Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Taylor, and I'm so pleased you can join me today.

Our lesson today is called "Biomimicry.

" And this is part of the "Iterative design: Nature" unit.

The outcome, "I can identify biomimicry and use nature as inspiration when designing.

" We have four key words.

Biomimicry, using nature as inspiration to solve problems.

Biomorphism, an aesthetic style that imitates nature's beauty.

A mood board, a collection of images, texts and samples used by designers to convey feelings about a design.

And inspiration, someone or something that gives you ideas.

And in the lesson, we have three learning cycles.

What is biomimicry?

Exploring and recording nature.

And using nature to inspire.

Let's begin with what is biomimicry?

The word biomimicry comes from the Greek words, bios and mimesis.

Bios means life and mimesis means to imitate.

Janine Benyus published a book called "Biomimicry" in 1997.

She coined the phrase biomimicry to describe problem solving using nature as inspiration.

She suggests that biomimicry can help designers to create better-performing products which use less energy.

Let's have a check.

True or false, biomimicry is about problem solving?

Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic, let's check.

That's right, biomimicry is about using inspiration in nature to help designers solve problems.

Well done.

The hook-and-loop fastener is an example of biomimicry.

A Swiss engineer, George de Mestral, noticed a cockleburr stuck to his trousers when out walking in the 1940s.

He used a microscope to look closely at the burr and discovered there were tiny hooks that got caught on the fabric fibers of his trousers.

Here is a picture of a burr, and here is a picture of the hook-and-loop fastening system.

George de Mestral worked with weavers to create the first hook-and-loop manufacturing process.

Crochet is a form of weaving yarn using a hook, and the fastener similarly relies on interlocking hooks and loops.

Sharks have evolved to glide through the water at speed.

However, shark skin is not smooth, it is textured.

The texture is due to the placoid scales.

They feel smooth in one direction, but rough in the other.

Here is a picture of the shark skin placoid scales.

The faster-swimming shark species also have riblets on the scales.

These further reduce drag and therefore increase speed.

Here we can see a picture of a riblet on a scale seen through a microscope.

Let's have a check.

Shark skin placoid scales have a texture which is smooth in one direction.

What are the advantages of this?

Is it A, to reduce drag, B, to increase friction, or C, to increase speed?

Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic, let's look.

That's right, it's A, reduced drag, and C, increased speed.

Designers have experimented with similar surface textures on plain surfaces and ship hulls to reduce drag.

Sharkskin swimsuits are an example of biomimicry.

Some athletes in the Olympic Games have worn sharkskin swimsuits and were very successful.

The Olympic Committee banned the use of these in 2010 as they gave a competitive advantage.

Here we have a check.

Which of these products took inspiration to solve a problem from nature?

Was it A, sharkskin swimsuit, B, hook-and-loop fastener, or C, a zip?

Pause the video.

Well done, let's have a look.

That's right, it was the sharkskin swimsuit and the hook-and-loop fastener.

The humpback whale fin inspired the design of wind turbine blades.

The bumps on the edge of the fin reduce water resistance.

The designers, Frank Fish, Philip Watts and Stephen Dewar, designed a wind turbine blade with bumps on the edge.

This reduced air resistance and increased efficiency.

The bullet train was designed to travel at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.

When the train was tested, there was a loud boom when traveling through a tunnel.

This was caused by a buildup of atmospheric pressure.

The people who lived near the tunnels were disturbed and the design had to be changed.

The engineers took inspiration from the kingfisher.

The kingfisher dives to catch prey without making a splash on the surface of the water.

The train was redesigned to resemble the shape of the kingfisher's beak.

This reduced the noise and increased efficiency.

Here we have a check.

The shape of the kingfisher's beak was the inspiration for the bullet train, but what was the problem it solved?

Pause the video.

Fantastic, let's have a look.

There was a loud boom noise when the bullet train traveled through the tunnels.

This disturbed residents.

Well done.

The word biomorphism comes from the Greek words, bios and morphos.

Bios, as we've already seen, means life.

And morphos or morphe means form.

Biomorphism is where nature influences the aesthetics and form, which means shape.

Both biomimicry and biomorphism are inspired by nature.

In this table, we can see the similarities and the differences.

Biomimicry is inspired by nature, and it uses nature to inspire a solution to a problem.

Biomorphism is also inspired by nature, but the nature is used to inspire the aesthetic.

Task A.

Using a specific example, explain the term biomimicry.

You must define biomimicry and name a specific example.

You must also describe the problem and the inspiration for the solution.

Pause the video, have a go.

Fantastic, let's see at some of the answers you may have come up with.

Biomimicry is the use of something found in nature to inspire a design solution to a problem.

The edge of the humpback whale fin is bumpy because it helps the fin to break the surface of the water so it can glide more quickly.

