IB Design Technology (2027) Syllabus

Students must be able to describe how ergonomics is used to improve the design of a product by making a design more efficient, usable, functional, effective and safe.

Students must be able to explain and use static and dynamic anthropometric data to design for different people and be able to discuss how factors such as age, gender, ethnicity and disability affect the anthropometric data.

Students must be able to identify where the 5th, 50th and 5th–95th percentiles are appropriate for a design scenario.

Students must be able to explain the reasons why designers choose adjustability and/or range of sizes for a product, and identify products that use one or both strategies.

Students must be able to explain the importance of workspace envelopes, adjustability, reach and range of sizes clearance in relation to percentiles and how they are used when designing products.

Students must be able to explain limiting aspects of user capabilities, including users' visual accuracy, colour perception, strengths, fatigue, muscle control and hearing thresholds.

Students must be able to discuss how human senses (smell, sound, touch, taste and vision) are used to influence the design and development of products.

Students must be able to explain how developing empathy with users through an understanding of their needs and carrying out (behaviours) tasks in a specified environment leads to better design.

Students must be able to explain the five stages of UCD and the advantages and disadvantages of UCD when designing products that meet the requirements of a diverse range of user needs and capabilities.

Students must be able to explain how different disciplines contribute to a better understanding of target user, task and environment when designing to meet the needs of specific target users.

Students must be able to explain how user-centred research methods (field research, task analysis, user observation, interviews, surveys and focus groups) can be used to discover the true nature of a user population.

Students must be able to discuss how a primary persona, scenarios, population stereotypes and demographics can be used to guide design development, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using them when engaging with UCD.

Students must be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of using low- and high-fidelity prototyping within a design process.

Students must be able to discuss the purpose of prototyping and how it is used in design and product development.

Students must be able to outline why designers use drawings to explore, refine and communicate ideas (including informal drawing techniques such as free-hand sketching and formal drawing techniques such as assembled drawing (isometric), orthographic projection and exploded drawings), the advantages and disadvantages of using informal and formal drawing processes, and understand how these techniques are used at different stages of design development.

Students must be able to explain how and why designers use physical prototypes (including scale, aesthetics, materials, function and performance) to enhance the development towards a final product.

Students must be able to explain how and why designers use virtual prototypes, including the use of surface and solid models, generative design, digital humans, motion capture, haptic technology, virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR), and finite element analysis (FEA).

Students must be able to respond to emerging technologies and describe the advantages and disadvantages of why designers use rapid prototyping techniques, such as: stereolithography (SLA), fused deposition modelling (FDM) and selective laser sintering (SLS).

Students must be able to explain how and why materials are classified and discuss the advantages of classifying materials in terms of physical, chemical and mechanical properties.

Students must be able to discuss frame, shell, solid and combination (for example, frame and shell) structures, and how they are used in the design of products. They need to understand that materials are classified into natural and human-made, including for example timbers, polymers, metals, glass, textiles, composites, smart materials and biomaterials.

Students must be able to evaluate the physical, chemical and mechanical properties to ensure the selection of the most appropriate material for a specific purpose.

Students must be able to explain density, thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, melting point, electrical resistivity and electrical conductivity.

Students must be able to explain corrosion resistance, reactivity (food safe), hygroscopy and flammability.

Students must be able to explain tensile and compressive strength, stiffness, toughness, hardness, malleability, elasticity, plasticity and ductility.

Students must be able to explain why combining materials can create composite materials more suitable for a specific purpose or context using an example.

Students must be able to explain how materials can be selected to react to external stimuli, including piezoelectricity, shape memory, photochromicity, magneto-rheostatic, electro-rheostatic and thermoelectricity.

Students must be able to explain how biomaterials are a key part of a circular economy and can be used by designers to design out waste.

Students must be able to analyse and interpret a variety of human-made and natural structures.

Students must be able to discuss frame, shell and solid structures, and how they are used in the design of products.

Students must be able to identify simply supported beams, fixed beams, cantilever beams, continuously supported beams, and columns, and explain their function.

