Ryan Feerer‘s “God invented evolution…” 20/20 animation featuring an over-evolved human with an extra penis and octopus tenticle arms was an apt foreshadowing of biologist Janine Benyus‘s presentation on the astounding utility of biomimicry—that is, modeling designed solutions on those that nature has been designing with “3.8 billion years of R&D.”

Feerer’s piece humorously suggests that we humans need to “devolve” a bit to get back to a form that makes sense. Benyus argues that “we are at a critical point at which we’re deciding how badly we want to stay here.” If we choose that we do want to stay on this taxed planet (and I’m pretty sure we do), we must step back from a perceived role as nature’s conquerer to a curiosity-fueled position as nature’s apprentice.

Design writer Veronique Vienne remarked on the silence that fell over the audience throughout Benyus’s talk. In part, this attention was held captive by visual stimuli that wrapped attainable, hope-filled solutions. Of great appeal to the visual sensibilities is the inherent beauty of ideas derived from nature.

In fact Alex Steffen, executive editor of World Changing, later quoted Buckminster Fuller:

“When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

Benyus explained that nature doesn’t use paint. Rather, nature uses structural color, which physically changes the way light bounces, to create far more brilliant colors than pigmented color.

In terms of practical application, Benyus has initiated several projects that are directly accessible to designers. Through the Biomimicry Guild, which she founded, designers can help you find your mentors (her nomenclature for solutions in nature) in planned excursions. You come with your design problems and they match a designer with a biologist.

She’s also working on a wiki resource of natural solutions and appealed to the audience: “we need a lot of help. We need illustration. We need your help making it experientially useful to designers.”

Benyus referred to herself as the “biologist at the design table.” We could all benefit from having her at each of our tables.