IB Design Technology IA Guide - An IA That’s More Hands On

IB design technology is the stepping stone towards your critical thinking refinement blended smoothly with creativity and practicality. This IB design technology IA guide is here to make things easy for you by digging into this fun course's core.

 

Design technology, as complex as it sounds, in reality, is just a culmination of different skill sets, out-of-the-box thinking and essential creative thinking. No, you don't need to be a pro artist or a hardcore engineer to get this subject right; you need to be dedicated!

 

Let us break down the basics first and understand what this course is about.

 

The mission of IB design technology is to cultivate globally oriented individuals who can enhance the collective stewardship of the environment and create a more positive society via their better sense of technology and design. One can learn marketable skills and critical-thinking techniques through the thoughtful design curriculum of this course.

 

Observation, design creation, integration, and assessment are its main points. Design technology falls under the cognitive IB studies topic area, characterized by the innovative interplay between principles and application.

 

The core concepts of the topic are research and problem-solving. The IB design cycle is indeed a mechanism that must be used in conjunction with IB design technology because it offers the technique for organizing the investigation and evaluation of issues, creating appropriate strategies, and assessing and testing those answers.

 

Before we dig in, let us understand what a solution is. When we talk about a solution in IB Design Technology, it simply refers to a concept, sample, prototype, or solution that students need to create.

 

Through the use of IB design technology, students may acquire creative and critical-thinking abilities that they can use in real-world situations, which leads to a high degree of design proficiency. Regardless of its shape, creating always necessitates the careful use of information within a system of ethics.

 

So, Wait. Is it Design or Technology or Science?

 

Here's the best part- the three of them are actually a family.

 

Confused? Let's break it up.

 

Design, science and technology are fundamentally related. Science came before technology, yet nowadays, most technical advancements are rooted in scientific knowledge.

 

The valuable artifacts of existing technologies were frequently produced and used with minimal knowledge of the underlying science. New technology, on the contrary, draws advantage of scientific advancements to create usable artifacts. When scientific development is used to address a problem, designers are capable of creating new technologies, which in turn have the potential to affect how quickly future scientific discoveries are made.

 

The IB Design Technology course seeks to help students gain the skills necessary to leverage emerging and established technologies to produce innovative goods, services, and solutions. This is precisely what IB design technology IA seeks to bring out in students.

Time to talk about the elephant in the room, the IB Design Technology IA.

 

As a requirement for design technology's internal assessment, all standard and higher-level students must complete a conceptual design task. Through this design project, they may showcase their analytical, logical, innovation and creativity, design creation, modelling, experimenting, and review abilities, which also reflects the creative process utilized by the wide variety of industries that incorporate design practice as a part of their daily tasks.

 

40% of the final judgement is based on this internal assessment. To do well here, you need to build your IA revolving around the following 3 aims:

1. Should outline a pertinent issue that creates a design potential.
2. Needs to make a thorough brief that specifies the relevant characteristics of the problem
3. Using the findings of the investigation establishes a design specification that supports the objectives

 

To know what to write in your IA, you need to understand the criteria on which your essay will be judged. We'll discuss SL and HL IA criteria separately to make things easier.

 

IB Design Technology IA for SL Criteria: Breaking the Core of Basics

 

IB Design Technology IA word count for standard level should be 3000 words maximum and not exceed 34 to 36 pages.

 

Evaluators need an essay, not a Shakespeare's play!

Describing and defending the necessity for a problem-solving strategy for a particular customer or critical demographic is a significant aspect of this criterion. You will have to assess a variety of current goods that serve as inspiration for a way to solve the problem.

 

Dedicate a total of 1000 to 1200 words to this criterion. Here, your aim should be to:

1. Select and prioritize both primary and secondary research required to produce that solution.
2. Provide a thorough design brief that includes a summary of the evaluation of the pertinent research.
3. Describe how you intend to address the issue and how your solution will be beneficial.
4. What sort of product will you produce, how big will it be, where it will be utilized, what aesthetic elements will it have, where will the user purchase it, how will you make it, what potential supplies you're going to use, and how does it satisfy the demands of the market.
5. Describe the project's scope and indicate if it will take a gradual or radical approach.

