Nature Inspired Redesign of the Visual Appearance of an Industrial Product

Abstract

One of the specific characteristics of design is shaping the visual appearance of products, but this feature is not valued in the same way as the functional aspect in some industrial areas. In this sense, this paper describes the real case of an industrial product (a filter housing) that was initially designed considering only functional and technical aspects. Over the years this product became a reference product in the agronomic field and also one of the most copied filters in the world. The company then opted for a new strategy: redesigning the external shape of the filter without losing any functional characteristics. The process of redesigning this new product was based on the use of analogies with nature as source of inspiration. As a result, an helicoidal shape describing the movement of the water inside the filter was the innovative and creative element that permitted to offer a new identity for this product, achieving an industrial design registration in some of the most influential countries in the world.