Movers & Shakers: Denny Royal, principal and design practice leader at Azul 7

Denny Royal is helping clients draw on 3.8 billion years of evolution to address service, design and business challenges as principal and design practice leader at Azul 7, a Minneapolis-based human-centered design consultancy.

Royal is one of a handful of the world's designers with a master of science degree and professional certification in biomimicry, an approach to innovation that looks to nature for sustainable solutions.

"Biomimicry is the conscious emulation of nature's genius," said Royal, attributing that definition to Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, whose book "Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature," popularized the term.

Royal is working to integrate biomimicry into Azul 7's human-service design practice, which focuses on the needs and context of users to improve service experiences and develop digital products and business solutions. Royal completed two years of full-time study while still working to earn his degree from Arizona State University and ­receive Biomimicry 3.8 certification.

Royal, who has a background in design research, customer experience, branding, design and technology, joined Azul 7 in 2010. He has worked with co-founder Lisa Helminiak to shift its focus from digital marketing to product and service design with clients including health care and governmental organizations. Azul 7 is registered as a B Corporation under the state's Public Benefits Corporation Act, committing to paying fair wages, lessening its environmental impact and buying goods and services locally.

Q: What drew you to study biomimicry?

A: I'm always researching different innovations, methods and tools that we can bring to bear on our client work. Nature has solved most of the same problems that we as a species are interested in solving. (With biomimicry) I can do design and be out in nature. These are my two favorite things.

A: A client will say they have "X" business need. We'll go to the field and see if that need is what they think it is. Our work is very much based on the unmet needs of the users on the other side of the thing. Design thinking and human-centered design are awesome at finding unmet needs, and that's what we should be designing for.

Q: How does empathy, identified as a guiding principle at Azul 7, shape your work?

A: This is where human-centered design and biomimicry come into play. I believe in empathy for the human beings that I'm designing for, but I want to push that. How am I empathetic for all the organisms around there?