During the period spanning 1964 to 1986, market design emerged as a cohesive research program anchored in mechanism design and market microstructure, emphasizing how rules and information structure shape efficiency and price discovery. The work fused models with a continuum of traders and signaling frameworks to illuminate how allocations align with competitive equilibria and how information asymmetries influence price formation, spreads, and venue design. Researchers adopted formal models and equilibrium analysis to uncover robust design principles applicable to financial and commodity markets, auctions, and contract settings.