How do Engineers Randomly Design Something Out of Nothing?

This is a question a past client asked me after I did some product development work for them. Allow me to let you in on a little secret, for me at least, design is not a linear process, I wish it was! It’s not a coincidence that the logo of 2Pi Design is circular (that little chevron symbolises continuous improvement!)

1. Put on your Success Goggles

When I get a new design project, to design something that is completely new to me, I start out by asking questions, get the requirements clear, don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions.

If there was a similar solution designed in the past, I want to learn as much as I can about how it works as well as the things the customer liked and disliked about it.

I want to gather as much information as I can from the customer at the start of the project, because nobody likes that new surprise requirement that pops up when you thought you were just about to cross the finish line.

I’m trying to draw a picture of what success looks like, if I don’t start with that picture, it’s going to be a bumpy road. I have my success goggles on at the start of a project and try to nail down all of the requirements of the design as early in the project as I can.

2. What are the Constraints?

I then try to gather the constraints. This may involve a site visit to take measurements, or working with CAD assemblies of other equipment. For product development, it could be an in-depth discussion with the customer and their target customers.

There are always constraints in design, here are some examples:

Technical Constraints

Functional Constraints

Economic Constraints (Budget)

Time Constraints

Regulatory Constraints

Aesthetic Constraints

Ergonomic Constraints

Sustainability Constraints

Interoperability Constraints

Market Constraints

3. Here’s the secret

You might think all of these constraints sound like a bit of a pain. The secret is, your requirements and your constraints are your friends.

"An artist does his most difficult work when he steps back from the blank canvas and thinks about what he is going to create.” - Michelangelo

When you gather up your requirements and constraints, you are no longer looking at a blank canvas.

4. Inspiration

Sometimes you get lucky, there is somebody in the company that has experience of a similar problem being solved in the past & they share it with you. If you’re really lucky, that person is an engineer that designed the solution and can give you advice. If you haven’t designed something similar before & your customer can’t share any similar products with you, you might have to start looking elsewhere for inspiration. We are surrounded by interesting designs that we often take for granted. The internet is also an amazing resource, also, some of the most elegant solutions come from nature.

5. Design

It might look like I’ve missed a step here, trust me, I haven’t. Start your design by modelling what you know. If you’re designing a piece of equipment that integrates with other equipment, you could start off by putting a model of that equipment into an assembly. You could model it yourself if you can’t get the file. Then you might begin working to satisfy your constraints & requirements. Bring the draft design to 50% completion or until you realise it won’t work.

6. Failure Goggles

Time to do a pre-mortem, try to think of all of the ways your design will fail. Normally, my first design is over-complicated. The more complicated a design is, the more likely it is to fail. The act of creating my first draft design gets me thinking. Usually before I even get it finished, I think of a better, simpler way of solving the problem.

7. Assessment

Will it work?

• Yes, continue with your design 25% closer to completion & return to step 6
• No, return to step 5, put on your success goggles, taking on board everything you’ve learned on your previous attempts & get back to it

Design isn’t a magical thing, there is nothing random about it, the key step to every successful new design is multiple failures, at least for me. It is best to catch these failures before your design is released, to save everyone a lot of headaches. You will be surprised how much your design will improve after an iteration or two.