At the early stages of engineering design, a number of design concepts may be suggested. With a great degree of freedom, making a good choice may be a challenge at this stage. In this study, a simplified evaluation criterion for design concepts is presented based on cost, simplicity and safety. Cost is estimated by the amount of materials and the required level of tolerance. Simplicity is represented by the number of parts, assembly steps, and fasteners. Safety is assessed by the level of potential failure. The proposed criterion is applied to an example design of driving mechanisms for cervical vertebrae massage machine.