What is
Design Technology?
A course about understanding people, defining worthwhile problems, and developing better solutions through evidence, modelling and iteration.
By the end of class, you should be able to…
Explain the subject
Describe IB Design Technology as more than drawing, styling or making.
Sequence the process
Name the five stages of the IB design thinking process in order.
Apply the process
Use the stages to reason through a simple redesign problem.
Know the assessment
Identify the role of Paper 1, Paper 2 and the internal assessment.
Design is not decoration.
A product can look beautiful and still fail its users. In DT, a strong solution is justified by evidence and tested against real needs.
Who uses it? What can they do? What do they struggle with?
What problem is worth solving—and what evidence proves it matters?
How will we model, test and refine a solution rather than simply guess?
Three lenses. One design problem.
IB Design Technology connects theory, practical application and real-world context. We will move between all three throughout the year.
Design in theory
The concepts and technical knowledge that help us explain why a design works—or fails.
Design in practice
Using that knowledge to research, model, prototype, test and communicate.
Design in context
Connecting decisions to users, ethics, sustainability and real products.
Design thinking is a way of solving problems with people at the centre.
It asks us to understand users, challenge assumptions, define problems carefully, create possibilities, build models and learn from testing.
“I have a cool idea.”
Idea first → justification later.
“What does the evidence suggest?”
User evidence → problem definition → ideas → testing → refinement.
Five stages—connected as a cycle.
Click each stage to reveal its purpose.
Start with the user—not your solution.
Designers seek to understand what people actually experience before deciding what to change.
Turn messy evidence into a clear design challenge.
Research is useful only when it helps us define what the user needs and what the project should address.
“Make the lunch tray better.”
Too vague. Better for whom? Better in what way?
Define the user + task + problem.
A clear project definition gives later ideas something specific to solve.
Generate possibilities, then make ideas visible.
Ideation values range and diversity. Models and prototypes let others see, understand and challenge your thinking.
Sketch
Quickly explore form, layout, features and alternatives.
Model
Represent an idea physically or digitally so it can be examined.
Compare
Use evidence and user needs to decide which ideas deserve development.
Model → test → refine.
A prototype is not proof that the design works. Testing creates evidence; evidence drives the next iteration.
Does it work?
Measure function, strength, fit, accuracy, efficiency or other relevant performance.
Does it work for people?
Gather feedback on usability, desirability and effectiveness from intended users.
Show the solution—and the reasoning behind it.
A final design should communicate key features clearly enough that stakeholders understand what changed, why it changed and how it benefits the user.
The process is not a one-way staircase.
Testing can reveal a new user need. A prototype can expose a weak assumption. Designers move backwards as well as forwards.
Then change the design.
Mini case: the crowded cafeteria tray
Students carry a tray, water bottle and cutlery through a crowded lunch line.
Some students balance the bottle on top of the tray. Spills happen when they turn or stop suddenly.
What should a designer do first?
Build the process from memory.
Click the cards in the correct order. You may reset and try again.
Strong design decisions balance three things.
design decision
Your grade comes from three components.
Multiple choice
1 hour · 30 marks · content can draw from design in theory, practice and context.
Short + extended response
1 hour 30 minutes · 50 marks · apply and analyse SL design technology content.
Design project
One internally assessed project, externally moderated by IB, following the design process.
IB assesses more than recall.
Know
Facts, concepts, terminology, methods and ways of communicating design information.
Understand + apply
Use knowledge and methods appropriately in familiar and unfamiliar design situations.
Construct + analyse + evaluate
Work with briefs, problems, specifications, plans, data, models and products.
Do design work
Research, develop, experiment, model and carry out ethical, effective design activity.
Eight words you should leave with today.
Click each card. Say the meaning before you reveal it.
Can you retrieve it without looking back?
Before you leave…
The design process in action
We will follow one redesign problem from research to presentation and learn how evidence changes decisions at every stage.
IB Design Technology Guide · First assessment 2027
Nature of design technology, design thinking process, assessment objectives and SL assessment outline.