<p>The biological world has mastered the ability to self-heal through autonomous methods, but our understanding of this capability is limited. However, in the last thirty years the field of self-healing materials has made considerable progress by demonstrating a number of viable synthetic self-healing material concepts, but transferring those concepts from the laboratory to everyday products is still a challenge. The research that follows defines a complex problem-solving approach to the design of a synthetic self-healing material. Utilising the theoretical underpinnings of domain subjects, knowledge and understanding are brought together within a complex problem-solving framework. Associating the primary and secondary domains through functional similarities, provides a basis for “materials system design”.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>