Machines grown like forests.

The portfolio of a systems illustrator and architect.

Ümair Zia writes and illustrates stories of how nature has inspired human-made technology. He teaches architecture at the National College of Arts in Lahore, holds an MA in Sequential Design and Illustration from Brighton, and has written two books that begin with trees. His portfolio is set out like a folio of numbered plates: each section is a sheet, every drawing carries a figure caption, and the key to the opening drawing doubles as the navigation. Every drawing can be magnified in place or opened full size, and each Nature Gadget invention switches between its render and its patent drawing. IM Fell English, Alegreya Sans and B612 Mono sit on alternating ink and paper grounds with a single gold accent, and the whole page is designed for the phone as well as the desktop.