Biomimicry for Designers - Hardcover

Kapsali, Veronika

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500518483 ISBN 13: 9780500518489

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2016

Synopsis

The first resource in the emerging field of biomimicry targeted directly at design professionals and students

The natural world contains infinite examples of how to achieve complex behaviors and applications by using simple materials in a clever way. As we begin to exhaust the natural resources we rely on to create our products and environments, designers are increasingly turning to nature―where organisms make use of limited raw materials to survive―for inspiration about how to invent fascinating solutions to everyday design problems.

The importance of biomimicry―manufacturing materials that imitate life’s natural processes―has been known for years, and designers have often looked to nature for formal solutions. In the popular imagination, the best-known example is the microscopic “hook” on burrs that inspired the development of Velcro, but there are many more applications, from kingfisher beaks inspiring the shape of bullet trains to shark skin being used as a model for advanced swimsuits.

Author Veronika Kapsali, trained biologist and designer, presents insightful examples, showing each natural phenomenon alongside its man-made application, with an accessible explanation of the biology and the story of the design. While most are concrete examples that have already been developed, others point the way to what might be possible for an enterprising designer.

300 illustrations, 250 in color

About this title

About the Author

Veronika is a bestselling author in industrial design. She is also the co-director of MMT Textiles Limited and inventor of INOTEK TM, a biomimetic fiber based textile technology that uses moisture in clothing microclimate to create a mechanical response for advanced moisture management. Her specialist area is design of programmable materials, structures and systems. In November 2014 she won the ITMA Future Materials award for INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR. 

Originally a trained fashion and textile designer working in London Fashion Week, Veronika migrated to the newly emerging field of Research in Design in 2000. With an undergraduate qualification in Fashion and Textile Design. Veronika was offered a scholarship to study for a PhD in Engineering Design by the University of Bath. 

Veronika is an academic and industrial research specialist, author, broadcaster and communicator of Biomimetics and Design led approaches to innovation. Veronika is a Reader at the London College of Fashion in Material Technology and Design and is regularly invited to speak at international conferences, symposia and has several publications on Biomimetic applications, while her work at MMT textiles has received significant media attention. 

Veronika consultancy includes; textile technology and material futures; patent/ technology exploitation, strategies for design led innovation and road mapping. She works extensively with industry on an international scale and as an expert for the European Commission.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500518483
• ISBN 13: 9780500518489
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256