EGR 117: Engineering Design I - Design Thinking Keeping a Design Notebook

A page from Leonardo da Vinci's "Atlanticus Codex" on waterwheels and Archimedean screws, c. 1478-1519.
Photo is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

An engineering design notebook is a place for you to keep all of your questions, thoughts, discoveries, and work as you go through the design process. This is intended to be a chronological record of your progress and is considered a legal document. That means that your design notebook should be written in ink and nothing should ever be erased! This notebook can be kept digitally or physically.

For more great information, you can check out chapter 21 of the following book, "Introduction to Engineering Design."

Things You MUST Do:

• Write in ink (if you're keeping a paper notebook)
• Notebook should be bound, not in a spiral notebook or a 3-ring binder - you should not be able to remove or add pages (if you're keeping a paper notebook)
• Date all of your pages
• Record directly in your notebook - don't copy notes from elsewhere later!

Things You SHOULD Do:

• Keep a table of contents at the front of your notebook
• Number all of your pages
• Sign each page (important if this is to be used as a legal document)
• Tape or staple printed documents into your notebook - for a digital notebook, you can directly embed links and videos
• Label each entry so that a reader can understand what you're working on
• For digital notebooks, consider making your document password protected

Things You CAN Do:

• Create templates - especially if you're keeping a digital notebook, design layouts that you'll use over and over for the same type of entry!
• Keep a daily log - even if you aren't making huge progress on a project each day, get in the habit of recording a few thoughts or questions you'd like to pursue later
• Use graph paper or dotted paper to make sketching, drawing, and working problems easier
• Ask your professor or research mentor to occasionally evaluate your notebook for constructive criticism

For more information, you can check out this example of an engineering design notebook description of how it should be kept and how it will be judged for the annual VEX Robotics Competition.

Additionally, here is an article by Prof. Todd R. Kelley at Purdue University about keeping a good engineering notebook and why it matters.

Keep all of your thoughts in one place

• Sketches and drawings
• Interviews
• Contact information for relevant professionals
• Design requirements and constraints
• Notes about sources you plan to use
• Questions or concerns about your project
• Project meeting notes

Easy to share with group members

Legal proof of invention and/or discovery for patents

Source of great information for writing reports