What is the difference between a typical design process and an optimization process?

A typical design process involves reevaluating and making changes until you're satisfied, but it's not an optimization process. In optimization, we first formulate a specific problem with defined objectives and constraints. The computer then automatically evaluates these objectives, checks if optimality criteria have been met, and updates design variables accordingly. This automated process continues, potentially thousands of times, until optimality criteria are achieved, rather than stopping when the designer is satisfied or tired of making changes.