IB Design Technology HL AI Tutor Playbook 2026

Audience: IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon — typically the cohort in IB-Design-Technology-HL + IB-Physics-HL + IB-Mathematics-HL-Analysis + IB-Chemistry-HL + IB-Biology-HL + IB-Economics-HL + IB-Visual-Arts-HL + IB-Computer-Science-HL + IB-Environmental-Systems-HL + IB-Sports-Exercise-Health-Science-HL, often paired with IB-Extended-Essay-in-Design-Technology + IB-Internal-Assessment-Design-Project + IB-TOK-exhibition + IB-CAS-creativity-activity-service. Covers IB Design Technology HL teachers who want an AI workflow for grading Paper-1-core + Paper-2-HL-extension + IA-design-project, parents paying for IB-Design-Technology-HL-prep ($300-$3000 for prep-books + $1000-$5000 for prep-courses + $2000-$8000 for private-tutors), IB-World-Schools seeking IB-Design-Technology-HL-internal-assessment-rubric alignment, and overseas IB-Diploma-candidates applying to MIT + Stanford + Caltech + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + Central-Saint-Martins + Architectural-Association + RISD + Parsons + Pratt + Cooper-Union + Bauhaus + TU-Munich + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + TU-Eindhoven + Politecnico-Milano + Aalto admissions.

Hook: IB Design Technology HL is the most-respected pre-university design-engineering + industrial-design + product-design + UX-design + materials-engineering qualification globally — the standard for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates at IB-World-Schools targeting MIT + Stanford + Caltech + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + Central-Saint-Martins + Architectural-Association + RISD + Parsons + Pratt + Cooper-Union + Bauhaus + TU-Munich + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + TU-Eindhoven + Politecnico-Milano + Aalto admissions. The 2025 score distribution is selective: score-7 rate of approximately 11-14 percent (highest honours + university-credit at MIT + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + Central-Saint-Martins + Architectural-Association + RISD + Parsons + Pratt + Cooper-Union), score-6 rate of approximately 20 percent, score-5 rate of approximately 24 percent (the score-5+ cumulative rate 55-58 percent is the IB Diploma + university-readiness benchmark), score-4 rate of approximately 21 percent, score-3 rate of approximately 11 percent, score-2 rate of approximately 7 percent, score-1 rate of approximately 4 percent. The HL-Extension-topics-of-IB-Design-Technology-HL (User-Centred-Design + Innovation-Design + Materials-Engineering + CAD-CAM-Rapid-Manufacturing) + 2-Paper-structure (Paper-1-core + Paper-2-HL-extension) + Internal-Assessment-Design-Project map onto Year-12 + Year-13-design + first-year-undergraduate-Engineering + Architecture + Industrial-Design + Product-Design + UX-Design + Mechanical-Engineering + Materials-Engineering + Manufacturing-Engineering + Civil-Engineering + Structural-Engineering + Aerospace-Engineering + Automotive-Engineering + first-year-undergraduate-Design at MIT + Stanford + Caltech + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + Central-Saint-Martins + Architectural-Association + RISD + Parsons + Pratt + Cooper-Union + Bauhaus + TU-Munich + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + TU-Eindhoven + Politecnico-Milano + Aalto admissions.

Section 1 — Why IB Design Technology HL is the most-respected pre-university design-engineering + industrial-design + product-design + UX-design + materials-engineering qualification + the MIT + Stanford + Caltech + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + RISD + Parsons + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + TU-Eindhoven + Aalto first-year-undergraduate-Engineering + Architecture + Industrial-Design + Product-Design IBO-applied-track subject

