This course presents several methods and ideas in the optical design process to create innovative lens arrangements including practical rules to produce them. Designing approaches are demonstrated in demanding design examples from the visible up to the longwave IR-region apart from the classical database study. The cost-effective lens design considers the paraxial check to combine application constraints like imaging device, field of view, available space, and pupil position. Limits in Kinoform application are discussed. Newly created first order relations respect specific work conditions like depth of field, chromatic correction, field curvature and further wide field constrains. During the optimization process, the adaption of the Merit function to the actual optimization goal determines the speed of the design progress. The replacement of expensive glasses and tolerance studies are demonstrated. Some lens design examples are: Conoscopic 130°-lens for monocular and binocular AR- and VR-inspection, Limits of singlet designs in LWIR-imaging, Principles of passive athermalization, MWIR-recognition range lens, and LWIR-wide field-lenses with and without distortion.