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Home › IB Diploma Programme › IB Design Technology
IB DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
IB Design Technology tutor for the new 2027 course, SL and HL
Design technology (D&T) asks you to think like a designer and answer like an engineer, often in the same question. IB Learning Star offers online IB Design Technology tutoring for the Diploma course first assessed in 2027, at SL and HL. One-on-one lessons run live on Google Meet at times that suit your time zone, and your first class is a free trial.
SL and HL
New 2027 course
One-on-one on Google Meet
Free trial class
WHERE MARKS GO
Why strong Design Technology students still lose marks
D&T rewards students who can make things and explain them. The marks leak in a few predictable places.
1
Treating Paper 2 as a general design essay.
Paper 2 is built around one product that is analysed in detail. Students who write what they know about design, instead of what the product in front of them shows, lose the marks that sit in the specific details.
2
Knowing the topics but not the numbers.
Ergonomics, materials and sustainability questions often need a figure used correctly, such as a percentile, a ratio or a stage of a life cycle. Many students revise the words and skip the working.
3
A design project on a problem that is too simple, or a solution that is too big.
The guide warns that a simple problem with an overly complex solution is unlikely to reach the higher bands. The product and the user need to be matched to the course.
4
Models that are never tested.
The project asks for several rounds of model, test and refine, with feedback from the intended user. A good-looking final model with no testing behind it earns little in the criteria for ideation and for designing a solution.
5
Going over the limits.
The report has a cap of 35 pages and 3,500 words, and every annotation is limited to ten words. Over-long work loses marks, and material placed only in an appendix is not read.
6
At HL, treating the systems and manufacturing topics as extras.
Structural, mechanical and electronic systems, manufacturing techniques and production systems are examined in Papers 1 and 2, and they feed the project.
We work on these from the first lesson, using your own class notes, your recent answers and the product or project your school has chosen.
Our tutors are certified IBDP tutors or have completed IBDP training, at least IB Category 2 workshops, and they teach in IB schools.
This page describes the course first examined in 2027. We will update it if the IB publishes a new guide.
THE COURSE
What the new Design Technology course covers: three areas and, at HL, eleven more topics
D&T is the IB’s subject for students who like to design, test and build. It sits in the sciences group. The syllabus is organised in three areas, design in theory (A), design in practice (B) and design in context (C), and it runs along four threads that cut across them: people, process, product and production. Every part of the course connects to the design thinking process, which is iterative: you go back and repeat stages as new information arrives.
The recommended teaching time is 150 hours at SL and 240 at HL. The hours are below.
Part | SL hours | HL hours |
|---|---|---|
A Design in theory | 33 | 71 |
B Design in practice | 44 | 77 |
C Design in context | 13 | 32 |
Syllabus content subtotal | 90 | 180 |
Experimental programme (design project 50, collaborative sciences project 10) | 60 | 60 |
Total | 150 | 240 |
Design in theory (A) covers ergonomics, user-centred research methods, prototyping techniques and the classification and properties of materials. At HL it adds structural, mechanical and electronic systems and manufacturing techniques. Design in practice (B) covers user-centred design, the design process, modelling and prototyping, and material selection. At HL it adds the application and selection of structural, mechanical and electronic systems, and production systems. Design in context (C) covers the responsibility of the designer, inclusive design, design for sustainability, the circular economy and product analysis. At HL it adds beyond usability, life-cycle analysis and design for manufacture strategies.
The theory and practice areas are paired. Prototyping techniques in A connects to modelling and prototyping in B, and materials in A connects to material selection in B. We teach them in pairs, because that is how the questions on Paper 2 use them.
HL students study the same core as SL students, plus eleven extra topics. The HL material is not simply more. It asks you to choose systems, processes and manufacturing methods and to defend the choice for a particular product.
Every student also takes part in the collaborative sciences project, a short project shared with other sciences, which the course counts within the 60 hours of experimental work.
PAPER 1
Paper 1: multiple choice across all three areas
Paper 1 is made of multiple-choice questions drawn from design in theory, design in practice and design in context. At SL it lasts 1 hour and is out of 30 marks. At HL it lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and is out of 40 marks, and it includes HL material. Paper 1 is 20% of the grade at SL and 25% at HL. Calculators are allowed.
Multiple choice does not mean easy. The wrong answers are written to look like the right one, so the marks go to students who can calculate, compare and rule options out. Half of the marks test knowledge and application, and half test analysis and evaluation.
Our routine has three steps. First, learn each topic as a few clear ideas with a worked example, not as a page of notes. Second, practise the questions that need a calculation or a comparison, such as percentiles, material properties or gear ratios at HL. Third, practise under time and review every wrong answer by naming the reason it was wrong, so the same trap does not catch you twice.
PAPER 2
Paper 2: one product, many questions
Paper 2 is built around the analysis of a product. It has several short-answer and extended-response questions that combine design in theory, design in practice and design in context. At SL it lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and is out of 50 marks. At HL it lasts 2 hours 30 minutes and is out of 80 marks, and it includes HL content. Paper 2 is 40% of the grade at SL and 45% at HL.