IB Design Technology HL is the IBO-standard pre-university design-engineering qualification for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates — design-fundamentals-driven, resource-analysis-required, ideation-embedded, evaluation-applied, sustainable-production-focused, marketing-design-outputs-required, user-centred-design-applied, innovation-design-required, materials-engineering-embedded, CAD-CAM-rapid-manufacturing-required, IA-design-project-required. It is the standard for IB-World-Schools in 145+ countries. Unlike AP 2D-Design + AP 3D-Design + AP Drawing (portfolio-only + 30-percent-of-grade + non-extended-response + non-HL-extension + non-CAD-CAM-required + non-materials-engineering-emphasis + non-design-process-emphasis) + A-Level Design and Technology (3-papers + non-HL-extension + non-design-project-required + non-CAD-CAM-emphasis + non-materials-engineering-emphasis + non-sustainability-emphasis), IB Design Technology HL integrates design-fundamentals + resource-analysis + ideation + evaluation + sustainable-production + marketing-design-outputs + user-centred-design + innovation-design + materials-engineering + CAD-CAM-rapid-manufacturing across all 6-core-topics + 4-HL-extension-topics + IA-design-project + Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IB-command-terms + design-process. The exam sits in May 2027 (Northern-Hemisphere-summer-sitting) + November 2026 (Southern-Hemisphere-summer-sitting). The score-7 (highest honours + university-credit) is the IBO-applied-mastery-track benchmark. The score-6 (very-high-honours + university-credit-at-many-institutions) is the strong-applicant benchmark. The score-5 (honours + IB-Diploma + university-readiness) is the cohort-wide-benchmark for Engineering + Architecture + Industrial-Design + Product-Design + UX-Design + Mechanical-Engineering + Materials-Engineering + Manufacturing-Engineering + first-year-undergraduate-Design at MIT + Stanford + Caltech + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + Central-Saint-Martins + Architectural-Association + RISD + Parsons + Pratt + Cooper-Union + Bauhaus + TU-Munich + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + TU-Eindhoven + Politecnico-Milano + Aalto admissions. This playbook gives the 30-week IB Design Technology HL workflow.

Section 2 — The 30-week IB Design Technology HL AI tutor study plan: weeks 1-4 = Topic 1 Design Fundamentals (design + design-history + design-theory + design-movement + bauhaus + modernism + post-modernism + de-stijl + arts-and-crafts + art-nouveau + industrial-design + product-design + UX-design + interaction-design + service-design + design-thinking + double-diamond + empathize-define-ideate-prototype-test + human-centred-design + design-process-iteration), weeks 5-8 = Topic 2 Resource Analysis + Materials (metals + ferrous + non-ferrous + iron + steel + aluminium + copper + titanium + polymers + thermoplastics + thermosets + elastomers + polyethylene + polypropylene + PVC + polystyrene + nylon + PMMA + epoxy + polyester + timbers + hardwood + softwood + manufactured-boards + plywood + MDF + chipboard + ceramics + glass + porcelain + composites + fibre-reinforced + carbon-fibre + fibreglass + smart-materials + shape-memory-alloys + piezo-electric + thermoelectric + photochromic), weeks 9-12 = Topic 3 Ideation + Communication of Design (brainstorming + SCAMPER + mind-mapping + sketching + isometric + orthographic + perspective + working-drawings + assembly-drawings + exploded-views + 3D-modelling + CAD + SolidWorks + Fusion-360 + AutoCAD + Rhino + Blender + rendering + animation + presentation-boards + physical-models + prototypes + mock-ups + digital-portfolio), weeks 13-16 = Topic 4 Evaluation + Testing (evaluation-methods + peer-evaluation + user-evaluation + expert-evaluation + heuristic-evaluation + usability-testing + A-B-testing + ergonomic-evaluation + anthropometric-data + percentile-data + safety-testing + stress-testing + reliability-testing + failure-mode-analysis + iterative-redesign), weeks 17-19 = Topic 5 Sustainable Production + Manufacturing (sustainability-principles + life-cycle-assessment + LCA-stages + carbon-footprint + circular-economy + cradle-to-cradle + LEED + BREEAM + green-manufacturing + waste-minimisation + energy-efficiency + manufacturing-processes + forming + casting + molding + extrusion + rolling + forging + joining + welding + brazing + soldering + riveting + adhesive-bonding + mechanical-fasteners + separating + cutting + shearing + machining + turning + milling + drilling + finishing + painting + polishing + coating + anodising), weeks 20-22 = Topic 6 Marketing + Design Outputs (target-market-analysis + market-segmentation + branding + brand-identity + marketing-mix + 4Ps + pricing + promotion + place + product + marketing-strategy + launch-plan + sales-forecast + business-case + pitch-presentation + user-manual + packaging-design + label-design + point-of-sale-material), weeks 23-25 = Topic 7 (HL-extension) User-Centred Design + Ergonomics (human-factors + ergonomics-principles + anthropometric-data + percentile + range + standard-deviation + usability-heuristics + user-research-methods + interviews + surveys + observation + focus-groups + persona + user-journey + empathy-map + pain-points + user-needs + usability-testing-iteration + accessibility + inclusive-design + universal-design), weeks 26-27 = Topic 8 (HL-extension) Innovation + Design (creativity + innovation-strategies + TRIZ + biomimicry + convergent-thinking + divergent-thinking + lateral-thinking + design-patent + intellectual-property + IP-strategy + open-innovation + disruptive-innovation + innovation-management + open-source-hardware + Arduino + Raspberry-Pi + IoT + smart-products), weeks 28-29 = IA Design-Project (one-real-user + 30-hours + design-process + portfolio + working-drawings + CAD-files + manufacturing-records + user-testing + 40-percent of final grade), week 30 = mock-exams + IBO-past-papers + polish

