IB Design Technology: The Complete Course Guide

By Michael Thompson · Former IB Diploma Programme coordinator; 10 years at Bromsgrove School · Published 4 September 2026

IB design technology is a Group 4 science subject in the IB Diploma Programme that treats design as a rigorous, evidence-based discipline - not an art elective. The course centres on the design cycle, a structured process for analysing problems, developing solutions, and evaluating outcomes, and it applies that cycle to everything from ergonomics to sustainable production. The updated syllabus, first taught from August/September 2025, reaches its first assessment in May 2027. Whether you are choosing between SL and HL, planning your design project, or trying to understand how the papers work, this guide covers the full picture.

Key Takeaways

In This Article

  1. What Is IB Design Technology?
  2. The IB Design Technology Syllabus: Core Topics
  3. IB Design Tech HL: The Extension Topics and Extra Paper
  4. The Assessment Model: Papers, Weightings, and What They Test
  5. The Design Project: IA Criteria and What Examiners Expect
  6. IB Design Tech IA Ideas: Choosing a Strong Project
  7. Sketching, Modelling, and the Skills Examiners Reward
  8. Design Technology IB Extended Essay
  9. IB MYP Design Technology: How It Connects to the DP
  10. What to Do Next

1. What Is IB Design Technology?

!IB design technology design cycle diagram showing four iterative stages: analysis, conceptual design, development, and evaluation.webp4066

IB Design Technology is a Group 4 science in the IB Diploma Programme, sitting alongside Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. That classification matters: this is not a vocational trade course or an arts elective. It is a rigorous academic subject assessed through written examinations, a substantial internal project, and scientific reasoning about how products and systems are made.

The organising framework throughout the course is the design cycle: a structured process of inquiry, problem analysis, solution development, and testing and evaluation. A "solution" is defined as a model, prototype, product, or system developed independently by the student. That definition is deliberate - examiners expect evidence of independent thinking at every stage, not just a finished object.

The current syllabus has a specific timeline to know. First teaching begins August/September 2025, with first assessment in May 2027. Students starting IB in 2025 are the first cohort assessed on the new specification.

Both SL and HL students study the same six core topics, which means the conceptual foundation is identical at both levels. HL adds four extension topics and an additional examination paper. The counter-intuitive consequence: choosing SL does not make the core content lighter - it removes the extension material, not the difficulty of what remains.

2. The IB Design Technology Syllabus: Core Topics

According to the International Baccalaureate, all students taking IB design technology - whether SL or HL - study the same six common core topics. There is no SL-only content in the core. HL students go further with four additional extension topics, covered in section 3, but the foundation is identical across both levels.

The six core topics are:

One thing that catches students out: the design cycle is not a separate unit you tick off and move on from. The IB embeds it as a working tool across all six topics, structuring how you analyse problems, develop solutions, and evaluate outcomes. Treating it as a checklist rather than a continuous method is a common source of lost marks.

3. IB Design Tech HL: The Extension Topics and Extra Paper

!IB design technology SL vs HL comparison showing papers, topics, and IA criteria differences.webp7801

Choosing HL over SL is not simply a question of doing more of the same material. The HL course adds a distinct layer of conceptual content that SL students never touch, and it changes the assessment structure in a concrete way.

The four HL-only extension topics sit on top of the six common core topics that all students share. Per the IBO course page, they are:

HL adds Paper 3 to the assessment. It consists of three structured questions drawn from the extension topics, with one question built around a pre-released or unseen case study. SL students sit Papers 1 and 2 only; HL students sit all three.

The IA difference is equally significant. HL projects are assessed against two additional criteria beyond the four SL students complete: "detailed development of a commercial product" and "making choices for commercial production." That second criterion is worth noting carefully. It requires you to justify manufacturing decisions as if your product were heading into production, not just presenting a working prototype. SL students are never asked to think at that scale.

The honest workload reality: HL students are expected to engage with business and manufacturing logic that feels closer to an engineering or product management course than a school design project. If your IA idea is a one-off bespoke object with no plausible production context, it will struggle against those two extra criteria at HL.

4. The Assessment Model: Papers, Weightings, and What They Test

The IB assesses design technology through a combination of written papers and an internal design project. The split between external and internal work is the same at both levels: the design project (IA) counts for 40% of the final grade, with external papers making up the remaining 60%, as confirmed by the International Baccalaureate.

