Design
What the domain covers
Design tests the iterative process used to turn needs into solutions: problem definition, specification, idea generation, modeling, testing, and communication. Expect items on criteria and constraints, trade-offs, prototypes, and intellectual property.
Core rules
- The design process is iterative, not linear: testing often sends you back to redefine the problem or generate new alternatives.
- Criteria are goals the solution should meet; constraints are limits it must satisfy (budget, time, materials, codes, ergonomics).
- Optimization means best performance under constraints; every design involves trade-offs.
- Divergent thinking generates many alternatives; convergent thinking narrows them against criteria.
- Models include mathematical, computer, and physical; prototypes are testable representations, not necessarily final products.
- Patents protect novel, useful, nonobvious inventions; copyright protects expression; trademarks protect source identifiers; trade secrets protect confidential information.
Worked example
Design a daypack for hikers. Criteria: 25 L capacity, comfortable harness, water resistance. Constraints: retail cost at most $40, mass at most 1.2 kg, manufacturable on existing sewing lines. Brainstorm several layouts; screen against criteria; build a prototype; test with loaded hikes; measure strap pressure and leakage; revise. A novel load-distribution frame could be patented; the logo is a trademark; the instruction manual text is copyrighted.
Traps that cost marks
Skipping problem definition and jumping to a favorite solution; treating constraints as criteria; claiming a design is optimized without stating the criterion; and confusing a prototype with a mockup or a patent with a copyright.