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Biomimicry In User Experience Design
Research/Theory
What Is Biomimicry?
Biomimicry, a term coined in 1997 by Jenine Benyus, is human design inspired by the natural world (Benyus). It is the conscious emulation of nature’s processes, systems, and structures to solve human problems. The ideology behind biomimicry is that nature has been designing and innovating for much longer than us, and because of this we stand to learn from its wisdom.Biomimicry is currently most prevalent in disciplines like engineering, architecture, and industrial design, where the blueprints of nature can be applied to the physical world (Ruan). Velcro, for example, was born from abstracting the process of burrs sticking to animal’s fur to create a reusable and powerful adhesive method. But what is the potential for abstracting natural entities and applying them to our digital landscape?
What Is User Experience Design?
User Experience Design (or UX design) is the process of designing a product, system, or service centered around the user’s experience. UX design, under the confines of the digital landscape, aims to optimize the experience of a user when interacting with a digital service or product.Current Overlap
Biomimicry 3.8, the first ever biomimicry consultancy group was started by Janine Benyus in 1998. The group created a framework on how to look at design problems through a biological lens. When looking at UX design through this lens, a natural symbiosis between the two disciplines is present.Be Locally Attuned And Responsive
The first of these principals within biomimicry 3.8’s framework is “Be Locally Attuned and Responsive” (“DesignLens: Life's Principles”). Being locally attuned and responsive is how an organism responds and adapts to its environment. It’s how a cactus can thrive in a dry climate by not having leaves that lend themselves to evaporation, and instead storing water in its stem--or how an arctic fox changes its coat from thick and white in the winter season to thin and tan during the summer.Being locally attuned and responsive is also a principle in UX design. A user’s experience with a product or service doesn’t occur in a vacuum, so understanding the user and the context in which they will be interacting with it is essential for optimizing their experience (Stevens).
Feedback Loops
A sub-principal within being locally attuned and responsive is the utilization of feedback loops (“DesignLens: Life's Principles”). Feedback loops are cyclical flows that help organisms teach themselves environmental information by triggering a causal effect. The ripening of one fruit on a tree releases ethanol, a compound that triggers the ripening of the rest.Providing feedback loops for users is a key heuristic principle in UX design (Nielsen). It allows a user to teach themselves how to use a website by having the site respond to the user’s actions. In practice this can look like a success message after a form has been submitted or a changing button state. These feedback loops not only give the user assurance that their action was registered, but helps them learn the different functionalities of a site.
Be Resourceful With Material And Energy
Biological entities in nature use the least amount of energy required to complete a given task to maximize efficiency (Benyus). It is this principle of life that dictates how gravity and natural terrain decide a river's shape.In UX design the simplest solution, or path of least resistance, should be created for the user. The goal should be to create the simplest strategies possible for a user to accomplish a task. Extraneous elements and pathways create friction with the user. Providing the user with aesthetic and minimalist design without extraneous elements is an important usability heuristic (Nielsen).
Replicate Strategies That Work
Replicale strategies that work is a core principle of survival in nature (Benyus). Natural selection works by not only weeding out mutations that do not serve a species but also by repeating the ones that do.Consistency and adhering to industry standards is also a UX design best practice (Stevens). This heuristic principle allows a user to learn and recognize patterns within a site (Nielsen). It is also how a user already intuitively knows how to use basic features of a site without ever having visited it before, like looking for navigation elements at the top of a page--or recognizing a magnifying glass icon as a symbol for a search feature.
Gaps
While there is a symmetry between biomimicry and UX design, the potential for the abstraction of specific biological entities is perhaps more conceptual than in disciplines that work solely in the physical plane. There is also the fact that the web, and standards for designing within it, exist in its own biosphere of sorts, one where emulating natural processes and systems would require more of a paradigm shift than individual implementation.Conclusion
However, there is still value in using biological frameworks and systems to develop UX design strategies as well as deepen our understanding of why current UX industry standards work. Because humans are a part of the natural world, designing with the natural world in mind is designing with the user in mind.References
“Bacteria Use Simple Rules to Make Smarter Moves — Biological Strategy — AskNature.” AskNature, 14 September 2016, https://asknature.org/strategy/smart-swarming/. Accessed 23 October 2023.
