When was the last time you put a problem under a microscope? In 1940, after George de Mestral went on a hunting trip with his dog through the Jura mountains in Switzerland, he did just that.
De Mestral returned home to find small cockle-burs attached to his clothes and hooked to his dog’s fur. Curious how the small burrs worked, the Swiss engineer inspected nature’s work under a microscope. And his biomimicry process began. The idea of taking elements of nature and emulating them to solve common problems was one of De Mestral’s specialties.
While looking at the magnified view of the sticky burs, he discovered a hook-and-loop process that allowed the burrs to attach themselves to clothes, hair, and fur. De Mestral, ever interested in how things work, was fascinated by the hooking process.
De Mestral took Mother Nature’s process to designers in the weaving industry to craft the first version of Velcro®. Though the inventor’s two fabric strips didn’t have a grandeur appearance, he was convinced it was the solution to common challenges.
One of the material strips was made of tiny hooks, much like the burs that stuck to his clothing. The second piece was a fuzzy, thick material to which the hooks could cling. During the 15 years between De Mestral’s hiking trip and the final iteration of Velcro®, a need for the product developed.
People wanted a simple, speedy way to fasten clothing. Velcro® was the answer no one realized they needed. What has turned into a modern, billion-dollar brand began with a simple walk outdoors. When we look closely enough, solutions can evolve from studying nature and applying its concepts to practical innovations.
What is nature telling you about your designs, innovations, and iterations? Can you pull from what already exists around us to solve problems?
More Creativity to Come
What do a train and bird have in common? The unexpected duo was at the core of a biomimetic concept that led to the final iteration of the Shinkansen Bullet Train. See how a birdwatcher and engineer drastically reduced the noise level of an electric locomotive by meshing their ideas together.