AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Natural Order: The Case for Applying Biomimetic Design Principles to Mass Communication Technology Design

by William Glass




Institution: Louisiana State University
Department: Mass Communication
Degree: MMC
Year: 2015
Keywords: mass communication technology; technology design; neural network; biomimetic design; biomimicry
Record ID: 2061512
Full text PDF: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04022015-162440/


Abstract

In this paper I tested the effectiveness of a biomimetically designed classifier algorithm in an effort to support a new argument for the systemic application of biomimetic design principles to mass communication technology. To supplement the purely system-level test, I conducted a series of interviews with interface-level designers regarding their own design strategies, generally accepted design strategies in the field of mass communication technology design, new design strategies, and the landscape of the field in general. The findings of my test lend strong credence to biomimicry's potential systemic contribution to mass communication technology design, and the tone of the interview responses suggests that the practices of interface-level design are congruent with this contribution. I argue that the placement of biomimetic design principles at the systemic level would enhance the user-interface design practices already in place, given their congruency with biomimetic design principles. I argue that to improve usability, interactivity, and security, and to improve our consumption, storage, and transmission of information on a massive scale, the most prudent course of action is to concentrate biomimetic design strategies systemically – into our hardware, networks, and systems in general – and that user-interface design would not only accommodate the changes to our system-level designs, but that it would thrive on them.