SL assessment

ComponentFormatWhat it tests
Paper 1Multiple choiceRecall and application across all six core topics
Paper 2Short response and extended answerAnalysis of design decisions, application of the design cycle
Internal AssessmentDesign projectFull design cycle, from opportunity analysis through to testing and evaluation

HL assessment

HL students sit all three papers. Paper 3 consists of three structured questions based on the HL extension material, one of which uses a pre-released case study. That case study question is the one most students underestimate: it demands sustained analytical argument about a real product context, not just factual recall.

ComponentFormat
Paper 1Multiple choice (same as SL)
Paper 2Short response and extended answer
Paper 3Three structured questions including a case study
Internal AssessmentDesign project (same 40% weighting as SL)

What the papers actually reward

Papers 1 and 2 test whether you can apply the design cycle to unfamiliar scenarios, critique design decisions using technical vocabulary, and interpret sketches or modelling data. Extended-answer questions at both SL and HL often present a product or system and ask you to evaluate it against design cycle stages.

Grade boundaries shift each session and are published through the official IB results systems. Do not rely on boundaries from previous years as fixed benchmarks: the IB recalculates them after each examination.

5. The Design Project: IA Criteria and What Examiners Expect

The design project is the internal assessment component of IB Design Technology, and it carries 40% of your final grade for both SL and HL, according to the IBO course page. That weighting makes it the single largest assessment element in the course, outweighing any individual exam paper.

Your task is to independently develop a solution, defined by the IB as a model, prototype, product, or system, working through the design cycle from problem identification to testing and evaluation.

SL assessment criteria

All SL students are assessed against four criteria:

Additional HL criteria

HL students are assessed against two further criteria:

What your process portfolio needs to show

The documentation is a process portfolio, not a polished final report. Examiners are looking for evidence of design thinking as it actually happened: annotated sketches, modelling iterations, testing data, and the reasoning behind each decision. A counter-intuitive point worth knowing: a neat, linear portfolio often scores less well than a messier one that shows genuine iteration and honest dead ends. Examiners reward justified decision-making, not the appearance of a smooth process.

Critically, evaluation must be honest. A student who identifies real weaknesses in their prototype and explains why they occurred will outscore one who claims the design met all criteria without evidence.

Given the 40% weighting, building your portfolio incrementally across the two years is far more effective than treating it as a Year 2 sprint.

6. IB Design Tech IA Ideas: Choosing a Strong Project

The strongest projects start with a genuine design opportunity rather than a pre-decided solution. That distinction matters because the IB design project is assessed against criteria that run in sequence: analysis of a design opportunity, conceptual design, development of a detailed design, and testing and evaluation. If you choose a topic first and retrofit a "problem" around it, the analysis criterion falls apart under examiner scrutiny.

A real client or user group is not optional. Without one, your testing phase has nothing to anchor it. A specific person, community group, or organisation gives you a named context to return to throughout each stage of the design cycle, and makes evaluation evidence far easier to gather and present.

Project types that tend to generate enough technical depth for rigorous assessment include:

Common pitfalls to avoid:

The non-obvious trade-off most students miss: a narrower, well-tested solution scores higher than an ambitious concept evaluated only theoretically. Choose your project for its testability first, not its impressiveness.

7. Sketching, Modelling, and the Skills Examiners Reward

Both the written papers and the design project reward evidence of design thinking made visible. That means annotated sketches, physical or digital models, and a clear iterative trail showing how your ideas developed over time.

Annotation is where most marks are lost. A well-drawn sketch with no labels is close to useless in this subject. Examiners expect annotations to cover material choices and why they suit the application, approximate dimensions, how the component functions, and how it would be manufactured. Arrows pointing to a shape with the word "handle" written next to it is not annotation. "Injection-moulded ABS, 12 cm grip length, ergonomic taper to reduce wrist strain" is.

Modelling, as defined in the IB Design Technology syllabus, means testing a concept before committing to a final version. A solution is explicitly defined as a model, prototype, product, or system. That covers scale card models, foam mock-ups, CAD renders, and systems diagrams equally. The non-obvious point: a digital render that has never been tested against a design criterion is not modelling in the IB sense. It is illustration. Modelling requires a question being answered by the physical or digital object.

Paper 2 extended-answer questions may require you to sketch or diagram a solution as part of your written response. Practise producing labelled diagrams under timed conditions, not just in your IA folder.

