Layered architecture

Partition a complex program into layers. Develop a design within each layer that is cohesive and that depends only on the layers below. Follow standard architectural patterns to provide loose coupling to the layers above. Concentrate all the code related to the domain model in one layer and isolate it from the user interface, application, and infrastructure code. The domain objects, free of the responsibility of displaying themselves, storing themselves, managing application tasks, and so forth, can be focused on expressing the domain model. This allows a model to evolve to be rich enough and clear enough to capture essential business knowledge and put it to work.

The domain layer is where the model lives

The domain model is a set of concepts. The "domain layer" is the manifestation of that model and all directly related design elements. The design and implementation of business logic constitute the domain layer. In a MODEL-DRIVEN DESIGN, the software constructs of the domain layer mirror the model concepts.

It is not practical to achieve that correspondence when the domain logic is mixed with other concerns of the program. Isolating the domain implementation is a prerequisite for domain-driven design.

Eric Evans, "Isolating the Domain", in Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software, 70-71, 75.