Colin Ledsome CEng FIED explains how a better understanding of the structure underlying all solid objects can help across the whole spectrum of design. All the different types of designers of physical products have their own reasons for defining the products they design. A chemical engineer defines pipework and pressure vessels, selects pumps and valves, analyses chemical reactions and energy use, and designs the structures to contain and support them. They all consist of solid objects with different shapes and properties. A dress designer considers the ways materials will drape and move and how they can be cut and sewn to produce a desirable result for the wearer; but they are defining shapes of flexible materials and the relationships between them. All designers of products, for whatever underlying reasons, spend their time defining solid objects in some way. The skill of design is, at heart, based on an understanding of the way solid materials behave and an ability to use that understanding to produce a desirable result. What makes a solid into a solid is its ability to resist attempts to deform it, ie, its structure. Thus all product and engineering designers are, in effect, designers of structure.
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