The practical habit to build: get comfortable communicating design decisions visually first, then support them in writing. The visual evidence leads; the text explains the reasoning behind it.

8. Design Technology IB Extended Essay

Design Technology is an eligible Extended Essay subject, classified under the sciences group in the IB's subject-specific guidance. That classification matters: examiners expect scientific rigour, including testing, data collection, and analysis against design criteria, not a descriptive account of a product's history.

The research question is where most EEs go wrong. The IB guidance draws a clear line between focused and broad topics. A question like "Appliances for sufferers of arthritis" is too wide to investigate properly. Narrowing it to "Ergonomic design of kettles for use by those with arthritic wrist joints" gives you a specific user group, a specific product, and a testable criterion. The same logic applies to mechanical topics: "Braking on a free-ride bicycle" is broad; "Investigating the limitations affecting maximum braking on a free-ride bicycle" is focused and assessable.

Essays do not have to centre on a single product. The IB guidance lists systems-design topics as equally valid, including cold chain distribution of heat-sensitive vaccines in tropical climates and automated manufacturing systems for mass customisation.

Three topic types are explicitly flagged as inappropriate:

The overlap rule is the one students underestimate. Even if your IA and EE address different angles of the same material, sharing resources between them is enough to disqualify the approach.

The IB's published example EE on climbing rope analysis scored 28 out of 34 marks. The research question, "What factors should novice climbers take into account when choosing their first rope?", is user-centred and testable. The examiner comments note deductions for inconsistent testing methodology (different abrasive wheels used across tests, some rope ends sealed and others not) and for mixed-up tables. A strong score is achievable, but methodological consistency matters as much as the choice of topic.

9. IB MYP Design Technology: How It Connects to the DP

IB MYP design and technology is a separate programme for students aged 11-16, sitting within the Middle Years Programme rather than the Diploma. It is not a feeder course for DP design technology in any formal sense. Students without MYP backgrounds take DP design technology regularly and do not face a structural disadvantage.

That said, MYP design does use an iterative design cycle framework, so students who completed it arrive in the DP already comfortable with the language of inquiry, prototyping, and evaluation. The counter-intuitive catch: MYP design cycle habits are sometimes less structured than what DP examiners expect. MYP students can underestimate how precisely the DP requires each design cycle stage to be documented and justified, and may need to rebuild that habit from the start rather than assuming prior experience carries over.

If you are coming from MYP design, treat the DP as a fresh start on documentation standards.

10. What to Do Next

The curriculum running in most schools right now is the version last assessed in 2026. If your school starts teaching IB design technology from August or September 2025, you fall under the new course, with first assessment in May 2027. That distinction matters more than most students realise: the HL extension topics, the Paper 3 case study format, and the IA criteria all carry over structurally, but the weighting details and topic sequencing have been reviewed. Do not assume a revision guide written for the 2026 cohort maps perfectly onto your year.

Read the official subject brief on the IB DP design technology page this week. It contains the technical breakdown of assessment methods at both SL and HL. Then confirm with your teacher which cohort your school is registered under.

FAQ

What is IB design technology?

IB design technology is a Group 4 science subject in the IB Diploma Programme that teaches students to apply the design cycle - analysis, concept development, modelling, and evaluation - to real design problems, spanning topics from ergonomics and sustainability to commercial production.

Is IB design technology hard?

Difficulty depends on the student's strengths: the course rewards visual-spatial thinking, iterative problem-solving, and practical making, but also demands written analysis and scientific reasoning, especially at HL with its extra topics and Paper 3.

How is the IB design technology IA assessed?

The IA is a design project worth 40% of the final grade, assessed against criteria covering analysis of a design opportunity, conceptual design, detailed design development, and testing and evaluation - with two additional criteria at HL covering commercial development and production choices.

What is the difference between IB design technology SL and HL?

SL and HL share the same six core topics and the same IA weighting (40%), but HL students study four extra topics (user-centred design, sustainability, innovation and markets, commercial production), sit an additional Paper 3, and are assessed against two extra IA criteria.

When is the first assessment for the new IB design technology syllabus?

The updated IB design technology syllabus was first taught from August/September 2025, with first assessment in May 2027, meaning pre-2027 past papers relate to an earlier specification.

Can I write my Extended Essay in IB design technology?

Yes - design technology is an eligible EE subject under the sciences group; the key requirement is a focused, testable research question based on a specific product or system, distinct from your IA topic and not purely historical in approach.

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