Benyus, Janine M. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Quill, 1998.
Bourgeois, Marie. “Marie Bourgeois: Biomimicry, Innovation Inspired by Nature.” TED, https://www.ted.com/talks/marie_bourgeois_biomimicry_innovation_inspired_by_nature. Accessed 10 October 2023.
Deshpande, Renuka. “Can Biomimicry Affect Human Psychology? - RTF.” Rethinking The Future, https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-fresh-perspectives/a591-can-biomimicry-affect-human-psychology/. Accessed 10 October 2023.
“DesignLens: Life's Principles.” Biomimicry 3.8, https://biomimicry.net/the-buzz/resources/designlens-lifes-principles/. Accessed 3 December 2023.
Gaekwad, Jason s., et al. “A Meta-Analysis of Emotional Evidence for the Biophilia Hypothesis and Implications for Biophilic Design.” Biophilic Design Rationale: Theory, Methods, and Applications, vol. 13, 2022. Frontiers, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.750245/full. Accessed October 2023.
Gossett, Stephen. “Bringing Biomimicry To UX Design.” Built In, 22 February 2022, https://builtin.com/design-ux/biomimicry-design. Accessed 19 October 2023.
“Hermit Crabs Use Social Networking to Find New Homes — Biological Strategy — AskNature.” AskNature, 2 July 2020, https://asknature.org/strategy/social-networking-aids-housing-search/. Accessed 19 October 2023.
“How Does Nature Teach and Learn? — Collection — AskNature.” AskNature, 10 March 2021, https://asknature.org/collection/teach-and-learn/. Accessed 19 October 2023.
Leterrier, Christophe. “A Pictorial History of the Neuronal Cytoskeleton.” Journal of Neuroscience, 2021. JNeuroscience, https://www.jneurosci.org/content/41/1/11. Accessed 19 October 2023.
Miller, Jamie. “Jamie Miller: Biomimicry: Think and Create Naturally | Jamie Miller | TEDxCollingwood.” TED, https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_miller_biomimicry_think_and_create_naturally_jamie_miller_tedxcollingwood. Accessed 10 October 2023.
Nielsen, Jakob. “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design.” Nielsen Norman Group, 15 November 2020, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/. Accessed 19 October 2023.
“Reading Notes of Information Architecture (Part II) | by Siyu's Newsletter | Medium.” Siyu's Newsletter, 9 November 2019, https://syjia.medium.com/reading-notes-of-information-architecture-part-ii-e0d47ac1ea9. Accessed 20 October 2023.
Romano, Camille, and M. Fehler. “Integrating Biomimicry into Graphic Design Practices.” UK Essays, 8 February 2020, https://us.ukessays.com/essays/design/integrating-biomimicry-into-graphic-design-practices.php. Accessed 10 October 2023.
Ruan, Jiayi. Biomimicry UI: The Interconnection between Animal Ethology and Interface. Brooklyn, Pratt Institute, Oct 2021, p. 20. Accessed October 2023.
Sarkar, Sharma S. Biomimicry: Exploring Research, Challenges, Gaps, and Tools., Springer, 2019.
“Search Algorithm Inspired by Arboreal Ant Trail Networks — Innovation — AskNature.” AskNature, https://asknature.org/innovation/search-algorithm-inspired-by-arboreal-ant-trail-networks/. Accessed 19 October 2023.
Stevens, Emily. “7 fundamental UX design principles all designers should know.” UX Design Institute, 22 June 2022, https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/ux-design-principles/. Accessed 19 October 2023.
“What Is Biomimicry? – Biomimicry Institute.” Biomimicry Institute, https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/. Accessed 10 October 2023.