The 30-week IB Design Technology HL AI tutor workflow:

Weeks 1-4 — Topic 1 Design Fundamentals

• Design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test — double diamond model
• Design history: Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Modernism, Post-Modernism, Memphis
• Industrial design: form follows function, Dieter Rams, Apple design philosophy, Sony Walkman design
• Product design: full lifecycle from concept to disposal, including revision and iteration
• UX design: user research, persona, user journey, wireframe, prototype, usability test
• Interaction design: affordances, signifiers, mappings, feedback, constraints, Nielsen heuristics
• Service design: service blueprint, touchpoints, customer journey, service ecosystem
• Human-centred design: ISO 9241-210, participatory design, co-design workshops
• Design process: iterative loops, divergent-convergent thinking, ideation-evaluation-iteration
• Design movements: Memphis, Post-modernism, Brutalism, Parametricism, Biophilic Design

Weeks 5-8 — Topic 2 Resource Analysis + Materials

• Metals: ferrous (iron, steel, cast iron, wrought iron), non-ferrous (aluminium, copper, titanium, brass, bronze)
• Metal properties: tensile strength, hardness, ductility, malleability, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance
• Polymers: thermoplastics (PE, PP, PVC, PS, PMMA, Nylon), thermosets (epoxy, polyester, phenolic), elastomers (rubber, silicone)
• Polymer properties: tensile strength, flexibility, impact resistance, glass-transition-temperature, melting-point
• Timbers: hardwood (oak, maple, walnut, mahogany, teak), softwood (pine, cedar, fir, spruce), manufactured boards (plywood, MDF, OSB, chipboard)
• Timber properties: grain, hardness, workability, durability, moisture-content, seasoning
• Ceramics and glass: porcelain, stoneware, earthenware, soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass
• Composites: fibre-reinforced polymers (carbon-fibre, fibreglass, Kevlar), matrix materials, layup process, vacuum-bagging
• Smart materials: shape-memory alloys (Nitinol), piezo-electric, thermochromic, photochromic, electrochromic
• Material selection: CES EduPack, Ashby method, performance indices, multi-objective optimisation

Weeks 9-12 — Topic 3 Ideation + Communication of Design

• Brainstorming techniques: SCAMPER, mind-mapping, brain-writing, 6-thinking-hats, lateral-thinking
• Sketching: isometric, orthographic (first-angle and third-angle projection), one-point and two-point perspective
• Working drawings: dimensioning, tolerancing, surface-finish, section-views, assembly-drawings, exploded-views
• 3D modelling: SolidWorks, Fusion 360, AutoCAD, Rhino, Blender — sketch-extrude-pattern-loft-sweep-feature
• Rendering and animation: photorealistic rendering, materials and lighting, animation walkthroughs
• Presentation boards: layout, typography, colour theory, visual-hierarchy, A2 physical or PDF digital
• Physical models: low-fidelity mock-ups, foam-core models, cardboard prototypes, 3D-printed prototypes
• Digital portfolio: organised by design-process-stage, annotated, with rationale and references
• Concept evaluation: weighted-matrix, Pugh-matrix, decision-matrix, cost-benefit analysis
• Patents and IP: design patent, utility patent, trade-mark, copyright, freedom-to-operate (FTO)