This inspired the wind turbine's blade design to include ridges on the edge to help it to glide through the air, like the fin glides through the water.

It also improves the turbine's efficiency.

Fantastic.

We now move on to the second learning cycle, exploring and recording nature.

Here is a mind map exploring the context of nature.

Nature includes the weather systems, animals, plants, birds and sea life.

And we can extend the mind map to add more information.

Here we have a check.

Which of these are natural sources of inspiration?

Is it A, buildings, B, trees, C, butterflies, or D, snakes?

Pause the video and have a go.

Great.

Let's have a look.

That's right, it's all three of these.

B, trees, C, butterflies, and D, snakes.

Well done.

We could explore nature by visiting a park, garden or the countryside.

Once in a natural environment, we could record our findings by drawing or painting, taking photographs or recording videos.

For example, there is a cat painting, a photograph of some rocks and a gif showing a video of birds flying.

We have another check.

Which method is the most appropriate to capture the natural function of a bird, such as the kingfisher?

Is it A, a photo, B, a sketch, or C, a video?

Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic, let's look.

That's right, it's a video.

So we can see the natural function of a bird.

Both the photograph and the sketch are static, but a video moves, so to see the function, a video would be most suitable.

Well done.

Here is a photograph of a flower.

And here is a sketch of the flower.

Here we have a photograph of a frog, and now we're going to watch the video of the frog being sketched.

And here is that sketch.

A mood board is a collection of images, texts and material swatches that are used by designers to convey the feeling about a design.

This is usually created at the beginning of the design task and shared with the client to gather feedback.

Here we have a check.

What is the purpose of a mood board?

A, to choose the theme of the design, B, to convey the feeling about the design, or C, to gather client feedback?

Pause the video and have a go.

Wonderful, let's have a look.

That's right, it's B, to convey the feeling about the design, and also C, to gather client feedback.

Well done.

Mood board images may be photographs, images cut out of magazines or sketches.

Mood board text and types of font can be cut out from newspapers or drawn.

Artifacts and samples can be added.

For example, a leaf, a feather or a fabric swatch.

Let's have a check.

Is it true or false that artifacts can be added to a mood board?

Pause the video.

Let's look.

That's right, it's true, because artifacts and samples can be added to the mood boards to show texture and form.

Well done.

Okay, here we have Task B.

The first part is to gather some images of nature for a mood board.

And the second part, sketch an image of a plant to add to the mood board.

You could use these pictures as inspiration or choose your own.

And part three is to sketch an image of an insect or animal to add to the mood board.

And here you could choose these, or again, choose your own.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Let's have a look at what you might've come up with.

Your mood board may look similar to this.

Here we have a collection of photographs and sketches.

They include insects, animals, flowers and plants, such as ferns, all found in nature.

Fantastic.

We're now on the third learning cycle called using nature to inspire.

Inspiration is someone or something that gives you ideas.

We can be inspired by different people.

For example, family members or friends, designers, engineers, sports personalities, film stars or musicians.

We can also be inspired by different things, such as products, fashion items, buildings and natural phenomenon.

Let's have a check.

What is inspiration?

A, someone that gives you ideas, B, someone that makes ideas, or C, something that gives you ideas?

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, let's have a look.

Brilliant, it's A, someone that gives you ideas, or C, something that gives you ideas.

Fantastic.

Nature can give you ideas and be an inspiration.

Laura explains some examples.

"The pebble sofa is inspired by the round and smooth shape of the pebbles.

It looks like a pile of pebbles.

" So we have a picture on the left of pebbles on a beach, and then a picture in the center, which is the pebble sofa.

Here we have a check for understanding.

Which aspect of the pebble sofa has been inspired by nature?

Is it A, the shape, B, the texture, or C, the style?

Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic, let's look.

That's right, it's the shape.

Laura explains how nature has inspired another product.

"I think the urchins have inspired the shape, texture and color changes of this lamp.

" Perhaps you agree.

Task C, design a range of lighting products inspired by a nature mood board.

Let's have a look at what you might've come up with.

Your nature-inspired lighting could look similar to these.

The first one is inspired by the photograph of the fern, and the light is hiding behind what looks like a fern.

We then have two pencil sketches of traditional-shaped lamps where the lampshade is inspired by the petals of a flower.

And the owl-shaped light is inspired by an owl, and made into more of a cartoon character with a light inside it.

Here we have the summary of today's lesson.

Biomimicry is problem solving using nature as inspiration.

Biomimicry can help designers to create better-performing products which use less energy, such as the bullet train.

Biomorphism also uses nature to inspire, but this is about aesthetics and form, not function or problem solving.

We can observe and record nature using different methods, including mood boards.

Nature can be the inspiration for our designs.

I'm so pleased you could join me today.

Thank you, and well done.