About

Engineers have laws that govern how things work, such as the forces of gravity, electricity, and magnetism, and Newton’s laws of motion, which you learn about in physics class. It is impossible to make something that violates any of these fundamental laws, which is why students of engineering must study mathematics, physics, statics, dynamics, and mechanics, amongst other things, in order to practice in the field. Nevertheless, while the laws of physics tell you what you can and cannot do, they don’t tell you what you ought to and ought not to do. The following practical design principles are important ideas to guide you to make the right choices when designing.
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The design principles

Do no harm
Design things that do no harm. Neither the users of your designed artefact should be harmed, nor anyone else. Protect everyone’s health and safety throughout; during the design process, in the making, and in the end product. Never endanger people, and always consider where things might go wrong with the product or system that you are designing, for example if it fails or stops working. Treat all people equally and respect their dignity and privacy. Consider too, people’s psychological wellbeing, do not exploit nor deceive them.

Increase well-being
Design to make the world a better place. There are many ways to achieve this. You can work to improve the human-made world, or to protect and bolster the natural world. You can work to enhance human capabilities, or to serve those who are underserved. Furthermore, you should design artefacts that give access to everyone who needs it. Work to increase happiness and peace of mind. Design things that are easy to use, easy to understand, and informative, so that the human remains in control, and feels so. Design things that reduce or eliminate human error, or that permit humans to make and correct their own errors. Don’t just focus on the designed artefact, think about the big picture too. Think about where, how, why, and by whom, the product or system will be used. Consider everyone who will be affected by the artefact that you are designing, as they are stakeholders. As a designer, you can do better than to appease the self-conceit of a wealthy minority, as the needs of the majority are so much more compelling. Where possible, always design things to favour equality and broaden democracy in society, for example by empowering citizens with knowledge and agency.

Design efficient things
The thing that you design ought to be efficient, which means that it must not waste, neither raw materials nor natural resources, energy, human effort, time, and so forth. Design artefacts that use resources efficiently, and especially, that consume less energy in their construction and in their useful life. Use renewable energy to power your products or systems, where possible, as it is always cheaper and better in the long run. Also, consider ways to reduce human effort and make our work more efficient and tolerable.

Design things to be feasible
Something is feasible if it is attainable, in other words, it can be done. Feasible products and systems are those which can be produced and used without being excessively complicated or too expensive. A product that is only possible using technology that does not yet exist, is simply not feasible. Design things that are affordable to produce and to use. “Affordable to whom?” You may ask. Well, your efforts will certainly be more worthwhile if you produce something to benefit a greater number of people.

Preserve the biosphere
Design artefacts that minimise any impact on the biosphere in their production, useful life, and beyond. Avoid encroaching on the natural world, instead protect and bolster the natural world wherever you can. Forgo the use of materials derived from wild animals, tropical hardwoods, or plants from unsustainable sources. The use of materials from endangered species is out of the question. For the sake of animal welfare, eliminate the use of hides and materials derived from farmed animals. Avoid making things disposable. But if you must, make recyclable products from materials such as paper, card, wood, bamboo, and natural fibres, which are less polluting to the environment than plastic. Minimise the use of energy and precious resources by designing efficient products or services. Avoid things that are powered by burning fuels, such as petrol or diesel engines, and oil- or coal-powered ovens and fireplaces, because their combustion emits carbon dioxide and other noxious gases that pollute and harm the environment. Electrical devices are preferable as they tend to be more efficient, and they can be powered by solar, wind, or hydroelectricity, which are much less damaging to the environment. Consider carefully all the waste material by-products of your designed artefacts.

Express yourself
Always remember that designing is your opportunity to express yourself, and in no trivial way: to have an impact on the world. The artefacts that you design will affect people and alter their lives. Those artefacts will sometimes exist for decades, or even centuries. Therefore, shouldn’t you do your utmost to design artefacts that reflect your ideas, values, and aspirations for humanity and the world at large? When you design for other people, it is as if you are giving them a gift. Do so with understanding, respect, and goodwill.
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Discussion

• ​​​​​​​About doing no harm
  • Can you think of things that are designed to do actual harm?
  • What if you must design a method to exterminate invasive pests? ​​​​​​​Will you be violating a design principle?
• About increasing well-being
  • Can you think of products or services that increase well-being, or those that decrease well-being?
  • Can you think of things that are designed to increase human work?
  • Can you think of designed artefacts that have ignored the needs of some of their stakeholders?
• About designing efficient things
  • Can you think of products or services that are efficient, or those that are inefficient?
• About preserving the biosphere
  • Can you think of products or services that preserve the biosphere, or those that harm the biosphere? Is it possible to design an artefact that does no harm to the biosphere?
• About expressing yourself
  • Can you think of human designed artefacts that have existed for centuries or longer?
  • Can you design artefacts that reflect your ideas, values, and aspirations when you are a designer working for a company?
  • What would you do if your boss asked you to design something that went against your principles?