Alternate Definitions for Inverse design

Not a great term at first glance. The inverse of design should be chaos or spontaneous shapes forming from stochastic processes. However, the term Inverse Design should be seen as Design as an Inverse Problem. Inverse Problems in science, are also not great terms. The inverse of a problem should be a solution, as a solution is what "undoes" the problem. However, we just have to accept that Inverse Problem is a scientific term. In science, Inverse Problems refers to problems where a parameterized model is given and a target model state or behavior is desired and the objective is to adjust parameters such that the model achieves the target state. Inverse Design thus means designing an object given a parameterized model and a target state or behavior by updating the model parameters.

The shape was generated through an inverse design process.

Inverse design is the process by which a structure is designed by first defining its desired properties, and then creating a mathematical model to determine the required shape, size, material or other characteristics to achieve those properties.

inverse design is in contrast to traditional design processes which start with known structural geometry and materials and attempt to check its strength and stability in relation to a given application.

Given a set of input parameters and a function that outputs the response of a structure, inverse design is the process of estimating adequate values of the input parameters such that the response of the structure meets target properties prescribed a priori. By creating a mapping from outputs to inputs, inverse design thus reverses the conventional forward analysis process wherein one obtains the response of a structure given some input parameter values (a mapping from inputs to outputs).

One should note though that the term "inverse design" can be redundant as the term "design" alone already implies the solution of an "inverse" problem per se.

Consider a simply unsupported beam subject to a uniformly distributed load with some material and cross-section properties. A forward analysis statement yields: "The midspan deflection of this 100x400 mm timber beam is 90mm". In contrast, an inverse design process would render that: "We need a 200x600 beam made of steel to achieve the 20 mm deflection goal specified by the local building code".

Inverse design is the design process that starts with target properties of a design and then finds the values of suitable design parameters that satisfies the target properties. It is different from the traditional "forward" design process where we start with some values of design parameters and then evaluate the properties.

In architectrual design, it is common to be encountered with inverse design problems where expected geometries are prespecified as targets.