1. An article of manufacture, comprising tangible digital media upon which a representation of constraints pertaining to the design of an object are stored, the constraints being used in the following process: a) receiving, in digital form: (i) a plurality of constraints on a design of a product, (ii) a specification of a plurality of subdesign processes into which a design process, for creating the design, will be divided, the design process being conducted using a computer processing system, wherein one of the subdesign processes searches for solutions using a first type of solver, and another of the subdesign processes searches for solutions using a second, distinct type of solver, and (iii) a sequence of a first, a second, and a third subdesign process; b) selecting in the first subdesign process a candidate solution for the second subdesign process; and c) evaluating the candidate solution for the second subdesign process, including: (i) evaluating at least one candidate solution for the third subdesign process, and (ii) rejecting the candidate solution for the second subdesign process if each of the candidate solutions for the third subdesign process respectively violates at least one of the constraints.