Novel universal correlations between total heat exchange potential and coupled irreversible wall friction head loss derived from recognized correlations for the friction factor and conventional heat transfer coefficient in turbulent regimes, under operating conditions typical of efficient heat exchanger design practice, are reviewed. The universal dimensionless correlations are then applied to solve numerical heat exchanger design problems in order to illustrate the usefulness and simplicity of the proposed unified analytical treatment, derive more general solutions for the common gases and vapors at low reduced pressures, and provide a thermodynamic interpretation of the proposed semiempirical universal correlations. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further extensions of practical interest to the equipment and systems designer, including research in areas of (in)stability phenomena as well as somewhat more general and exotic applications.