Learning design from the best designer: Nature

Image credit: iStock

I have had my own share of disappointments from designers as have many business owners and product/project managers.

The way I like to work with “design professionals” is somewhat freehanded. I give them a brief, most times as a story; painting a picture of what the design should represent or permit. Next I expect the designer to conceptualize adequately and blow my mind.

Unfortunately many designers work in a rather zombie-ish way. The availability of template resources hasn’t helped much either.

I understand that designers like writers get stuck sometimes and get a “block”. So, how do we solve this? As much as it is prescribed to read a lot of books and educational resources, I also suggest you resort to the old ways of deriving inspiration: Look to NATURE and MEDITATION.

Image credit: Pexels

Nature has provided the best design for all creation that helps them in adaptation, competition and survival. Let us take a look at some nature’s design:

1. Streamlined birds and fishes
2. Transparency and reflectiveness of ocean waters.
3. Structure of mountains and hills
4. The pouch of a kangaroo
5. The beak of a woodpecker
6. The layers of soil
7. The wings of dragonflies

These are only but a few as we do not intend to reach beyond the visuals because there is a lot more to learn about their internal biology; but this article is for designers. As a designer, when you study nature you may just be able to get into the mind of God and this would very much influence your design output.

Image credit: Pexels

Meditation helps us focus on our own personal elements and see with our inner eyes. But prior to meditation you must feed yourself to a lot of content or else it will just be like looking into an empty drum; all you’ll see is darkness (and no, this would not inspire dark mode design lol). You’ll never know when an experience or a discussion you listened to keenly or a movie you watched or even the nature that you observed would come in handy.

Learning from Nature and Meditating would definitely make you a better designer. Let us not just depend on the tons of templates and AI available and forget to use the oldest tools and resources available to man.

I hope this helps.

I took this screenshot from my PC screen saver. Thought to share.