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Previous research has demonstrated the benefit of higher levels of cognitive style diversity and task-specific self-efficacy beliefs on team performance in complex tasks. This study aims to add to this growing body of literature by exploring the effects of both cognitive diversity and the self-efficacy beliefs of design teams on final design solutions. The final designs produced by 55 student design teams in a junior-level mechanical engineering course were analyzed, and measures of team-level cognitive diversity and task-specific self-efficacy beliefs were collected. Results indicate that higher cognitive diversity and aggregate engineering design self-efficacy levels of design teams significantly impact final design characteristics; aggregate creative self-efficacy had no effect on design characteristics. Highlights • Data from 55 student design teams and final designs compared. • Higher levels of cognitive diversity significantly affect final designs. • Aggregate engineering design self-efficacy significantly affect final designs. • Aggregate creative self-efficacy did not significantly affect final designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]