Introduction to Engineering Design is a completely novel text covering the basic elements of engineering design for structural integrity. Some of the most important concepts that students must grasp are those relating to 'design thinking' and reasoning, and not just those that relate to simple theoretical and analytical approaches. This is what will enable them to get to grips with *practical* design problems, and the starting point is thinking about problems in a 'deconstructionist' sense.

By analysing design problems as sophisticated systems made up of simpler constituents, and...