A collection of editorials, interviews, and commentaries on engineering design
Discover the hidden meaning behind common designs! Learn how skeuomorphs—like 10:10 clock settings and 'ancient' phone icons—use old forms to add familiarity, connection, and aesthetic value to modern products.
Snoopy's design evolution from puppy to ace pilot teaches that great design adapts with its story. Learn how Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts icon proves that embracing product innovation and change creates timeless appeal and recognizable charm.
Learn how to write an effective memo with our guide on technical formatting for the workplace, including a discussion of headers, the inverted pyramid body structure, and essential writing tips.
A well-designed card game successfully balances three core elements: progression, randomness, and strategy. This article explores how the interplay and harmony between these fundamental design attributes—which define card games today—can teach us valuable lessons about engineering product development and the continuous process of refinement and trade-offs.
Boost your engineering career with Tony Jewkes! Learn to use LinkedIn as a powerful, keyword-optimized portfolio for discoverability. Tap into your university's influential alumni network to build professional connections and land internships and jobs.
Explore how Minecraft embodies key engineering design principles, including user-centered design, the creative power of constraints, and the importance of iteration and prototyping. Examine in-game experiences alongside real-world examples like the Apollo missions, and learn how players and engineers alike learn to innovate, adapt, and improve through design challenges.
Snoopy's design evolution from puppy to ace pilot teaches that great design adapts with its story. Learn how Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts icon proves that embracing product innovation and change creates timeless appeal and recognizable charm.
Unlock the surprising design history of trick-or-treating. From ancient rituals to suburban planning and trunk-or-treat, discover how design shapes America's favorite Halloween tradition and its future evolution.
Discover which reusable water bottle reigns supreme. Learn from Emelia’s analysis as she compares Stanley Quencher and Owala FreeSip designs, insulation, and features to help you choose your perfect hydration companion.
Boost the impact of your professional writing! Learn how formatting and syntax are critical to capturing attention and reducing reader distractions. Follow style guides, master emphasis (use italics and bold, not underlines), and refine sentence structure for clarity and influence.
Elevate your professional and academic influence with effective writing. Learn the four pillars of writing — narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive — to communicate with clarity and purpose. Discover how strong writing, even in STEM fields, sets you apart by showcasing your competence and personality. This article by Dylan Conover provides practical tips for finding your style, using tasteful adjectives, and proofreading your work for maximum impact.
Welcome to the fourth article in the Design for Manufacturing series! In this article, new BDR Editor Andrew Cousins shares a few insights into how you can integrate joining processes, specifically welding, into your next design project.
Harness the power of AI to transform your study habits. Learn how to use artificial intelligence ethically for brainstorming, outlining, summarizing, and editing to achieve academic success.
Some things are better shown than said. Professor Chris Mattson explains that a portfolio doesn't just claim you have skills—it makes them obvious through compelling, visual evidence. For engineers, a strong design portfolio can become one of the most powerful tools in your early career.
BYU capstone students tackle complex challenges head-on, transforming theory into hands-on innovation, like building a compact noise-testing station for Varex Imaging. Author Amber Glorius interviews capstone coach Robert Cloward to explore how these projects build both skills and confidence.
Published in 2015, Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk offers a fascinating look at the tech mogul’s early successes. Rereading it today reveals how his methods, from maniacal attention to detail to an unwavering worldview, continue to drive his companies forward.
Ansel Adams's iconic landscapes weren't just pretty pictures; they were masterworks of design. This article reveals how Adams's revolutionary principles—from empathy to composition and vision-driven innovation—offer invaluable lessons for engineers seeking to craft impactful solutions.
Journey to Cambodia with Dr. John Salmon to discover the krama, a traditional Cambodian scarf, and its surprising versatility. Learn how this single item, rich in cultural meaning, offers a variety of practical uses, from sun protection to carrying essentials. Explore how the power of design blends beauty, meaning, and utility.
Mission Belt vs. Groove Belt: discover how these modern designs innovate on the classic belt. Explore the Mission Belt's micro-adjust ratchet and the Groove Belt's simple magnetic buckle with authors John Salmon and Dylan Conover.
Rick Rubin's philosophy from The Creative Act offers a mindful approach to engineering design, seeing awareness, listening, and constraint as keys to clarity in product development.
Published in 2015, Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk offers a fascinating look at the tech mogul’s early successes. Rereading it today reveals how his methods, from maniacal attention to detail to an unwavering worldview, continue to drive his companies forward.
Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo… this is the NATO phonetic alphabet. What made this design so enduring that it survived the analog age, and the onset and proliferation of the digital age? Why was this design so universal that it is used throughout the world with only minor regional adaptations?
