Often we start designing products from a stage of problem finding and defining the problem definition. Main challenges in this is finding technical solutions instead of searching into nature and see how nature solves main problems. Nature is constant developing itself with trial and error to come up with solutions that cannot be thought of in one lifetime. In main design challenges people lack the skill of asking nature how it would solve the problem.
During the time at college, many designers get lost with nature itself and get entangled into technical solutions. This might even be more with people who have lived their whole lifetime in the city instead of close to nature. Therefore, there should be stimulated more to look at nature in the beginning of every design phase. Nature inspires and tackles problems in a very efficient way. One of the examples is 3D printing which enables humans to build more complex material structures. Until now to get a strong material one of the main materials is getting a hybrid material. The problem with this is separation of the materials and recycling it back into the system. When 3D printing is used, it is possible to build complex, flexible and strong materials that exist out of only one material. By giving it an internal fluid structure like in the trees, the same properties can be met. When the material has to be recycled it can just be shredded and turned into a useful building material again.
This is only one of the examples, and there are many more. Therefore, I believe that to make designs efficient learn from nature. Don’t begin with looking at the problem and directly apply knowledge you already know. Start by wandering through nature, and researching it online, to find if it is possible to apply some specific attributes. If more designers would do so, overall shape of products might get very interesting.