Life's Principles

Welcome!

Audience: The team I lead at work

As makers, creative thinkers, and designers we strive to make the best possible products for our customers.  As we check in each week, we discuss our interests and our passions, many of which are nature-inspired.  

Introduction to Life’s Principles

I’d like to discuss with you all today how we can apply this inspiration to our work using a list of strategies known as Life’s Principles.  So, what exactly are Life’s Principles?  Let me explain.  Life’s Principles are a series of strategies that nature uses in order to live symbiotically with all other living things.  

Now, let’s take a moment to think about a specific task or design challenge.  This could be anything;  from designing a commuter bag for your bicycle to redesigning our physical workspace.  Then, we’ll discuss how we can design this product/process/space by using Life’s Principles.  We will walk through the principles with the design of a product for our new Women’s Collection in mind. 

Life’s Principles in Practice

The framework of this list is adapted from Life’s Principles checklist for the Design of Anything, Biomimicry Guild copyright 2009.  You may also use the Biomimicry Guild’s Life’s Principles Butterfly to aid in this exploration:

Adapt + Evolve

Locally attuned and responsive

• Is the design of this product resourceful?  It is made with common parts?

  • Is the design repeatable?  Can its components be used for more than one purpose?

• Is it made from materials that are locally sourced and readily available?  

  • Where is the canvas from?  The leather?  Is there any hardware being used?

Cyclic processes

• Is the design adaptable for use in a changing weather and environment?

• Is it modular or designed for disassembly?  How can parts be replaced if they are damaged?

• Does the design respond to feedback? Can it be updated or changed based on incoming information?

Resiliency

• Does the design adapt to changing conditions?

• Is it self-healing?

• Can the design evolve?

Create Conditions Conducive to Life

Optimize vs. Maximize

• Is the design multi-functional?

  • Can it be used for more than one purpose?

• Is the design recyclable?

  • Is it made from recycled materials or can the materials be reused?

  • Can it be disassembled?  Reused?  Upcycled?

• Is the product designed with minimal amounts of materials and energy?

Benign Manufacturing

• Is it made from life-friendly materials?

  • Is the leather tanned with vegetable tannins? Is the canvas made of 100% cotton or a cotton blend?  Is it dyed or undyed?  What type of dye was used?

• How is the product assembled? How are the pieces cut?  Is it made by hand or machine?  If by machine, what type of energy is used?

Leverage Interdependence

• Is the design cooperative?  Does it create opportunities?  Can it co-evolve?

• Is the design self-organizing? 

With this series of questions, we can develop more thoughtful products and services for a more sustainable future. I look forward to seeing how this exploration aids you in your work and artistic endeavors!

Thank you for your participation and feel free to reach out with questions.