Presented at American Society Mechanical Eng. Design Conference, Columbus, Ohio, October 5-8 (1986). "The process of engineering design is discussed in its context of so- ciety and industry. Activities designing and management are identi- fied. General properties of designed artifacts are reviewed. Exis- ting knowledge about design processes and methods are surveyed. A theory is briefly reviewed that describes technical systems as the de- signed artifacts, and the design processes that engineers use to..."