Students must be able to explain how compression, tension, torsion, bending and shear forces act within a structure, and differentiate between static and dynamic forces.

Students must be able to describe the relationship between stress and strain on a material under stress, and be able to outline Young's Modulus, yield strength, ultimate strength and fracture in the context of a stress-strain graph.

Students must be able to compare materials with a high Young's Modulus and those with a low Young's Modulus in terms of how they react when placed under stress, and explain why this is important when designing structures.

Students must be able to describe when a structure is in equilibrium and identify the conditions where a structure will fail (not in equilibrium).

Students must be able to explain how structures can be strengthened by using struts, shape, lamination and composite materials.

Students must be able to define an SF as a ratio of a structure's absolute strength to the allowable load, and explain why structures are designed to include an SF.

Students must be able to outline what an SF of 1 means for a structure, and explain why most structures have an SF above 1.

Students must be able to identify the four basic types of mechanical motion: linear; rotary; oscillating; and reciprocating.

Students must be able to describe inputs, processes and outputs in the context of mechanical systems.

Students must be able to outline a mechanical advantage and suggest how simple mechanical systems may improve performance in terms of function and efficiency.

Students must be able to identify gear-driven, belt-driven, cam, lever and linkage systems.

Students must be able to explain the basic principles of mechanical motion and discuss how gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages can be combined to create complex mechanical systems.

Students must be able to identify the different types of gear systems (spur, bevel, rack and pinion, worm, ratchet and pawl, idler and compound) and their components, and outline how they are used providing examples.

Students must be able to identify components of pulley systems, and outline how they are used providing examples.

Students must be able identify different shaped cams (pear, circular, triangular, eccentric, oval and snail) and outline how they are used providing examples.

Students must be able to identify the three types of levers (1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class) and the position of the Load (L), Effort (E) and the Fulcrum, and outline how they are used providing examples.

Students must be able to identify parallel, reverse and bell crank linkages, and outline how they are used providing examples.

Students must be able to describe an electronic system in terms of input, process, output and feedback.

Students must be able to identify electronic products that are safe, energy-efficient and utilize minimal energy.

Students must be able to distinguish between analogue and digital systems.

Students must be able to describe analogue systems in terms of voltage, current, resistance, frequency and power using the International System of Units (SI): ampere (A), second (s), hertz (Hz), watt (W), volt (V), ohm (Ω). Students must be able to use the following SI multipliers: p, n, µ, m, k, M, G, T.

Students must be able to describe digital systems in terms of using discrete values such as binary digits and on and off signals. Students must be able to define logic gates.

Students must be able to explain the purpose of passive electronic components, including fixed and variable resistors, capacitors, switches, relays and active components such as diodes and transistors.

Students must be able to identify the symbols used in a circuit diagram for fixed and variable resistors, capacitors, switches, relays, diodes, transistors, operational amplifiers and input and output devices.

Students must be able to explain the purpose of basic analogue and digital input electronic components, including switches and sensors (including light, temperature, humidity and sound).

Students must be able to outline basic analogue and digital electronic output components. Electronic output components are restricted to motors, haptic devices, buzzers, speakers, headphones, printers, lights, plotters, relays, braille display, light-emitting diode (LED) and liquid crystal display (LCD).

Students must be able to compare and differentiate basic analogue and digital electronic process components, including signal conditioning (analogue) and program control (digital).

Students must be able to describe the use of a microcontroller as a programmable integrated circuit (PIC) into which software can be loaded to carry out a range of processing tasks.

Students must be able to compare open- and closed-loop electronic systems, identify where open- and closed-loop systems are used, and explain the purpose of feedback in a closed-loop system.

Students must be able to describe the common applications of op-amps, such as analogue or digital signal amplifiers used to amplify signals from sensors in internet of things (IoT) home appliances.

Students must be able to define an embedded system, encompassing its role in augmenting everyday products' functionality, efficiency and automation.

Students must be able to outline additive, subtractive (wasting), forming, joining and finishing techniques, relevant to the properties of the selected material(s).

Students must be able to distinguish between rapid prototyping techniques used for creating initial base models, which serve as a foundation for testing and validation, as opposed to techniques used in the production of the refined products.

