Design technology IA structure: sections, criteria and limits
The Design technology IA is the design project: you redesign an existing product for its intended users and build a physical fidelity model. It is marked out of 33 across 5 criteria and limited to 3,500 words and 35 A4 pages. This structure breaks the project into 12 sections, 11 of them required, with steps for each.
Some details on this page are still being checked against the IB guide.
At a glance
| Task | The design project |
|---|---|
| Guide | Design technology guide, first assessment 2027 |
| Sessions | May 2027, November 2027 and May 2028 |
| Levels | SL and HL |
| Assessment | Internal, moderated by the IB |
| Weighting | 40% at SL and 30% at HL |
| Hours | About 50 hours |
| Limit | 3,500 words and 35 A4 pages. Examiners stop reading at the limit. |
| Criteria | A Empathize (9), B Defining the project (6), C Ideation and modelling (6), D Designing a solution (6), E Presenting a solution (6): 33 marks. Subject vocabulary is rewarded in every criterion, and the lowest band of Ideation and modelling is tied to presenting fewer than 3 ideas. The IB update page calls criterion E "Presents a solution"; the guide's name is used here. |
| What is changing | The design project is new from May 2027 and replaces the 2016 guide's project. No later change is announced. |
The structure, section by section
1. Primary persona
Required by the IB · Criterion: Empathize
About 2 pages: photos of the persona having problems with the existing product; the persona's characteristics, context, preferences, motivations and requirements.
- Choose the existing product and its intended user.
- Research the persona through interviews, surveys and observation.
- Record demographics, abilities, behaviours, goals and environment.
- Photograph the persona's problems with the product.
- Explain what the persona needs.
2. Storyboard
Required by the IB · Criterion: Empathize
About 3 pages: the persona's task with the product, frame by frame, with the pain points.
- Break the task into steps.
- Draw 1 frame per step, showing the problem.
- Annotate in 10 words or fewer.
- Leave out extended writing.
3. Existing products analysis
Required by the IB · Criterion: Empathize
About 4 pages: annotated photos of tests on 4 to 6 similar products; strengths and weaknesses of their key features.
- Pick 4 to 6 comparable products.
- Test each one and photograph the tests.
- Annotate each photo.
- Compare form, function, materials, aesthetics, ergonomics, manufacture, environment and safety.
- Test a digital version only if you cannot get the physical product.
4. Problem statement
Required by the IB · Criterion: Defining the project
About 1 page: the current situation, the problem, and a summary of the research showing it is real.
- Summarise the current situation.
- State the problem.
- Cite the research that shows the problem is real.
- Name the redesign opportunities your task analysis found.
5. Design specification
Required by the IB · Criterion: Defining the project
About 3 pages: essential and desirable requirements, each justified by referenced research, including UX drawn from the product analysis.
- Split requirements into essential and desirable.
- Cover attributes, components, constraints, environment, functions, user needs, safety, aesthetics and manufacture.
- Footnote the research behind each requirement.
- Include the UX requirements your product analysis found.
- Make every requirement testable.
6. Redesign ideas
Required by the IB · Criterion: Ideation and modelling
About 6 pages, 1 to 2 per idea: the 3 best feasible ideas as annotated sketches, CAD or fidelity models, with the research and feedback behind each change.
- Generate a wide range of ideas.
- Develop the 3 strongest.
- Annotate their key features.
- Record the research or feedback behind each change.
- Check each idea against the specification.
7. Chosen idea
Required by the IB · Criterion: Ideation and modelling
About 2 pages: an annotated presentation drawing of the chosen idea, tested against the specification and with users.
- Draw the chosen idea.
- Test it against the specification.
- Collect user feedback.
- Show how the 3 ideas differed.
- Justify your choice.
8. Fidelity model development
Required by the IB · Criterion: Designing a solution
About 6 pages: annotated drawings, photos and CAD of repeated test-and-refine cycles with intended users, including the physical model.
- Build models from low to high fidelity, including a physical model.
- Test each model with intended users against the specification.
- Photograph and annotate each cycle.
- Refine and test again.
9. Design drawings
Required by the IB · Criterion: Designing a solution
About 4 pages: formal assembled, exploded and orthographic drawings for a third-party manufacturer, with dimensions, proportions and assembly.
- Produce the formal drawings.
- Dimension them.
- Show how the parts assemble.
- Keep to about 1 to 2 images per page.
- Use landscape only for detailed dimension drawings.
