Using architectural design as a model, the article discusses the process of evaluation design. Like the architect, the evaluator faces a problem of finding forms that best fit a partially defined set of contextual demands. The context is the set of all factors which made demands upon the final design form. Like the architect, the evaluator's design comes out of an analysis of the context. The evaluator's working plan corresponds to the architect's sketches. The form and the product of evaluation design are not really physical. The ultimate work is to communicate, inform, educate, inspire or to produce a beneficial impact upon the appropriate people. By constantly monitoring what is happening during the evaluation, the evaluator can continually update the working plan and flexibly adjust the design to respond to what is needed. Out of the general nature of the design process, the following guidelines are extracted: (1) begin by not knowing what to do; (2) begin with what is happening; (3) work from the general to the specific; (4) use both analytic and integrative modes of thinking; (5) formulate general questions to guide the evaluation; (6) use evaluation methods flexibly; and (7) monitor, recycle, and rethink. (JAZ)