Provide a variety of workable design concepts that others can understand and display the selected design to explain your idea, and you’ve achieved what this criterion wants. This segment should not exceed 300 words because it is about presenting your design concept. You need to:

• Create design requirements that express the definition of success for creating a solution in unambiguous terms.
• Choose concepts and refine them to fit the requirements. Present them effectively using suitable drawing styles, appropriately coloured, commented, and succinct descriptions of the essential aspects. At this phase, conduct additional research to inform the formulation of concepts and annotate crucial findings. Use one page per idea illustration or sketch.
• Create precise and thorough design sketches or plans and list the specifications to build the selected solution.
• Make sure your concepts are practical in resolving the issue, adhering to the requirements, being able to be manufactured, using the resources and facilities you have significant exposure to, having minimal adverse effects on the environment and being creative, competitive, complicated, and compatible.
• To support the chosen concept for the concept phase, consider the most relevant and practical concepts from the previous stage and assess their applicability using concept-building methodologies.
• Think carefully about using metaphysical, visualization, tangible, and CAD designs to assess design concepts to see if they will satisfy demands like visual appeal objection, shape, consistency, feature, and effectiveness.
• The ability to be made and sold should be considered with the available resources, arrangements, the capacity to meet customer needs, expense, and impact on the environment.

400 words need to be dedicated to this segment. Here it would help if you built a rational strategy that outlines the effective use of time and skills that peers may utilize to develop the answer. Exemplifying superior technical proficiency when developing the solution is extremely important here. 

 

Keep the following points in mind:

• Implement the plan to make the solution. If it works as planned, clearly explain any modifications you implemented to the solution's concept.
• When discussing the supplies, parts, and production procedures, label and identify the elements and components that make up your final concept.
• Determine the hardware, production processes, and materials used to manufacture the prototype. Considering this criterion, examine two or more possibilities (if relevant), evaluate them, and then decide which is ideal for the prototype.
• Rationalize the ultimate decision by providing an explanation or reasons for the raw material, elements, and production technologies selected in light of the following factors (as appropriate):
  1. The needs of the design
  2. The expense
  3. The supply
  4. The properties of the materials
  5. The terms of function
  6. The production aspect
  7. The ecologic necessity
  8. The requirements of the consume
• Create an orthographic sketch with measurements in millimetres that includes the front, rear, and side viewpoints.
• Construct the plan of production using the building plan template.
  • Processes, Equipment, Scheduling, Quality Control, and Risk Assessment are the five columns of the template's table. Remember that the building plan template may only have 10 words or less per cell.
• To guarantee effective manufacturing, safe procedures, and excellent outcomes, consider the necessity for quality inspection and administration.
• Include the following information in the risk analysis: recognized hazards, potential risks, degree of risks, persons at risk, and management methods. The majority of typical procedures have online access to hazard analysis data.

This is crucial for your IB design technology IA and should be around 1200 words. 

 

Remember, this is the make or break of your essay, so be extremely thorough with every line you write here. 

 

Here you need to design thorough and pertinent testing procedures that provide evidence to quantify the effectiveness of the solution you have created. 

 

Additionally, your ability to analyze and interpret the solution's performance compared to the design brief will be judged here.

 

To score a complete 9, you need to:

• Describe how the solution may be enhanced
• Choose suitable testing techniques that result in statistics that can gauge a prototype's effectiveness.
• Describe your prototype's strengths and weaknesses for each design requirement and any testing results.
• In the appendices, make sure to include a detailed testing protocol.
• Indicate in the IA document how closely the prototype complies with the specified requirements and include the knowledge gleaned from the prototype's testing.
• Suggest ways to enhance the design concept using a blend of graphical representations and detailed text.
• Make sure the suggested changes are significant, meaningful, and relevant rather than merely cosmetic.
• Describe the solution's influence on the customer or critical demographic.

 

Need more details on how to ace your IB Design Technology IA? 