10. Presenting the solution
Required by the IB · Criterion: Presenting a solution
About 2 pages: the final redesign with its key features annotated, aimed at a third-party manufacturer.
- Choose the views that fit: perspective, exploded, cutaway, net development or FEA.
- Annotate each key feature in 10 words or fewer.
- Keep to about 2 to 3 images per page.
11. Comparison with the existing product
Required by the IB · Criterion: Presenting a solution
About 2 pages: how the redesign improves on the original, how it is used, and why it suits users better.
- Compare the redesign with the original feature by feature.
- Show how it solves each problem you identified.
- Show how the user would use it.
12. Appendices
Common practice (optional and never read) · No criterion · Outside the word count · Only when it applies
Backup material only, such as raw data and full survey results.
- Keep everything assessable inside the 35 pages.
- Put only backup material here.
What counts toward the limit
Counts all descriptive text, including every annotation longer than 10 words in full. Annotations of 10 words or fewer and footnote references are left out; the guide names only those 2 exclusions, so headings and table text count here too.
The limit: 3,500 words and 35 A4 pages. Examiners stop reading at the limit.
Graphs and visuals
- Photos of the persona with the product, and of product tests Image, very common
Required in Empathize. Callout annotations of 10 words or fewer. - Storyboard frames Drawn, very common
Required in Empathize. Frame grid; short annotations only; photos are allowed. - Idea sketches and CAD renders Drawn, very common
Required in Ideation and modelling and in Designing a solution. 1 to 2 pages per idea in Ideation and modelling. - Photos of fidelity models, low to high Image, very common
Required in Designing a solution. Annotated test-and-refine cycles; a physical model is mandatory. - Orthographic, exploded and assembled drawings with dimensions Drawn, very common
Required in Designing a solution. About 1 to 2 images per page; the only place landscape is allowed. - Design specification table Table, very common
Essential or desirable, requirement, footnoted justification and test method; the table form is a convention. - Existing-product comparison grid Table, common
Form, function, materials and other features compared; the grid form is a convention. - Presentation views: perspective, cutaway, net development, FEA Image, common
Presenting a solution lists them as options; about 2 to 3 images per page. - User-testing and feedback results Table, common
Ideation and modelling and Designing a solution require testing with user feedback; charting the results is optional. - Anthropometric data table (percentiles) Table, common
Common in ergonomic redesigns; static and dynamic data and percentile choice are on the syllabus. - Weighted decision matrix Table, occasional
A convention; the guide does not mention it. - Mood board Image, occasional
A convention; the guide does not mention it. - Gantt chart Table, rare
No criterion assesses it, and it costs pages.
The frequencies are our estimates, from what the IB guide expects and what teachers advise. We did not count them in marked work.
Citations
The IB prescribes no style; references go in footnotes with no separate reference list, and the footnotes stay outside the word count. Chicago notes gives numbered footnotes in document order.
The workspace keeps your sources and writes the bibliography in Chicago notes (footnotes) to start with. You can switch to APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago author-date or Harvard at any point.
Pitfalls
- Stay within 35 pages and 3,500 words, since nothing past either limit is marked or read.
- Keep annotations to 10 words or fewer, because longer ones count in full and drain the word budget.
- Present at least 3 ideas, since fewer than 3 ties Ideation and modelling to its lowest band.
- Build a physical fidelity model and test it with the intended users.
- Keep assessable evidence inside the 35 pages, keep the storyboard free of extended writing, and use landscape only for dimension drawings.
- Match the complexity of the solution to the problem, since an over-complex answer to a simple problem is unlikely to reach the high bands.
Write it in the workspace
These sections in order with their steps, a word counter that counts the way this page says, your sources and a bibliography, and graphs from your own data. Export to Word or PDF.
The workspace is free with an account, and it never writes or rewrites your text. What we will and will not do with your coursework →
Sources
- Subject brief: Sciences: DP Design technology, first assessment 2027
- Design technology updates
- IB, "Read curriculum updates" (page last updated 24 March 2026)
- Subject brief: Design technology HL, first assessments 2016
- Design technology guide, first assessment 2027 (IB; published Feb 2025)
The IB documents behind this page, checked 29 October 2026. The linked ones are on ibo.org; the others are IB documents we read in copies hosted elsewhere, so we name them without a link. Everything above is in our own words: the official wording is in your subject guide, which your coordinator can give you. LimeAdmissions is independent of the International Baccalaureate Organization, which has not endorsed this page. Every coursework structure →