Inherently Safer Design (ISD) is an approach for making the development, manufacturing, and use of chemicals safer. This article will present a summary overview of ISD and its elements of minimize, substitute, moderate, and simplify. In addition, a life cycle approach will be shown to give the most effective use of ISD as well as other risk mitigation methods and strategies. (C) 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 29: 389-392, 2010