Students must be aware of current and emerging 3D printing techniques to explain how components are produced using additive manufacturing techniques, including laminated object manufacture (LOM), fused deposition modelling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA).

Students must be able to describe additive manufacturing techniques used in manufacturing, including powder bed fusion (PBF), material extrusion, and selective laser sintering (SLS).

Students must be able to explain how the use of shape memory polymers can be deployed for printing 4D objects and provide examples of their potential use.

Students must be able to explain how 5D technology can be used to produce long-lasting and complex components in biomedical, automobile and aerospace applications.

Students must be able to explain how components are produced using wasting manufacturing techniques, including machining (cutting, milling, turning) and abrading processes, which are applied to both 3D and 2D materials.

Students must be able to explain how components are produced using forming techniques, including bending, press-forming, casting, moulding (injection, extrusion, rotational, blow, vacuum) processes.

Students must be able to explain how components are assembled using joining techniques, including adhering, fastening, stitching, weaving and welding processes.

Students must be able to suggest how natural and human-made finishing techniques (such as anodizing, electro-plating, galvanizing), coatings (such as powder-coating), polishing, sealants (such as oils, wax, silicone) enhance a product's aesthetics, level of protection, durability, longevity and the ease of maintenance of natural and human-made materials.

Students must be able to suggest why specific manufacturing techniques have been used to create a given component.

Students must be able to construct a plan for a UCD process based on research questions that engage with user-centred research methods.

Students must be able to apply a variety of user-centred research methods (field research, user observation, interviews, questionnaires and focus groups) and analyse data to establish users’ characteristics, behaviours, and the wants and needs of the target population defined by their demographics.

Students must be able to create a primary persona or personae based on user-centred research to aid design development.

Students must be able to explain and apply five usability objectives (learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors and satisfaction) in order to evaluate a product.

Students must be able to apply task analysis techniques to break down a process into steps and identify the critical points for design improvement.

Students must be able to outline each stage of the design process (empathize; defining the project; ideation and modelling; designing a solution; presenting a solution).

Students must be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, qualitative and quantitative data and how they are used to identify design opportunities, develop an understanding of users and generate ideas for solutions to problems.

Students must be able to apply primary research methods to gather first-hand data (user observations, interviews, surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, material testing and product analysis) and analyse the data to establish user requirements and design specifications, develop a persona and suggest further developments of a solution.

Students must be able to analyse secondary data sources (internet-based research, government data and statistics research, university research and literature search) to establish user requirements and design specifications, develop a persona and suggest further developments for a solution.

Students must be able to identify issues, problems and challenges using user-centred research methods and techniques, and to identify user needs for specific user groups to understand their experience, motivations and interactions with products and environments.

Students must be able to map a user’s journey using a storyboard and identify pain points within that journey that provide design opportunities.

Students must be able to analyse a range of products that either provides a solution to a problem or can inspire a solution to a problem.

Students must be able to explain the nature of a problem by writing a problem statement that clearly defines their design intentions.

Students must be able to construct design specifications based on primary and secondary research that communicate the essential and desirable success criteria of the redesigned product.

Students must be able to apply ideation techniques to develop a range of diverse and appropriate ideas that address a problem statement and respond to design specifications.

Students must be able to compare their ideas with the design specifications and user needs as they refine their solutions.

Students must be able to demonstrate iterative development of a design using the model, test, refine cycle.

Students must be able to create feasible models of an intended solution at appropriate levels of fidelity that generate performance data when tested with end-users.

Students must be able to create detailed drawings of components and assembled products that communicate dimensions, scale and assembly details.

Students must be able to create virtual representations of a solution, highlighting key usability features, and explain how it meets the design specifications and achieves the design intentions as a proposed solution or as an improvement to an existing product.

Students must be able to construct and interpret 2D drawings and 3D models, including isometric, orthographic projection, assembly and exploded drawings.

Students must be able to construct and interpret aesthetic and functional prototypes at different levels of fidelity, including the considerations of scale, shape and space.