Weeks 13-16 — Topic 4 Evaluation + Testing

• Evaluation methods: peer-evaluation, user-evaluation, expert-evaluation, heuristic-evaluation
• Usability testing: think-aloud protocol, task-completion-rate, error-rate, time-on-task, SUS (System-Usability-Scale)
• A/B testing: comparative testing of two design alternatives for user-preference + performance
• Ergonomic evaluation: REBA, RULA, NIOSH-lifting-equation, anthropometric-percentile-data
• Anthropometric data: 5th-percentile-female to 95th-percentile-male, range-fitter, mixed-population-range
• Safety testing: stress-test, drop-test, fatigue-test, environmental-test (temperature, humidity)
• Failure-mode analysis: FMEA, fault-tree-analysis, risk-priority-number (RPN)
• Reliability testing: MTBF, failure-rate, Weibull-distribution, accelerated-life-testing
• Iterative redesign: identify-issues + redesign + retest loops, double-diamond iterative-model
• Design specification compliance: success-criteria, performance-metrics, acceptance-criteria

Weeks 17-19 — Topic 5 Sustainable Production + Manufacturing

• Sustainability principles: triple-bottom-line, 7Rs (refuse-rethink-reduce-reuse-repair-recycle-rot), circular-economy
• Life-cycle assessment (LCA): ISO 14040, ISO 14044, goal-and-scope, life-cycle-inventory, life-cycle-impact-assessment, interpretation
• Carbon footprint: scope-1 + scope-2 + scope-3 emissions, embodied-carbon, operational-carbon, CO2-eq
• Circular economy: cradle-to-cradle, design-for-disassembly, design-for-recycling, closed-loop-material-flows
• LEED + BREEAM: green-building-rating-systems, energy-efficiency, materials-selection, indoor-environmental-quality
• Green manufacturing: waste-minimisation, lean-manufacturing, just-in-time, ISO 14001
• Manufacturing processes (forming): casting (sand, die, investment), molding (injection, blow, rotational), extrusion, rolling, forging
• Manufacturing processes (joining): welding (MIG, TIG, spot), brazing, soldering, riveting, adhesive-bonding, mechanical-fasteners
• Manufacturing processes (separating): cutting (laser, plasma, water-jet, CNC-mill), shearing, machining (turning, milling, drilling)
• Manufacturing processes (finishing): painting, polishing, coating (powder-coat, anodise), plating, lacquering

Weeks 20-22 — Topic 6 Marketing + Design Outputs

• Target-market analysis: market-segmentation, demographic-psychographic-behavioural-geographic, TAM-SAM-SOM
• Branding: brand-identity, brand-positioning, brand-equity, brand-personality, brand-architecture
• Marketing mix: 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion), 7Ps (extended for services), 4Cs (consumer-viewpoint)
• Pricing strategy: cost-plus, value-based, competitive, penetration, premium, freemium
• Promotion: advertising, PR, social-media, content-marketing, influencer-marketing, email-marketing
• Distribution: direct-to-consumer, retail, wholesale, e-commerce, omnichannel
• Marketing strategy: SWOT, PESTEL, Porter-five-forces, Ansoff-matrix, BCG-matrix
• Launch plan: pre-launch, launch-day, post-launch, KPIs (CAC, LTV, conversion-rate, retention-rate)
• Sales forecast: TAM-SAM-SOM, market-penetration-projection, revenue-projection
• Pitch presentation: executive-summary, problem-statement, solution, market-size, business-model, financials, team, ask

Weeks 23-25 — Topic 7 (HL-Extension) User-Centred Design + Ergonomics

• Human factors: cognitive-physical-organisational ergonomics, ISO 26800, ISO 9241
• Ergonomics principles: posture, force, repetition, vibration, environmental-stressors
• Anthropometric data: static vs dynamic, 1st-5th-50th-95th-99th percentile, range and clearance, reach-envelopes
• Usability heuristics: Nielsen-10-heuristics (visibility, match, control, consistency, error-prevention, recognition, flexibility, minimalist, recovery, help)
• User research methods: contextual-inquiry, ethnography, diary-studies, surveys, interviews, focus-groups
• Affinity diagram: clustering-of-research-findings, pattern-recognition, theme-identification
• Personas: archetype-based-on-research, demographic + psychographic + behavioural + goals + pain-points
• User journey map: touchpoints, emotions, pain-points, opportunities, time-on-task
• Empathy map: thinks + feels + sees + hears + says + does, capturing the user-perspective
• Usability testing protocol: pre-test-questionnaire, task-scenarios, post-test-questionnaire, SUS-score