Welcome to Autumn! The Fall is the season for trees changing their colors, warmer jackets, and career fairs. Don’t miss out on learning about, and preparing for, an important step that can set you up for an amazing career.
Learn to Sketch: Part 1
Lenses to Interpret the Visual Form of Products and Why it Matters
Are we nearing an AI winter? Learn about the Gartner Hype Cycle's Trough of Disillusionment, the stage after the peak of inflated expectations where reality tempers the utopian promises of Artificial Intelligence.
Harness the power of AI to transform your study habits. Learn how to use artificial intelligence ethically for brainstorming, outlining, summarizing, and editing to achieve academic success.
Discover the dangers of overfitting in engineering design and everyday life! From "lucky" paperclips and Thanos's flawed logic to Clippy's demise, learn how optimizing too narrowly can lead to unexpected failures. Mark McDonald reveals why robust solutions require simplification and real-world validation, avoiding the perils of over-optimization.
BYU's Capstone Program reveals how thoughtful design transforms ideas into impactful realities. Learn 14 principles for product designers to create solutions that exceed expectations, from decoding customer needs and embracing systems thinking to iterating early, guarding against scope creep, and designing for manufacturability.
Imagine a world where designers and AI work hand in hand, pushing creative boundaries and optimizing workflows. That future is already here. AI is not a replacement for human ingenuity—it’s a tool that amplifies it, and those who master it will shape the next era of design.
Have you thought about how AI will affect your design work? I’m excited for the ways that AI can facilitate product realization work, and in this article I describe why.
In a spurt of spontaneity, I found myself at BYU’s Cougar Skate event a few weeks back. I’d never been rink skating before, but my previous experiences with inline and ice skating left me with enough confidence that I didn’t look up any tutorials before heading for the Wilkinson Student Center. Though, I think my tailbone would’ve thanked me if I had.
On January 24th, 2023 we asked ChatGPT to be a guest author of the BYU Design Review. This week we discuss the experiment and how ChatGPT performed. If you’ve somehow missed hearing about ChatGPT, here is another chance to learn about a new technology that might become a part of our everyday lives.
ChatGPT is taking over the world!… Or is it? Here is the first article on the BYU Design Review written entirely by an artificial intelligence. No edits were made by a human of any kind. What do you think? Impressive or Over-hyped?
Unlock the surprising design history of trick-or-treating. From ancient rituals to suburban planning and trunk-or-treat, discover how design shapes America's favorite Halloween tradition and its future evolution.
Learn how to design and craft your own piñata—a vibrant centerpiece for any gathering. Discover the rich history of this tradition, from its symbolic 7-point star to modern, fun designs. Follow this step-by-step guide to create a stunning piñata that’s sure to bring joy to your next celebration!
It’s Christmas Season! Read about The Nightmare Before Christmas and why it’s a great movie with some unique and impressive design elements.
If you’re gift shopping for someone you know who is a designer or an engineer, this article is for you. (And if you are that designer or engineer, this article is definitely for you!)
Happy Halloween! Take a look at this year’s Halloween article where Emelia Sunday shares some thoughts on how the engineering design process can help you create your own Halloween costume.
The holidays are coming up, and it’s time for our fourth annual gift list for design engineers!
How does Halloween connect to design? Let’s turn our attention to the intersection of tradition and design. As tradition has affected the celebration of Halloween, so too has tradition affected design practices.
If you’re shopping for a designer or an engineer, this article is for you. If you are a designer or an engineer, this article is also for you.
I learned the hard way that carving a jack-o-lantern takes dedication and planning. I’ve learned a few more lessons from pumpkin carving since then and, in the spirit of Halloween, I’ll share those with you today.
Have you seen the movie Elf? If not, you’re missing out on a good story with some neat applications of forced perspective. The designers of the film did some good design.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic. Fun for kids. Fun for Engineers. Fun for Designers.
Ever thought about the design of Kevin’s booby traps in Home Alone? Consider these critiques before you choose how to defend your home this Christmas…
We raided the engineering first aid kit to help one of our editorial board members deal with the stress of work and finals, but all we found were these memes. Happy April Fools Day from the BYU Design Review!
We should all find an excuse to laugh now and then. The BYU Design Review is not pranking you today, but we did think it timely to take a break from our normal content and bring some smiles to our readers’ faces.
Engineering can be hard… but it’s harder when you aren’t laughing. Happy April Fool’s Day!
This is NOT an April Fools’ Day meme article. Nothing could be further from the truth. Also, ignore the cat.
