An integrated circuit is designed to improve yield when manufacturing the
integrated circuit, by obtaining a design element from a set of design
elements used in designing integrated circuits. A variant design element
is created based on the obtained design element, where a feature of the
obtained design element is modified to create the variant design element.
A yield to area ratio for the variant design element is determined. If
the yield to area ratio of the variant design element is greater than a
yield to area ratio of the obtained design element, the variant design
element is retained to be used in designing the integrated circuit.