A worked case: one invented power screwdriver, four questions
Here is a case we invented for this page. It is not an IB paper, and the numbers, questions and marks are our own. A company is redesigning a handheld cordless screwdriver for adult users. The trigger sits on the grip, and the hand fits through a guard around the handle. The company used these measurements of adult users.
Measure (mm) | 5th percentile | 50th percentile | 95th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
Thumb-to-fingertip reach on the grip | 62 | 70 | 79 |
Hand breadth | 71 | 80 | 90 |
Question 1. State the percentile that should be used to set the trigger distance, and give a reason. Question 2. Calculate the range of hand breadth, and the percentage of users it covers. Question 3. Explain why the 50th percentile is a poor choice for the trigger distance. Question 4. Evaluate a trigger that can be moved between three positions.
1
Step 1. Read the product before you write.
A reach dimension and a clearance dimension are different problems. For reach, the person with the shortest reach sets the limit. For clearance, the person with the largest hand sets the limit.
2
Step 2. Answer the numbers.
Use the 5th percentile for reach: if the smallest users can reach the trigger, larger users can too, so the trigger should be no more than 62 mm from the back of the grip. The range of hand breadth is 90 minus 71, which is 19 mm, and the 5th to 95th percentile range covers 95 minus 5, which is 90% of users. For the guard opening, use the 95th percentile, 90 mm, and add a small allowance for gloves, for example 10 mm, which gives an opening of 100 mm.
3
Step 3. Explain the 50th percentile.
A trigger set at 70 mm would be out of reach for every user whose reach is shorter than that, which is about half of all users. The average person is a poor target for a reach dimension.
4
Step 4. Weigh for “evaluate”.
An adjustable trigger fits more users and also helps users with an injured hand. It adds parts, cost and a moving part that can fail, and it needs a lock to hold the setting. Close with a judgement: for a tool sold to a wide range of users, adjustability is justified, but a fixed trigger set at the 5th percentile, with a slim grip, may serve a lower-cost range.
The Paper 2 skill is staying with one product through a long set of questions, so that your ergonomics, materials, sustainability and manufacturing answers describe the same object. Our routine has three steps. First, take any product and write a one-page analysis of it using the three areas of the course. Second, practise the structure of an extended answer: state, explain, apply to the product, weigh, then judge. Third, practise writing under time with products you have not seen.
HIGHER LEVEL
The HL topics: systems, manufacturing and life cycles
HL adds eleven topics. They cluster into four groups that make sense together.
HL
Systems.
Structural systems (how structures carry loads), mechanical systems (how motion and force are transferred, for example with gears, levers and linkages) and electronic systems (inputs, processes and outputs). Each has an introduction in design in theory, and an applied version in design in practice, where you select and justify systems for a design.
HL
Beyond usability.
A product can be easy to use and still not be wanted. This topic looks at the emotional and social side of design, with frameworks for pleasure and for how people accept new technology.
HL
Manufacturing and production.
Manufacturing techniques group the methods by what they do to the material, for example removing, forming, joining and adding material, and include additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping. Production systems cover one-off, batch and mass production, and the factors that decide which to use.
HL
Life-cycle analysis and design for manufacture.
Life-cycle analysis follows a product from raw material through making, distribution, use and end of life. Design for manufacture asks how a part can be simplified so that it is cheaper to make, assemble and take apart.
In lessons we show how these connect to Paper 2 and to the project. A choice of gear train, a switch to injection moulding or a change from three parts to one is an answer to a design problem, and the best answers say which problem it solves.
THE INTERNAL ASSESSMENT
The design project (the D&T internal assessment)
The internal assessment is one task, the design project. You identify, analyse, evaluate and redesign an existing product to meet the needs of an intended user. You build a fidelity model to test and evaluate your ideas. The report is up to 3,500 words and 35 A4 pages, and it is marked out of 33. It is 40% of the grade at SL and 30% at HL, and the requirements are the same at both levels. Your teacher marks it and the IB moderates it.
33
marks
40% / 30%
of the grade, SL / HL
3,500
words at most
35
A4 pages at most
10
words per annotation
FIVE CRITERIA, 33 MARKS
Five criteria are used. Empathize is worth 9 marks. Defining the project, ideation and modelling, designing a solution, and presenting a solution are worth 6 marks each. That is 9 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 33.
In empathize you research a primary persona, tell the story of that person using the product in a storyboard, and analyse similar products. In defining the project you write a problem statement and a design specification that is backed by research. In ideation and modelling you present at least three annotated feasible ideas and test them against your specification, with feedback from the user. In designing a solution you work through several rounds of model, test and refine, and you produce formal drawings that a third-party manufacturer could use. In presenting a solution you show the finished redesign with annotations of its key features and compare it with the original product.
The report has some strict rules. Every annotation can have at most ten words. Anything longer counts toward the word count. Appendices are not read, so anything the marker needs must be in the report itself. Sources go in footnotes, which do not count in the word count. The report must be in A4 portrait, except for the detailed dimension drawings.