Students must be able to construct and interpret surface, solid and virtual models.

Students must be able to interpret the output from FEA.

Students must be able to construct and interpret CAD models suitable for rapid prototyping.

Students must be able to select and use appropriate drawings, physical prototypes and CAD models to gather relevant data and feedback, which can be used to analyse and develop the design iteratively.

Students must be able to identify appropriate materials based on their physical, chemical and mechanical properties.

Students must be able to identify appropriate materials based on texture, form and colour, which can also be enhanced by using a variety of finishing techniques.

Students must be able identify appropriate materials based on cost, availability and sustainability.

Students must be able to justify their choice of materials using appropriate research methods.

Students must be able to analyse and model the forces acting on and within the structure of existing products and be able to suggest how existing structures can be strengthened.

Students must be able to interpret simple force diagrams for a given structure.

Students must be able to calculate Young’s Modulus using the formula: $\text{Young's Modulus }(E) = \frac{\text{Tensile Stress }(\sigma)}{\text{Tensile Strain }(\varepsilon)}$, and interpret stress-strain graphs for a given material, identifying the Young’s Modulus, yield strength, ultimate strength and fracture.

Students must be able to identify why a structure has failed, including interpreting data from finite element analysis (FEA).

Students must be able to calculate SFs using the formula: $\text{SF} = \frac{\text{Ultimate Load (Stress)}}{\text{Allowable Load (Stress)}}$; calculate maximum intended loads for given structures; and design structures with an SF.

Students must be able to calculate mechanical advantage in gear, pulley, belt and lever systems.

Students must be able to calculate velocity ratios for gear-, pulley- and belt-driven systems.

Students must be able to calculate efficiency for gear- and belt-driven systems.

Students must be able to calculate gear ratios and belt-driven system ratios considering the use of drive and driven gears, calculate the speed of rotation of a gear system at several points, including initial input and final output speed, and construct systems that use gears to increase or decrease speed and motion.

Students must be able to analyse how cam systems translate rotary motion into reciprocating motion, construct mechanical systems that use cams, and interpret diagrams that represent the use of cams in a system.

Students must be able to analyse the Load (L), Effort (E) and Fulcrum (F), calculate Load (L) and Effort (E), construct mechanical systems that use levers, and interpret diagrams that represent the use of levers in a system.

Students must be able to analyse simple electronic products and circuits to identify the main component parts that enable them to perform a specific function.

Students must be able to describe how to use basic electronic measuring apparatus, including multi-meters, on voltage, current and resistance ranges, and oscilloscopes to observe waveforms.

Students must be able to calculate power, voltage, current and resistance in a circuit, considering $V = IR$ and $P = VI$ by rearranging equations and substituting values.

Students must be able to calculate resistance and capacitance in series and parallel in a circuit.

Students must be able to construct flow diagrams (using appropriate symbols) to model a programmable system that controls an electronic device.

Students must be able to construct diagrams for simple circuits that use resistors, capacitors, switches, relays, diodes, transistors, operational amplifiers, integrated circuits, and input and output devices.

Students must be able to determine the use of sensors to collect and input information into a digital system, including accelerometer (motion), ultrasonic (distance or proximity), photoresistor (light), voltage (moisture), hygrometer (humidity and air temperature), pressure (barometric), microphone (sound) and infrared (radiation or heat).

Students must be able to create simple circuits that use microcontrollers as a programmable integrated circuit (PIC) with appropriate software to carry out a predetermined task.

Students must be able to describe digital systems in terms of the binary number system, Boolean algebra, logic gates such as AND, OR and NOT, combinational logic circuits and sequential logic circuits, and be able to construct truth tables for a digital circuit.

Students must be able to determine appropriate output devices to communicate information or physically control an environment, including motors (including servos and pumps), LCD display (communication and light), buzzer (sound) and relay (mechanical).

Students must be able to compare the protocol embedded systems used to communicate with other systems (Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth vs 5G).

Students must be able to identify the most effective type of production system (craft, mechanized, automated, assembly line, hybrid production systems and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)) used in the manufacture of a given product.

