This article presents an idea that has high influenced my way of thinking about design. The article is centered on ideation and focuses primarily on how to do it well. It introduces the concept of design space, design exploration, and the trade off curve.
Why would you undertake a deep study of engineering design, or the design process, when you could go about design on your own and learn from your own experience? There is value to be gained from studying design, and I want to add my own take on why studying design is an important complement to hands-on experience.
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.
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.
The basketball has had a uniform design for almost 100 years. What happens when a major sporting goods company decides that it is finally time for a change? The R&D team at Wilson put their minds together and came up with a pretty ingenious design.
On this 14th of March, we hope you have a happy Pi Day! Celebrate the holiday this year by applying one of these principles to a project you are working on.
Making a lasting change is my biggest goal in life, and I hope to share in this article the things that I have learned about how to be an engineer with impact. In voicing what has helped me to be more impactful in my undergraduate career up to this point, I hope you can gain more insight into what you can do from day to day to do the same.
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.
I let AI render my hand sketches, and in the end I am simultaneously amazed and sorely frustrated. Generative AI has its place, and preparing this article helped me learn when and were to expect value out of this powerful tool. In this article, I share various examples (good and bad), describe the software I used, list 4 ways this kind of AI is powerful, and give several tips on trying to use it in your own work.
In an article published a few weeks ago, I gave a brief overview of a variety of manufacturing processes. Now, I will further discuss the first set of processes – subtractive machining.
It was well after midnight, when one of the engineers woke violently from his sleep. He and a fellow engineer had wired the rocket motor firing circuit that evening, and through a miracle, he now realized that he had installed the two wires to the circuit BACKWARDS.
Submit a short essay to the BYU Design Review and compete for cash prizes! If you’ve ever used a product (very likely) and wanted to make it better in some way, you already have an idea for your essay to write! Submit by March 30th, 2024.
The idea of solving a maze backwards is an example of what I consider the most powerful thinking technique out there: inversion. Inversion means flipping the problem on its head; you look at the opposite of the problem you actually want to solve, and then you use the insights you gain to help answer the original question.
Relatively simple things can be done to liven up your sketches. This article presents a number of common techniques to try.
Every year, our editorial team picks some articles to give one more special shout out. These articles from 2023 inspired us, changed our perspective, or taught us something new. It’s also exciting that four of the five authors below all published their first article on the BDR in 2023. If you missed one of these articles, go give it a read!
Make sure you caught all of our most read articles, and learn a little more about who reads the BYU Design Review.
It’s now December and we’re entering “the most wonderful time of the year.” It’s also time for my annual analysis of a Christmas movie. Today I want to share some interesting facts and thoughts about The Polar Express. I’ll also share lessons I believe we as designers can take from this movie.
As designers, we should be aware of as many manufacturing processes as possible. The more processes we know about, the more effectively we are able to manufacture a good product. This article will provide you with a short list of processes in which you can find inspiration for how to best make your product.
The holidays are coming up, and it’s time for our fourth annual gift list for design engineers!
You, as the designer, want people to like your work. Especially if you have already done the work. And especially if you have reason to believe your idea is what’s best. But familiarity and comfort remain, for better or for worse, critical considerations in product design.