 

Get access to the best IB Design Technology IA videos curated by Nail IB professional.

• IB Design Technology HL 
• IB Design Technology SL

 

Our knight in shining armour, Ishan Roy, not only breaks the ice with some of THE BEST tactics one must use to ace their IB Design Technology IA.

 

He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in product and industrial design. Moreover, he has been teaching IB Design Technology and has been an official IB IA examiner for the past 8 years.

 

Could it get any better? His videos will help you understand this course's basics and guide you on how to steer clear of problem patches. (Go check them out already!)

HL design technology IA needs to be around 4000 words and should be at most 50 to 52 pages at any cost. Everything up till criteria D in SL is the same for HL.

 

However, there are 2 additional ones here.

You must create the design to this criterion while considering the adjustments needed for a financially feasible production method. No writing is involved here, just evidence of design production and its analysis.

 

Here is everything you need to know to do well in this criterion:

• A thorough grasp of a product, its purpose, and the level of quality is necessary for the design production process. After determining a workable commercial manufacturing technique, create your design to fit that process.
• Display sketches or models of your ideas with annotations indicating the changes that must be made.
• Think about every component of your design. Determine the potentially successful manufacturing procedure appropriate for each item after presenting the current iteration (the prototype you will finalize in Criterion C).
• Create a design that addresses the adjustment necessary for the production process to be financially feasible.
• Ensure the drawings, including the comments, are displayed effectively and efficiently.
• Give enough information about the business model so a third party can understand it easily.
• Present the finished product with the most significant detail possible, considering all relevant measurements, production, installation, and material information.
• Create a detailed material invoice that contains the following information: reference number, part description, part type and size, colour, number, price per unit, and overall cost.

Here, you must defend your decision to choose parts and systems suitable for commercial manufacturing, as well as an appropriate size and quantity of production, depending on relevant research and appropriateness for the products. 

 

A total of 1000 words need to be dedicated to this segment. 

 

Here is how to score a 9:

• When addressing the components and materials in your commercial entity design, name and number the various elements and features.
• Determine the items and materials that will be utilized to make the commodity. Please consider two or more possibilities per your needs, then compare and evaluate them to choose which is ideal for the finished result.
• Rationalize the final selection of every resource and element in light of the following factors: commercial development needs, budget, availability, access, mechanical qualities, terms of function, production aspect, ecological demand, user demand, and upkeep.
• Depending on the appropriateness of the product and the necessary study, determine the scale and volume suitable for commercial production.
• Put any in-depth research into the attachments and solely highlight essential findings and analysis of the research in the IA work plan.
• Justify the appropriateness of the manufacturing size and volume you've selected based on your study.
• Make sure the proper size and production volume are determined after thorough study and planning, not based solely on guesses or cursory research.

 

Do you need an in-depth run-through of how to ace your IB design technology at a higher level? 

 

Explore our IB Design Technology HL video course and learn from an IB IA Examiner.

Let's look at what can help your IA stand out. 

 

Of course, who doesn't like to be unique?

 

Here are some things you should pay close attention to while composing your essay:

• Make your writing enjoyable by conducting a thorough study on the topic. It should be evident that this IA is your work.
• The second essential piece of advice is to thoroughly explore the ideas covered in the subject and get reliable data. Remember, half-baked knowledge will only cost you your marks and the IB gods are experienced enough to pick this.
• Don't steal ideas from the internet. Making a strong presence of technical knowledge would be beneficial. 
• Pay attention to the internal IB DT evaluation and create a fantastic DT IA using Nail IB's resources.
• Examiners look at your expertise and how you apply it to your task. You should elucidate your expertise and knowledge to prove that the study is accurate and on reliable resources.
• Your project should demonstrate your knowledge. Although you can use the internet for assistance, the work should be sincere and needs to show effort.

 

Remember, it's not rocket science! 

 

Hence, with the right effort and dedication, you will rock your IB Design Technology IA in no time!

 

There will be moments when you feel you've hit a roadblock. 

 

In that case, Nail IB comes to your rescue with many guides and resources, so make good use of them!