How treaty limits stimulated ship design

Did naval treaties have a positive effect on ship design?

Yes; efforts to work around the limits generated useful and innovative designs.

Treaty restrictions could improve ship design. Fixed limits forced naval architects and staffs to identify which capabilities mattered most inside a legal category. Working around the rules encouraged unusual arrangements and more disciplined tradeoffs among speed, weapons, protection, and displacement. Some results were compromises, while others became useful innovations that might not have emerged without external pressure. Treaties acted as design stimuli as well as political constraints.