Designs in the past involved a bird (8)
I believe the answer is:
patterns
'designs' is the definition.
('pattern' can be a synonym of 'design')
'in the past involved a bird' is the wordplay.
'in the' indicates putting letters inside.
'involved' indicates anagramming the letters.
'a bird' becomes 'tern' (tern is a kind of bird**).
'past' is an anagram of 'pats'.
'pats' placed around 'tern' is 'PATTERNS'.
(Other definitions for patterns that I've seen before include "Repeated decorative designs" , "Guides for making something" , "Models for making things" , "'Models, blueprints (8)'" , "Designs, shapes" .)