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The word “design” is a concept that is becoming increasingly popular in scientific literature, in industry, and in people’s daily lives in general. However, despite its importance, there is no consensus on its meaning. Both in theory and in practice, there are multiple and diverse definitions, which should be made consistent to facilitate exchanges and collaboration between all parties involved. This article seeks to identify and compare existing design concepts in the scientific literature. A bibliometric study of the word “design” was carried out, taking into account the three types of design proposed by van Aken (2004): object design, plan design, and process design. The results of this study show that the concept of design has evolved over time from an object and process design perspective to a plan design and design theorization perspective.