Students must be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each production system, including craft production, mechanization, automation, assembly line, hybrid production systems and CIM.

Students must be able to determine appropriate manufacturing techniques for each scale of production, including one-off production, batch production, mass production, mass customization and continuous production.

Students must be able to discuss factors that influence choices of manufacturing techniques, including type of product (part) being manufactured, type of material(s) used in production, scale of production, production system, cost constraints and environmental considerations. Students must be able to justify the selection of appropriate manufacturing techniques for the production of a product.

Students must be able to deconstruct and analyse multi-component products to determine how they were made and their relevance within the assembly and function of a product.

Students must be able to discuss how production methods can influence the function and aesthetics of a product.

Students must be able to outline how design decisions have resulted in products that have had significant positive or negative impacts on a community or on the environment’s sustainability.

Students must be able to discuss how standards can help designers ensure the well-being, health and safety of users when using their products.

Students must be able to discuss how obsolescence (including planned, social, style, functional, technological) affects the triple bottom line (TBL) and identify products that have been impacted.

Students must be able to discuss how inclusive design requires designing universally accessible products for all users, including those with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments.

Students must be able to discuss how the average person correlates to the 50th percentile adult and child, and how it is not always appropriate to design for the average person.

Students must be able to discuss the advantages of designing for extremes when designing products for a general population, and identify where a design for extremes strategy has been used.

Students must be able to outline how the four-pleasure framework can be used to create designs that intentionally trigger socio-, physio-, psycho- and ideo-pleasure responses.

Students must be able to suggest how the ACT model can be used as a framework for creating products that intentionally trigger positive emotional responses, considering desirability, usability and usefulness.

Students must be able to discuss strategies to achieve sustainability and the importance of decision-making when addressing issues related to sustainable design, including waste, pollution and energy consumption.

Students must be able to analyse sustainable products to demonstrate how they meet Datchefski’s principles.

Students must be able to explain the TBL and the relationship between the three Ps (people, profit, planet), which includes conflict and compromise.

Students must be able to explain how the TBL can help designers to prioritize the needs of clients, communities and the environment to discover design opportunities.

Students must be able to compare and contrast a linear approach and the circular economy.

Students must be able to discuss how designers can design products in ways that eliminate waste and pollution, including designing for longevity, upgradability, disassembly and dematerialization.

Students must be able to discuss why biodegradable materials are a preferred material in a circular economy model.

Students must be able to discuss how designers can consider the recovery and restoration of products, components and materials through take-back legislation, reuse, repair, recondition or recycling.

Students must be able to identify renewable energy sources and discuss why the circular economy relies on the use of renewable energy.

Students must be able to discuss the purpose of a product analysis exercise and why it is important for product design development.

Students must be able to identify the various stakeholders, such as users, manufacturers and engineers, that will help in any future development of a product.

Students must be able to discuss the purpose of a product analysis task and why it is important for product design development.

Students must be able to analyse a product using a SWOT analysis based on function, performance, usability, features and materials.

Students must be able to use data generated from relevant testing and/or reverse engineering to identify areas of the product that require improvement and to determine how well the product meets the needs of the user.

Students must be able to compare competing and similar products to identify opportunities for further product improvements.

Students must be able to identify areas where a product is not meeting the needs of its users.

Students must be able to explain and discuss life-cycle analysis considerations, such as global warming potential, air, water and soil pollution, ecotoxicity and resource depletion, that cause environmental impact.

Students must be able to explain the life-cycle analysis inventory stages (cradle-to-grave) and the materials and energy usage that go into these processes: raw material extraction; manufacture; distribution and transport; use and maintenance; and disposal and recycling.

Students must be able to outline design for process, design for assembly and design for disassembly strategies.

Students must be able to discuss how designers use DfM strategies to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacture, use and disposal of products.

Students must be able to outline the advantages of design for process and explain how a product could be designed using this strategy.

Students must be able to outline the advantages of design for assembly and explain how a product could be designed using the design for assembly strategy.

Students must be able to outline the advantages of design for disassembly and explain how a product could be designed using this strategy.