide the creating phase;10 it is up to the user to decide which experts may need to advise or join the design team. Sometimes,
tools fit best. there are no solutions available at the time for the identified
dilemmas, and the prototype may then be considered an interim
Concepts developed during the charrette are further elaborated, solution to be improved over time as more insights, resources and
refined and tested until viable prototypes emerge. Prototyping also developments become available.
includes testing (often and quickly) the emerging designs in form
or concept, in process or as a system, in real time and with actual The classic biomimicry thinking design process ends with the
stakeholders so that the developers can learn from the feedback. successful completion of the evaluation phase. Success is possible
There is a lot of backtracking during this phase; developers often even if not all design criteria or life’s principles have been met;
need to return to scientific research tasks to improve the design, rather, the requirement for success lies in the design team having
sometimes even reinvestigating the context originally defined in fully addressed all remaining questions, so that the next steps are
the scoping phase to see if they may have missed important clearly identified.
aspects. The prototyping process includes assessing the emerging
prototypes, multiple times, against all 26 life’s principles and After the final prototype has been refined and all open issues have
components listed on the design brief, in order to avoid surprises been solved, further steps in the innovation process may involve
during the final evaluation phase that may cause unnecessary the development of implementation and business plans and
delays in the innovation process. strategies for bringing the invention to the market. In terms of
design management, this last part is a critical step in the
The creating phase is successfully completed when viable innovation process, but it is not a mandated step for the
prototypes have emerged, have been refined through multiple biomimicry thinking design process.
rounds of testing, have been assessed for sustainability and
fulfilment of the design brief and have been chosen for final 3. Case studies
evaluation. It is the creative engagement of participants and the Case studies exist to validate the biomimicry approach, and
iterative steps from concept to final prototype that align the several companies are listed with their innovations in the 2010
biomimicry thinking-creating phase with any analogy-based design Fermanian Business and Economic Institute report,33 such as
and innovation process. The distinction from other design Biolytix – for developing an ecologically friendly sewage
processes is in the type of bioinspired research that informs and treatment process and equipment; Biomatrica – for developing
directs the creating phase in biomimicry and other BID ways to preserve biological samples; Brinker Technology – for
approaches. While conventional design processes might be human- discovering a marketable platelet technology for the water- and
centred (learning from previous man-made solutions), biomimicry oil-piping industries; InterfaceFlor – for developing tile flooring
and other biomimetic innovation processes focus on nature’s modelled after nature; Joinlox – for developing a technology to
strategies (learning from the survival strategies of organisms or connect and/or join a variety of objects, including boxes, pipes,
relationship dynamics of ecosystems). It is the inclusion of other walls and bridges; Pax Scientific – for developing devices that are

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either more efficient, have reduced drag, use less materials or are process. They might run out of energy right before a
cheaper to produce; Qualcomm Mems Technologies – for being breakthrough. The same challenges emerge when it comes to
inspired by the way colours are created in butterflies; and STO evaluating the prototype against life’s principles and other
Corporation – for developing Lotusan coating, which was inspired sustainability benchmarks.
by the way the lotus leaf is structured, forcing water to bead and
attract dirt and other particles. More case studies are described on Motivation to stay true to the accurate scientific information
the Biomimicry 3.834 and the Biomimicry Institute websites.34,35 is tremendously increased when a scientist-at-the-design table is
part of the team, such as an enthusiastic generalist from the
4. Challenges disciplines of biology and/or ecology. Even a naturalist or nature
It must be acknowledged that there are significant challenges enthusiast can be very helpful. These experts not only help the
when applying nature’s strategies to human systems. Listed in the developers with finding and understanding relevant biological
following sections are only a few of these challenges; more have scientific information during the discovering and evaluation
been identified, researched and paired with potential mitigations phases, but may also help translate the biology or ecology back
as offered by Helms et al.,2 Yen et al.36 and Linsey and into the disciplines working at the design table during the
Viswanathan.37 creating phase.

4.1 Additional methods and tools needed for upfront 4.3 Premature solution focus
research tasks and design processes During all phases, developers (creative professionals and
During scoping, it is important to come to a comprehensive engineers alike) quickly leap to (preconceived) solutions – what
understanding of the dynamics of the design challenge in its the design should be (object and/or concept to be validated).
context, and this investigation may need to include user-based Maybe due to prior (solution-focused) training, it is very hard for
research methods. While a multitude of such methods has been them to empty their minds of premature ideas, which most of the
made available to the public,26,27 it would be useful to include time lead to redesigns or improvements of already existing man-
and continually update a plethora of such methods and tools in made (often unsustainable) solutions. Once such ideas have
the materials describing the biomimicry thinking design process. entered their minds, the possibilities for innovation are limited
The same goes for the creating phase, where a variety of methods and keep developers from seeking alternative options still to be
and tools is needed for developing a prototype, only a few of discovered in nature; instead, they look for validation of their
which are listed in the biomimicry materials. preconceived solutions. Even after completing the research phase
successfully, developers may get hooked on one of these
4.2 Enthusiasm challenged by detailed scientific premature ideas during the creating phase and then find ways to
research and evaluation retrofit their designs by returning to the research to find the
During the function-based research, conducted during the strategies they are looking for, rather than working with the
discovering phase and potentially reengaged during other phases, action-oriented function already defined in the scoping face and
analogies for the desired functions of the design challenge need to letting the function question drive the discovery of analogous
be found in biological systems. Finding these analogies and strategies. A skilled biomimicry-trained facilitator can pay
identifying the exact mechanisms for the strategies used by attention and return developers to the discovery-focused approach
organisms to fulfil those functions requires a knowledge base that initially intended; however, this behaviour pattern needs attention
is usually not easily accessible to non-biologists as the research is throughout all the phases, and it may be useful to design
very specific and often requires expertise even within the various checkpoints into the biomimicry thinking design process where
biology- or ecology-oriented disciplines. this issue is addressed repeatedly as part of the routine.

