This criteria is directly from the prompt, or the object at hand. This is best understood with pre-design and characteristic collection.

This is the criteria that is defined from the prompt or from the client

This list is in no way all-inclusive, but here are things that can be included in a project or could be considered: light, sound, stairs, passive design, nature, form, function, wood, metals, history, vegetation, topography, active design, essence, moisture, wind, loading, ecosystems.

These can be grouped into areas as general topics: urban design, sustainable design, context, site, climate, client needs, program, programme, community involvement, technology, building technologies, materials, structure, code, other regulations.

This has three main ideas:

The object: this is the thing that is being designed and the characteristics that are associated with it.

The subject: the person that is designing or contributing to the design of the object. this includes the processes that are used to design the object or project at hand.

The matter: the characteristics or properties of the design independent of the form of the project.