--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think of what I do as copying nature's…" description: "\"I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.\" — Frances Arnold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg" --- # I think of what I do as copying nature's design process. ![“I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.” quote by Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg) > “I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.” [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Her work mimics natural evolutionary processes to engineer solutions. **In simple terms:** Copy nature’s design method. Key Takeaway Apply biomimicry in innovation. Themes innovation biology engineering Mood inspirational technical Type science creativity When to use this quote - product development - research methodology Key Concepts evolutionary design biomimicry Questions to Reflect On - What natural processes inspire your work? - How can biomimicry improve sustainability? A Different Perspective Nature’s complexity may be hard to replicate fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Copying Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copying-nature-877958/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Design process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design-process/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-design-1325295/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Copying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-copying-688221/) ## Related quotes > [Ant & Dec have always nicked stuff off us. We met their writers, they said they just trawl our stuff and adapt it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-reeves/ant-dec-have-always-nicked-stuff-off-us-we-met-their-writers-they/) [Vic Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-reeves/) > [Design means being good, not just looking good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-mok/design-means-being-good-not-just-looking-good/) [Clement Mok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-mok/) > [The design process, at its best, integrates the aspirations of art, science, and culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-smith/the-design-process-at-its-best-integrates-the-aspirations-of-art/) [Jeff Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-smith/) > [The nature of design is to synthesize disparate perspectives and create a richer end product through collaboration and iteration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-martin-skibsted/the-nature-of-design-is-to-synthesize-disparate-perspectives-and/) [Jens Martin Skibsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-martin-skibsted/) > [In a democracy only will the freeman of nature design to dwell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/in-a-democracy-only-will-the-freeman-of-nature-design-to-dwell/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“David W. Orr writes, in The Nature of Design, “We are losing the capacity to say what we really mean and ultimately to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/david-w-orr-writes-in-the-nature-of-design-we-are-losing-the-capacity/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [I looked long and carefully at the picture of a stag painted by Landseer - the style was good, and the brush was handled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/i-looked-long-and-carefully-at-the-picture-of-a-stag-painted-by/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [A mediocre man copying nature will never produce a work of art, because he really looks without seeing, and though he may have noted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/a-mediocre-man-copying-nature-will-never-produce-a-work-of-art/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [Art does not lie in copying nature.- Nature furnishes the material by means of which is to express a beauty still unexpressed in nature.-The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/art-does-not-lie-in-copying-nature-nature-furnishes-the-material-by/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I'm trying to create architecture as landscape. But I'm not copying nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/i-m-trying-to-create-architecture-as-landscape-but-i-m-not-copying/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [Out in the sun, some painters are lined up. The first is copying nature, the second is copying the first, the third is copying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/out-in-the-sun-some-painters-are-lined-up-the-first-is-copying-nature/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [You are not copying nature, but responding to nature in full awareness, to the way nature expresses itself in that object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/you-are-not-copying-nature-but-responding-to-nature-in-full-awareness/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [By far the most difficult skill I learned as a C.E.O. was the ability to manage my own psychology. Organizational design, process design, metrics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/by-far-the-most-difficult-skill-i-learned-as-a-c-e-o-was-the-ability/) [Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/) > [And just when we were at the end of our design process there was the news that the Italian government and the U.S. government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-guidoni/and-just-when-we-were-at-the-end-of-our-design-process-there-was-the/) [Umberto Guidoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-guidoni/) > [ \[While designing\] I'm mixing two lines of thought really: me as a designer for women and then me as a man. At the start… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/while-designing-i-m-mixing-two-lines-of-thought-really-me-as-a/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) ## More by Frances Arnold > [The real frontier is making these hybrid systems where you expand the capabilities of biology with chemistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/the-real-frontier-is-making-these-hybrid-systems-where-you-expand-the/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Instead of studying what biology has already made, we have to imagine what biology could make. You can say, 'Oh, I want a cure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/instead-of-studying-what-biology-has-already-made-we-have-to-imagine/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [We are going to see a steady stream, I predict, of Nobel prizes coming out of chemistry and given to women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/we-are-going-to-see-a-steady-stream-i-predict-of-nobel-prizes-coming/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [I decided that I wanted to become an engineer of the biological world, specifically a protein engineer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-decided-that-i-wanted-to-become-an-engineer-of-the-biological-world/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [There's plenty of ordinary Nobel laureates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/there-s-plenty-of-ordinary-nobel-laureates/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [When I started engineering proteins I didn't know how hard it would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/when-i-started-engineering-proteins-i-didn-t-know-how-hard-it-would-be/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [I get these students who come in and say, I want to help people. I say, people get plenty of help. Why don't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-get-these-students-who-come-in-and-say-i-want-to-help-people-i-say/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Pittsburgh was a wonderful place to grow up - diverse and complex, one could go from one culture to a completely different one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/pittsburgh-was-a-wonderful-place-to-grow-up-diverse-and-complex-one/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [I wanted to rewrite the code of life, to make new molecular machines that would solve human problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-wanted-to-rewrite-the-code-of-life-to-make-new-molecular-machines/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [I was used to being the only woman in everything... I didn't even think about it. Men were my role models - there's nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-was-used-to-being-the-only-woman-in-everything-i-didn-t-even-think/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [I feel a responsibility to encourage everyone to excel in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-feel-a-responsibility-to-encourage-everyone-to-excel-in-science/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [To survive and even thrive in a changing world, nature offers another great lesson: the survivors are those who at the least adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/to-survive-and-even-thrive-in-a-changing-world-nature-offers-another/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Enzymes are masters of chemistry. They evolved over billions of years to perform specific biological functions. They make complex materials with virtually no waste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/enzymes-are-masters-of-chemistry-they-evolved-over-billions-of-years/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [This innovation machine that's evolution, we can use it to do all sorts of interesting things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/this-innovation-machine-that-s-evolution-we-can-use-it-to-do-all/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Cellulose has physical and chemical properties that make it difficult to access and difficult to break down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/cellulose-has-physical-and-chemical-properties-that-make-it-difficult/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) [Explore all 100 Frances Arnold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) ## More Design quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) [Fang Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fang-chen/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Arnold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s-design-process/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s-design-process/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/frances-arnold-5774_design_i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s_2944588.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.” — Frances Arnold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frances Arnold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think of what I do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s-design-process/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s-design-process/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```