A technique is discussed for selecting the closed-loop pole locations in the state or output feedback problem. The damping is the only parameter that is allowed to vary. The geometric interpretation of this is that each closed-loop pole is constrained to lie on a circular arc whose radius corresponds to that pole’s open-loop undamped natural frequency. An analytic approach is then proposed to compute the required state and output feedback gain. The method is based on a sensitivity analysis of the closed-loop eigenvalues to each gain element. An Euler–Bernoulli pinnedbeamexample is used to demonstrate the procedure. Thisnew formulationoffers insight into the uniqueness issue in state design, the possibility of state eigenstructure assignability, and the limited pole placement in output design from a linear algebra context.