Methods and tools for aiding this specific research process have 4.4 Difficulty with emulating natural systems into
been offered by the biomimicry community, who may have psychosocial systems
learned them from other bioinspired researchers and educators, as The application of the biomimicry thinking design process is an
listed by Yen et al.36 The already described biomimicry taxonomy easier sell when the design challenge is of a tangible nature.
sheet and the AskNature feature, the biomimicry function card Applying the same process to intangible designs, such as
creation steps and the function bridge walk diagram, as well as innovating a social system or generating sociofacts (behaviour
the newest offer Synapse.bio, are resources for helping developers change), developers have to bridge the strategies for survival in
complete the specific research tasks. nature (for instance, learning from the behaviour of bees or the
strategies for adaptation in insect colonies) through metaphorical
While these resources are being used extensively during the social constructions that involve people’s personal and cultural
biomimicry thinking design process, and while much can be beliefs and individual and collective value systems and morals –
learned, even by non-biologists, from simply observing the none of which exist in the rest of the natural world. If the concept
natural world directly, participants, in particular the creative types, of moral obligation, for instance, were to exist in nature, then it
often get discouraged by and frustrated with the specific research would probably be about securing the survival of the whole by

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any means necessary, and individual and/or group sacrifices might investigation into the patterns and strategies of nature, holding the
be necessary actions for the system to stay alive, and the system, promise for successful emulation into human systems.
per se, would not care about these sacrifices. However, in the
human world, such orientations would lead to significant moral The general interest in BID approaches to innovation is just
dilemmas. Impasses may happen when, for instance, the morals beginning to emerge, and the genre attracts aspiring practitioners.
held by individuals or groups are challenged, when participants The steps for the biomimicry thinking design process are not difficult
lack the imagination or courage to move through paradoxical to learn, and they can be merged with other existing sustainability-
conflicts or when resistance emerges in the group that stalls the oriented innovation approaches. The instructions for the steps are
process. On the other hand, there is the danger that participants available in the public domain; facilitating the process, however,
happily design away, going down the wrong path by deviating requires training and experience with the process over time.
from nature too far in their metaphorical interpretations. Similar
issues emerge when applying biomimicry to any other of the soft The enthusiasm for learning from nature is easily sparked across
sciences, such as economic or social sciences. generations, ultimately leading to sensing optimism, abundance
and opportunity – important ingredients in orienting humanity
There is room for the biomimicry community to gain more towards sustainable futures where life continues to flourish40 –
experience in applying the biomimicry practice to the softer and humanity continues to co-evolve. For some people, it makes a
sciences and to deliver more viable case studies for designing, lot of sense to emulate nature; others come to biomimicry with
implementing and assessing, for instance, bioinspired more scepticism for a variety of reasons. With all BID
psychosocial systems or approaches to business ventures that approaches, it is important to remember that nature is neutral –
are modelled after nature. Such models or approaches have void of the potentially limited or limiting perspectives people hold
certainly been developed and solutions have been applied, for (determined by the cultures to which they subscribe), void of any
instance, for the world of investing38 or the world of spiritual aspirations individuals may have for living lives worth
organisational systems,39 but there is little information about the living, void of the moral obligations that guide the human world.
actual implementation or assessment of the desired impact these Seen from these human-oriented vanishing points, life remains a
approaches might yield. mystery to a large extent, and not all of nature is considered good
(moral), true (confirmed in objective reality) or even beautiful
4.5 The need to adjust expectations (aesthetic), and therefore, not all of nature is worth emulating into
While the opportunities for nature-inspired design are, literally, human systems as society understands them today. Nonetheless,
endless, the steps from the prototype to the diffusion of the all of nature’s strategies for survival might be worth exploring for
innovation may be difficult to accomplish and represent another people to create conditions conducive to life.
potential for stalling the process that may lead to short-lived
bioinspired efforts. The necessary changes in production methods Acknowledgements
may not be feasible or economical, the creation of the needed Special gratitude is extended to the Biomimicry 3.8 organisation,
supply chains may be too slow or non-existing, the willingness or the Biomimicry Institute and their teams for sharing resources and
capacity to change behaviour may not be present in the system or educating the public on biomimicry as a framework and a practice
the design might simply be too utopic for investors to support towards sustainable futures. Immense appreciation goes to nature
more development or to move into production at the given time. for offering models, processes and systems to learn from.
Even the best idea may need the building of significant
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