What is design? A framework for design methodology

Abstract Teaching design should be based upon a theoretical framework for design methodology. This requires well a defined terminology and paradigms that can be put into practice in an educational environment. This paper attempts to provide a possible answer to this problem. Introduction In this paper we will discuss a conceptual framework which might be used in order to understand what designing actually means. This framework has been proven to be very useful in setting up a teaching program in design for electrical engineering students. However, it might very well be applied in other fields of engineering and even beyond. It will be necessary to define a number of terms and introduce a paradigm for design methodology