This is my favourite leisure activity: pulling together information I find of natural materials, processes, systems and trying to understand them by using visual tools. Because, you know, as designers, we learn visually. Or so the urban legend goes. One of the most popular things I hear design students say is how complicated and out of reach they think biology is.
There is a common misconception that once you have chosen the path of designer, a path of science is closed for you once and for all.
I would love nothing more than to dispute this myth. Let’s start with materials.
- Break the overwhelming list of natural polymers into manageable sections. Draw associations with these materials and their generalized properties.
Author: Alëna Konyk. General sources and properties of some natural polymers. Inspired by (Ratner, Hoffman, Schoen, & Lemons, 2004).
Biology to Design 