  This paper describes an optimisation methodology that has been specifically
developed for engineering design problems. The methodology is based on a Tabu
search (TS) algorithm that has been shown to find high quality solutions with a
relatively low number of objective function evaluations. Whilst the methodology
was originally intended for a small range of design problems it has since been
successfully applied to problems from different domains with no alteration to
the underlying method. This paper describes the method and its application to
three different problems. The first is from the field of structural design, the
second relates to the design of electromagnetic pole shapes and the third
involves the design of turbomachinery blades.
