A computerized layout system based on a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) technique was developed to treat both facility layout and instrument panel layout problems. This layout system attempts to allocate various facilities under multiple layout criteria including qualitative design objectives. Since most of the design objectives can be understood as constraints which the layout solution must satisfy to improve the goodness of the solution, a CSP technique was employed to solve the multi-constraints layout problem. The effectiveness of the system was evaluated by the comparison with the well-known facility layout program, CORELAP. Furthermore, the proposed system can also be applied to the instrument panel layout problem successfully. Several user-centered guidelines were well reflected on the solution obtained. CONSLAY, the prototype layout system being developed in the research, greatly enhanced the interactions with the designer so as to deal with the problem-dependent nature of the layout problem and to properly reflect the domain-specific knowledge of the designer.