A worked narrowing: from a product to a project you can finish
1
Start broad: “improve a water bottle”. That is too wide and too simple. Narrow it to a user and a task: a 72-year-old walker with arthritis in the hands who cannot open a screw cap with one hand while walking. Now the empathize stage has something to do. You can interview two or three users like that, watch them open the bottle, write a task analysis step by step and draw a storyboard with the points where they struggle.
2
Then the testing. A low-fidelity model, such as a foam cap, can test a single idea like grip diameter with five users in an afternoon. A high-fidelity model, such as a 3D-printed cap with the real thread, can be tested against several parts of the specification at once: force to open, time to open, and a simple discomfort score from each user. Each round changes something and records why. After three rounds you can show the change from the first model to the last, with user feedback at each step.
Your teacher reads one draft and gives advice, but does not edit it. The same piece of work cannot be used for the Extended Essay. In lessons we help you choose a product and a user, plan your research, check every stage against the five criteria and keep within the limits, and you make the choices yourself.
3
Finally, the question of size. A new cap is a good-sized problem for 50 hours. A bottle with sensors and a motor is too big, and it hides a simple user problem behind a complex solution, which the guide warns against.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment at SL and HL
The weights add to 100% at each level.
SL
Paper 1, multiple choice, 1 hour, 30 marks:
20%
Paper 2, product analysis, 1 hour 30 minutes, 50 marks:
40%
Design project, up to 3,500 words, 33 marks:
40%
HL
Paper 1, multiple choice, 1 hour 30 minutes, 40 marks:
25%
Paper 2, product analysis, 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks:
45%
Design project, up to 3,500 words, 33 marks:
30%
HOW IT WORKS
What an IB Design Technology lesson looks like
The first lesson is a diagnostic. You show us a recent Paper 1 or Paper 2 answer, or your project so far, and we find where the marks went: in the reading of the product, in the numbers or in the structure of the project.
After that, each lesson takes one task. It might be a product analysed cold and answered against the clock. Or it might be a set of multiple-choice questions reviewed one by one, a check of your design specification, a look at a model test plan or a run-through of an HL systems topic. You leave with a short exercise before the next lesson, so the habit builds between sessions.
Students writing an Extended Essay on a design topic, or working on Theory of Knowledge questions that design raises, can ask us to link those with the course.
Lessons are one-on-one on Google Meet, in your time zone.
FAQ
What Design Technology students and parents ask us
Q1
What is IB Design Technology?
−
Design technology (often called D&T, or design tech) is an IB Diploma course where you study how products are designed, made and judged, and then redesign a real product for a real user in your own project.
Q2
Which IB group is Design Technology in?
+
It is a sciences subject. Your school decides how it is combined with your other choices.
Q3
What is the difference between SL and HL?
+
HL has 240 recommended hours instead of 150 and eleven extra topics in systems, manufacturing, production, beyond usability, life-cycle analysis and design for manufacture. HL Paper 1 is 1 hour 30 minutes and 40 marks, and HL Paper 2 is 2 hours 30 minutes and 80 marks. The design project is the same task at both levels, but it is 40% of the grade at SL and 30% at HL.
Q4
What changed in the 2027 course?
+
There is no Paper 3 any more. Paper 1 is multiple choice, Paper 2 is built around the analysis of a product, and the internal assessment is a design project marked on five criteria, with a fidelity model and drawings for a third-party manufacturer. If you use older books or past papers, check which course they cover.
Q5
Is Design Technology a practical subject?
+
Yes. The course has 60 recommended hours of practical work, including the 50-hour design project, and you build and test a model. The exams test the thinking behind it.
Q6
Is Design Technology hard?
+
It is a different kind of hard. The content is varied, the project takes planning, and Paper 2 asks you to apply ideas to a product you have not seen. We do not quote grade statistics here, because they change each session and between SL and HL.
Q7
Do I need drawing or CAD skills?
+
You need to communicate your ideas clearly, by hand or by computer. The guide allows hand drawings and computer-aided design for the presentation and drawings, so the quality of the communication matters more than the tool. Our tutors help with the CAD tool your school uses.
Q8
Can I use the same work for the design project and the Extended Essay?
+
No. The same piece of work cannot be used for both.
Q9
Who teaches the lessons?
+
Your tutor is a certified IBDP tutor or has completed IBDP training, at least IB Category 2 workshops, and teaches in an IB school. We match the tutor to your course and level.
Q10
Will lessons fit my time zone?
+
Yes. Lessons are one-on-one on Google Meet and we plan them around your school day, wherever you are.
Q11
How do I start?
+
Book a free trial class. We use it to see where you are, then suggest a plan and a lesson schedule.
Start with a trial class for IB Design Technology
Tell us your level (SL or HL), your exam year and the part that worries you most: Paper 1, Paper 2, the design project or the HL topics. We will plan the first lesson around it.