We don’t always publish memes, but when we do, it’s on April Fool’s day. Celebrate April Fool’s Day with some of our favorite engineering memes!
Take a break from all the bad news (and jokes today) and read…. more jokes! Happy April Fools Day!
Discover the dangers of overfitting in engineering design and everyday life! From "lucky" paperclips and Thanos's flawed logic to Clippy's demise, learn how optimizing too narrowly can lead to unexpected failures. Mark McDonald reveals why robust solutions require simplification and real-world validation, avoiding the perils of over-optimization.
In this second part on optimization, the basics of the genetic algorithm are explored and explained, with an introduction to selection, cross-over, and mutation.
I see optimization all around. But while spending time in nature, I find its expression most beautiful and abundant. Let’s go on a hike together and talk about optimization.
When I came to BYU, I wanted to be the best at something. It didn’t matter what, so long as I was better at it than anyone else at the university. I wasn’t going to be the best juggler at BYU, I was going to be the best joggler at BYU, juggling and jogging at the same time. And I think I did it. Out of everyone I have ever talked to, I am the only one who can run an 8-minute mile while juggling three balls.
Should I optimize my choices or satisfice them? What is satisficing? Find out more about these choices in design and find out how you can become the best in the world at something.
Dr. Nathan Usevitch and his team of students have entered NASA's BIG Idea Challenge competition! Learn about their extraordinary robot and principles of design from this dedicated group of engineers in this article.
Anyone who has designed anything -- whether that be a new medicine, a design method, or even a new recipe -- has faced the question: “Is this better than what I had before?” If you’re just deciding whether or not you like a new recipe, getting an answer is straightforward. If you are in an academic or industrial setting you must also answer an even more important question: “Can I prove that this is better?”
It was my design versus Eric’s. I was confident though; the engineering analysis favored my design. Plus and I was the project lead, and the choice was mine. What could go wrong?
Thank you for being a part of the BYU Design Review! Here are some highlights as we look back at 2019.
There are a lot of reasons to seek a unanimous decision. We do it all the time to be or feel united, avoid hard feelings, increase buy-in, etc. But when the stakes are higher, and the decisions are more complicated and multi-dimensional, the last thing you want is full consensus early on in the decision-making process.
Almost all product development is done in a team setting, owing largely to the strongly held belief that the collective thinking of a group outperforms that of “the lone genius."
There is a time and a place for being a devil's advocate, but those moments can stifle innovation, hurt feelings, and cut off dialogue if not preformed in an acceptable way.
Rick Rubin's philosophy from The Creative Act offers a mindful approach to engineering design, seeing awareness, listening, and constraint as keys to clarity in product development.
Published in 2015, Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk offers a fascinating look at the tech mogul’s early successes. Rereading it today reveals how his methods, from maniacal attention to detail to an unwavering worldview, continue to drive his companies forward.
Walter Isaacson’s Albert Einstein: His Life and Universe presents a nuanced portrait of Einstein, blending his scientific achievements with personal struggles and insights. Dr. John Salmon offers his insights to this must-read for those seeking inspiration from one of history’s greatest minds.
If you want to succeed, you need to get some failures behind you. For anyone interested in how to fail better, fail faster, and fail successfully, Adapt is a great place to start.
While the book, The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelly, is full of useful anecdotes, principles, and tips, there is one timeless principle that I wish more creative people knew and practiced – especially engineers. It’s related to seeking feedback.
The recently published book “Product Development: Principles and Tools for Creating Desirable and Transferable Designs” is a unique addition to design resources available to students and engineering professionals interested in evolving their design ideas from the early stages of opportunity development all the way through to production.
One career that is open to designers and engineers lies in academia. Becoming a professor is no easy task, but Chris Mabey (a past BDR editor) has successfully taken this route. Read on to learn his path and some insights to how you can emulate this journey.
Even though the world is moving fast and perhaps even accelerating, it doesn’t mean we can’t be slow in certain ways. Becoming a slow student may be exactly what we need to do to stay at our peak performance in this fast paced world we live in.
Read some great articles from 2019 you may have missed on the BYU Design Review.
YouTube is a treasure trove for design-related content. Here are a few channels to consider once those Christmas presents have been opened and you’re ready to cozy up and be inspired during Christmas break.
Melancholy. That isn't something I normally feel. Nor is it a state in which I find myself even rarely if at all. In fact, I probably err on the side of optimism and positivity - almost to a fault. A healthy dose of realism does me good from time to time. But I digress. There is at least one event that I still remember where I felt melancholic.
Letter to the Editor
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