SCIONIC 2

Overview

After Scionic and Visual Permutations (2010) and Robotic: Art & Design (2013), Scionic 2 continues the successful research and project documentation of the industrial design/scionic® field of study at the University of Art and Design Linz. A book on the possibilities of design that successfully generates – scientifically pioneering – inspiration from nature and, with this, makes our daily lives simpler.

Design can be decisive for success. This applies to made-tolast investment goods as well as to long-term branding. In the industrial design/scionic® field of study at the University of Art and Design Linz (Austria), specific solutions for industry and the respective basic patents are developed in collaboration with businesses. Ninety-five per cent of these projects go on to series production.

The designers borrow from nature, create virtual models and generate, based on fundamental research, optimisation measures for the purpose of simplified processes. The aim is a concrete improvement: the simpler tool is the better tool, also in the sense of resources and budget.

The spectrum ranges from questions of energy efficiency – for example with solar energy and solar thermics – through safety and efficiency issues in control consoles for hydroelectric plants, to innovative robotic arms inspired by grasshopper legs and lobster claws. In Linz, therefore, design is not understood as ‘styling’ or as a discipline for the ‘beautification’ of objects: as a combination of the terms ‘bionics’ and ‘science’, ‘scionic’ stands for an approach that is inspired by nature’s paragons and followed by scientific policy.

The new book by Axel Thallemer and Martin Danzer presents in over twenty chapters extracts of research and project work from the last five years. With selected projects it is possible, via a link to a QR code in the book, to view films and computer animations as well as three-dimensional visuals on mobile devices. Moreover, the virtual content can be viewed, as is usual, on a desktop screen. The devicespecific display is supported by Responsive Web Design.

The author, Professor Axel Thallemer, has been director of the industrial design course in Linz, Austria, since 2004 and has been a visiting professor in the US, China and Taiwan, among others. Repudiating stylistic “prettifying”, the scientific methodology practised in Linz under scionic I.D.E.A.L. leads to the university degree of Diplom-Ingenieur in industrial design at Bachelor and Master levels.