I wanted to conduct a questionnaire to explore my following opinions of relevant questions regarding biodesign, indigenous communities and traditions with a wild card question about AI as it has strung my curiosity. I only collected 13 responses to this questionnaire, but I will keep sharing as I find the responses very interesting and gain insight into my marketing perspective. This blog post will explore what each question informed me about.
From Q1, I understood that the market understands the need for environmental consideration from branding. Still, some responses acknowledge the struggle to make consistent environmental decisions due to price point and accessibility. Some answers discuss their non-shalunt recognition of environmental impact, which is part of the market. These individuals can be drawn to the branding of symbiosis by our community-driven perspective, as sustainability isn’t our only drawing factor and is part of a series through our action points.
In Q2, it gave context to our participants and their knowledge of the Biodesign; knowing this context allows me to see how familiar the audience feels with the topic. Symbiosis is a hub for learning where we want to inform about our personal curations and surrounding innovations that are growing into circular economies. From this survey, there is widespread knowledge surrounding Biodesign, so our results will vary based on this. I am very interested in the input from people who know little about the subject and their opinions on these questions.
Q3 discusses the different fields of Biodesign and which appears to be the most promising for the future. Construction gathered the highest response rate with 30.8%; it’s interesting to reflect on the participants focusing on the construction industry as it is an industry that works from synthetic materials which affect our climates green house gases, or natural materials affecting natural ecosystems, leading to both creating a sizeable environmental dent. The development of biomimicry in the construction industry is something I have yet to explore, but a lot of my primary research from exhibitions has shown solutions focusing on construction, and there are some promising innovations in this field; when I think about circular economies within constructions my mindset transfers to slum living, a lot of structure in slums is made from waste (tin, plastic, cardboard) the idea of underdeveloped countries using our waste to build shelter really inspires me to work with waste materials for construction to benefit their quality of living with the same materials but different methods for the construction industry.
With Q4, I wanted to understand the doubt surrounding Biodesign as I have some ideas on the topic but want to explore people’s perspectives from a variety of knowledge surrounding biodesign; the question aimed at the user to think about current issues with supply chains. The answers reflected mass production, the intent of sales, the quality and residence of the material, and the cost. These concerns must be addressed within my brand promotion as I want to gain confidence with the user for biomaterials and show that innovation can overcome these doubts.
Q5 surrounded the focus on folk cultures. This question was sort of a buffer into this research avenue as I wanted to view how much of the survey’s demographic was interested in folk culture through their family or individual perspectives. There is almost a divide halfway between people who try to interact with folk traditions, and the other half have little interest in the topic; this is interesting to see as the connection to nature through folk traditions is embedded and could explain some of the answers from this questionnaire.
Q6 This question was to understand the landscape of knowledge of nomadic living, a lot of my research is from ancient nomadic practices, and I find them very interesting and innovative. Many respondents didn’t know much about nomadic cultures, including short responses. This leaves a gap in informing an audience about nomadic living, showing the positive environmental repercussions of this aged-out culture. This could catch the eyes of digital nomads and people with a strong interest in travelling who want to indulge in various cultures. Many responses talked about the natural aspects of these communities, even springing curiosity in relevance to connecting these communities to a modern way of living, which is encouraging. Our society, at this point, couldn’t transform into a nomadic society, and this was mentioned in some responses. Still, it motivates biodesigners to explore and understand how they live and transfer elements into a modern context, which symbiosis aims to do.
Q7 was a scale focusing on the importance of tradition transitioning into modern society; the results indicate a positive result from this prompt, showing the participant’s interest in this. For symbiosis, this is promising from a marketing point of view to encourage and show our traditional methods.
Continuing off of Q7, Q8 furthers this with a response discussing the factors working with traditional techniques. One response that stood out to me mentions the product’s price point; through discussions with my business tutor, I thought a sustainable product would be more expensive due to improving the quality without using synthetic materials and advertising products as investments. Symbiosis isn’t selling products at this point and is more of a place to explore the avenue of biomimicry. Still, after doing a costing sheet when using waste, the material is average compared to mainstream fashion competitors. Understanding that people are struggling to afford the necessities is an easy path leading to fast fashion for cheaper products, which are worse for the environment, so informing about the injustice in these industries is a way I can change the consumer’s impression.
Q9 wasn’t very productive as I didn’t get many answers regarding traditions. This could reflect the smaller communities in our modern society. Larger communities have a field of traditions to survive in their terrain, but we are privileged not to discover solutions to benefit our lifestyle. Some responses focused on recipes and wool crafts, which can bring groups closer, allowing more interaction through communities and households. Since COVID-19, the consumer has been losing the sense of belonging in society, and community groups and workshops are a perfect place to engage in a community setting.
AI has been encouraged when creating a lot of my social media content. Still, the user is craving human-based creativity. Q10 focuses on how the unknown power of AI has challenged the user’s belief in the media; the majority, 61.5%, answered yes to this question. This allows me to work much more on my social media content without AI to focus on true narrative and inspiration to explore through the media I output.
Q1 – How important is it for you that products you use are designed with consideration for the environment?
Q2 – How familiar are you with the concept of Biodesign?
Q3 – In your opinion, what are the most promising areas for Biodesign innovation?
Q4 – Do you think there are any risks or potential drawbacks associated with the widespread adoption of Biodesign principles in traditional practices? (e.g. mass production of materials)
Q5 – How significant/prominent are folk traditions in your family (e.g. summer/winter solstice)
Q6 – What are your personal opinions/knowledge on the nomadic lifestyle in relevance to Social/Political/Environmental factors ?
Q7 – How important do you think it is to preserve traditional knowledge and practices in today’s society?
Q8 – How do you feel about the idea of combining traditional knowledge with modern technology to solve environmental or social challenges?
“If we were able to create affordable, sustainable alternatives to our fashion/food etc industry it would be perfect. My main concern is accessibility as I believe the higher prices of environmental options would put a lot of people off as a lot of people are struggling to afford necessities right now.”
Q9- Do you have any personal experiences with traditional crafts or practices passed down through generations in your family or community?
Q10 – Has AI challenged your trust in the media?
