The following link outlines a very interesting view of what design is all about; check it out: http://www.slideshare.net/seilamgoh/what-is-design/. This artful and very valid characterization of design comes from the design community's point-of-view. But... what does design mean within the context of product development?

We start by 'geekizing' the concept of design as follows...

"Design could be viewed as an activity that translates an idea into a blueprint for something useful, whether it's a car, a building, a graphic, a service or a process. The important part is the translation of the idea, though design's ability to spark the idea in the first place shouldn't be overlooked."¹

The key term here is blueprint.

But, in the context of this discussion 'design' for us will mean 'product design' where 'product' is defined as:

"...all goods, services, processes and knowledge sold. Products are bundles of qualities (single characteristics of features, benefits, and uses) and functions and can be either tangible, as in the case of physical goods or intangible, as in the case of those associated with service benefits, or can be a combination of the two."²

Paraphrasing and combining the previous definitions:

Product design is the translation of an idea into a blueprint that can be used to implement useful goods, services, processes and knowledge sold.

Now...how about the meaning of review...

Review is to examine something with an eye to criticism or correction.

Some use the term evaluation (as in design evaluation)...

Evaluation is to ascertain or fix the value or worth of, or to examine and judge carefully.

Some use the term appraise (as in design appraisal)...

Appraise is to assess for the purpose of examining a subject and rating it based on its important features.

Whatever term is used, the end result is to "determine how much or how little we value something, arriving at our judgment on the basis of criteria that we can define". We'll stick with the term review.

Thus... within our context of product development:

A Product Design Review is the process of examining a product design (i.e., the result of translating an idea into a blueprint for useful goods, services, processes and knowledge sold) with an eye to criticism or correction of the value of features, benefits, uses, and functions describedin the design concept. The design review's purpose is to check that the design solution is in accordance with the original design objectives and to ensure that pertinent standards are met, and there is 'agreeable alignment' among all participating stakeholders, with an envisioned business case and with legal and marketing goals.

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¹ http://www.hku.hk/bse/interdisciplinary/what_is_design.pdf
² The Product Development Management Association Handbook, 1st Edition - and http://www.techmankanata.com/ar-77-pg-1/Quality-vs-Reliability-from-a-Product.htm