LINDA DONG

A hint at what one of Niche’s products will be (or use). Shape memory alloys and plastics are fascinating. (Turn off your speakers for this)

Veined octopus uses coconut for shelter – I forgot how much I love this video. 

Lesson 1: Names are Hard

After spending literally a whole day writing down every permutation of the words Biology, Mimic, and Home (even delving into Greek and Latin words) I finally settled a on a name for my biomimicry housewares brand: Niche.

I chose the name because it really touches on many ideas behind the product line. ’Niche’ comes from the french word for ‘nest’ and represents the appropriate position or home for a person or object. In science, an ecological niche is the role a species plays in it’s community. Hopefully this product line will exemplify how biology has it’s own niche in the design process. #cheese 

The Heart Urchin Pea Crab 

Collaboration between Morphologic and Animal Collective. Beautiful Stuff

Resin and Ash Console Table-

As a segue from my Biomimicry project, this is what I’m currently working on for my furniture class. I was inspired by objects encapsulated in clear resin: Like this super useful seashell ashtray. I’m using the resin as the actual joinery for the table legs to connect with the table top. According to my professor, this is uncharted territory so I’m a little nervous about the process. Either way, I’ve got a lot of testing to do. 

Brainstorming Design Ideas: 

First week of school was a blur and now it’s time to get to the dirty work. I spent a lot of time racking my brain over which Biomimicry strategies I wanted to focus on and ended up with a gigantic list, then realized I had no concrete design problem yet. Smooth move. 

Since I want to present Biomimicry in an accessible way, I’m focusing on the housewares arena and where biology can fit into the design process there. Basically everyone is familiar with housewares since they interact with them everyday, so I think it’s a great launch pad for my project to start. 

Velcro = Biomimicry 

One lovely day this summer I went on a picnic in the california hills on Skyline Blvd. It was a perfectly romantic excursion with my beau - fruit, blankets, sunset and all. Except for the fact that i had 200 burrs stuck on my butt. 

The inventor of Velcro had the same experience as I did (except with his dog, and less romantic). Turns out these seemingly innocuous plants have tiny hooks on the ends of each burr in order to hitch a ride on passing creatures, or in my case, to ruin my favorite pair of tights. Anyway, you can see where the inspiration came from. 

Sometimes I really love Reddit.

Biomimicry Reading List: AKA How many times can you use the word “Nature” in a title?

Through the ever-helpful resources of the Biomimicry Institute, I’ve put together a list of books that I want to skim through before the semester starts. I’ve already read through Janine Benyus’ Biomimicry (aka The Bible) but I definitely want more literature on specific case studies. Of course, all the relevant books I could find were about architecture or engineering, but mark my words there will one day be one with industrial design!

It Runs in the Family 

My dad next to a roto vaporizer machine. Fast-forward 20 years and I’m following in his footsteps…except whereas he’s probably creating the next miracle drug, I’m using the machine to make tomato soup. 

Science runs deep in the Dong family. I’m essentially the first to venture out into the dangerous and uncharted territory that is a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Despite this seemingly rebellious move, I was once a double-major in Biology before I realized that you can’t spend 6 hours in studio and 6 hours in a lab everyday without going insane. 

One of the biggest things I’ve realized in design is that you don’t have to have a major in something to be an expert on it. I’m much more interested in the big picture and practical application of science as opposed to nitty-gritty details. Throughout college it’s been a smash-and-grab of taking the science extracurriculars with the important knowledge and leaving the rest. Plus, hells if I’m ever going through Organic Chemistry (there’s computers for that crap). 

Senior Project: Product Line Inspired by Biology 

So the saga begins. I’ve cleaned out all non-relevant (read: Tumblr-hipster posts) off of this blog so that I can just focus on documenting what will end up being the final design project of my academic career. I can feel the tears welling up already.

Choosing a project theme was a no-brainer since I’ve been dreaming of creating a biomimicry product line ever since freshman year. Between then and now, I’ve been busy hoarding inspiration, reading science books, and talking my face off about the subject. 

So now the actual work begins. In general, I know I want to create an ecosystem of at least 4-5 products (both physical and digital) that represent the spectrum of different areas in which biological strategies can be really useful for informing function or behavior. No silly “this vase was inspired by nature because it looks like a leaf” stuff. My goal is to show how useful science can be in industrial & interaction design, as opposed to engineering/nanotechnology which it’s primarily used for now. 

This person has won surface tension. Interesting idea to create a video piece that animates solely with water. 

Apocalyptic, scientific, and vintage graphics? Alas, be still my beating heart. Escape the Earth promotional video by Julian Gese. 

Sand grains photographed through a microscope by Dr. Gary Greenberg. Also, a lesson in how lazy web design and marketing lingo can ruin something beautiful. 

Winter Break in Hawaii. Edited in FCPX. Shot with a Canon 5D II and iPhone 4. 

Beautiful rebranding of the Science Channel by Imaginary Forces

Donutosis. My favorite has definitely got to be metaphase. (source: Reddit)

Jellyfish Lake, Palau

“Twelve thousand years ago these jellyfish became trapped in a natural basin on the island when the ocean receded. With no predators amongst them for thousands of years, they evolved into a new species that lost most of their stinging ability as they no longer had to protect themselves.”

This is amazing. Read more about the evolution of these jellyfish on Sarosh Jacob’s actual vimeo.