We have been practicing biomimicry to get inspired by nature for packaging solutions and this has made the packaging industry more sustainable as the ecosystem. Derived from the Latin bios meaning organic life, and mimesis meaning to imitate, biomimicry is the study of gaining design inspiration from natural processes to solve human problems.
Understanding the versatility and complexity of nature makes us more cohesive of the fact that every innovation comes with a responsibility as it brings a huge impact on the ecosystem.
How Nature Helps In Developing Wholesome Packaging?
We have multiple data points to build a packaging yet often we feel the concept has not evolved as what we see as a perfect solution in nature. The defragmented data points need to emulate nature’s strategies. This will help in a smoother transition and close the circular loop.
By applying semantics that is the most relatable sign/ gut feeling/ process we see in nature to design solutions.
It’s very important to understand that the gut feeling we have while designing is the replication of something we have seen in nature. That brings our solution closer to a system that has already been proven and tested. Applying the right semantics to the concept will add stronger elements to the packaging solution. It will also help a solution sustain in the ecosystem for a longer period of time.
Understand Three Important Folds of Nature
We need to understand how nature breathes, survives, grows, and replenishes itself. For that, we need to study in-depth the roots of biology and how natural elements behave in such a complex ecosystem.
We have been constantly deriving brilliant solutions inspired by nature in the past. The future is also dependent on them. Let’s see how some of the examples have applied the best features of the natural elements in the packaging.
The Form
Capsicum is a hollow vegetable and has a petaloid base which keeps the structure stable from inner air pressure and water retention. A very similar form is used in PET bottles for carbonated drinks. The petaloid form helps in avoiding the expansion of the plastic bottles due to the pressure of carbonated drinks inside. Keeps the bottle CG stable on the shelf and has a higher tilt angle.
The Process
Banana has an in-build label status information that indicates the condition of banana through color change over a period of days. This happens because of heat transfer happening with banana peel and outside environment. With the same principle, smart labels have been invented that are time-temperature sensitive labels. Smart labels are placed on food packaging to indicate the freshness of food.
The System
Beehives are made of six-sided tubes, shaped for optimal and efficient honey production. Beehives require less wax and can hold more honey. The densely packed structure is binding by the wax. Each cell sticks to the other 6 cells by wax and creates the hexagon shape by tension. On a similar principle, the honeycomb board structure is developed using artificial glue to keep every cell in tension which creates 6 sides and form a hexagonal tessellation. It uses less material to make a strong and dense structure used for multiple applications in packaging.
There are many other examples in the packaging industry that keep us inspiring in day-to-day life. We need to keep the ecosystem of the packaging industry intact and sensible by staying close to nature and bringing better processes and solutions.
One thing which brings to my attention is how nature saves energy and replenishes itself. We need to keep these thoughts in mind while designing solutions or systems.
We need to keep on adding such nature-based inspiration to our design process.
Get Inspired
Add nature’s strategy into your design process. It will help you close the loop and build a solution that resonates with the ecosystem we breathe in. Biomimicry helps us create a system rather than an isolated solution which may sooner fade from the industry with a matter of time.
We’re at a critical point in the story of the human species. The challenges we face require leaders and innovators who know how to create resilient, well-adapted solutions. The path forward must be generous to future generations of all life on earth.
Keep getting inspired by Nature and give the same back to nature.
If you want to learn more about biomimicry, build solutions, or build a tool kit or a workshop with me about how biomimicry can be applied to packaging solutions. You can write to me at amitajain16@gmail.com
I'm an Industrial Designer with a specialization in Structural Packaging Design and Research.
Over the past 9 years, I have had the opportunity to work with multiple renowned brands, startups and have also collaborated with independent brands to conceptualize, mentor and implement innovative design strategies for their packaging.
As I am venturing into the packaging subject deeper and interacting with multiple stakeholders from concept to execution, I am learning to work on simple approaches and devising tools based on logical thinking which can make the design process enriching.