Weeks 26-27 — Topic 8 (HL-Extension) Innovation + Design

• Creativity: divergent-thinking, convergent-thinking, lateral-thinking, serendipity, deliberate-discovery
• Innovation strategies: closed-innovation, open-innovation, disruptive-innovation, sustaining-innovation
• TRIZ: 40-inventive-principles, contradiction-matrix, ideal-final-result, substance-field-analysis
• Biomimicry: nature-inspired-design, Janine-Benyus, function-based-biologism, biology-derived-design
• Convergent thinking: focused-evaluation, decision-making, weighted-criteria-selection
• Lateral thinking: Edward-de-Bono, random-words-po-entry, provocation-movement, concept-fan
• Design patent: ornamental-design-patent, 15-year-term, US-PTO-or-EPO-filing
• Intellectual property: trademarks, copyright, trade-secret, design-rights, geographical-indications
• Open-source hardware: Arduino, Raspberry-Pi, RepRap, open-source-license-ecosystem
• Smart products: IoT, sensors, microcontrollers, cloud-connectivity, edge-computing

Weeks 28-29 — IA Design Project (40% of grade)

• Identify a real user: stakeholder-mapping, user-persona, user-need-statement, design-brief
• 30 hours of work: investigation (5h), design-development (10h), creation-of-prototype (10h), evaluation (5h)
• Design portfolio: investigation + specifications + design-development + final-design + manufacturing-plan + evaluation + appendices
• Investigation: user-research, market-research, existing-product-analysis (FMEA-comparison), design-specification
• Specifications: measurable-performance-requirements, ergonomic-constraints, sustainable-constraints
• Design development: ideation-sketches (10-20), CAD-modelling, concept-evaluation-matrix, selected-design-rationale
• Creation of prototype: working-drawings, CAD-files, materials-list, manufacturing-process-selection, manufacturing-records
• Evaluation: usability-testing-results, peer-evaluation, expert-evaluation, specification-compliance, redesign-recommendations
• Reflective practice: design-journal, decision-rationale, lessons-learned, future-improvements
• Submission: PDF-portfolio + CAD-files + photographs-of-prototype + video-walkthrough-optional

Week 30 — Mock exams + IBO past papers + polish

• Paper 1 mock: every Topic 1-6 core topic — short-response + extended-response + diagram-annotation
• Paper 2 mock: every HL-Extension-Topic 7-8 — extended-response + calculation + ergonomic-analysis + innovation-strategy
• IA submission review: portfolio-completeness + design-process-evidence + working-drawings + evaluation-rigor
• Past papers: TZ1-TZ2-TZ3 2016-2025 with mark-scheme-review and band-descriptor-mapping
• Reflective review: weakness-pattern + targeted-revision + final-week-strategy + sleep-and-energy-management

Section 3 — The IB Design Technology HL AI tutor prompt library (Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA Design Project)

Prompt 1 — Paper 1 Short-Response Generator + Scorer Role: IB Design Technology HL Paper 1 setter and marker. Generate 8 short-response questions (4-6 marks each) on Topic 1 Design Fundamentals + Topic 2 Resource Analysis + Topic 3 Ideation + Topic 4 Evaluation + Topic 5 Sustainable Production + Topic 6 Marketing. Score candidate responses against official IBO mark scheme (1-5 banding). Identify gap (definition vs explanation vs application vs analysis vs evaluation vs synthesis) and prescribe 3 next-step drills.

Prompt 2 — Paper 2 HL-Extension Extended-Response Generator + Scorer Role: IB Design Technology HL Paper 2 setter and marker. Generate 4 extended-response questions (10-15 marks each) on Topic 7 User-Centred Design + Topic 8 Innovation + Design. Score candidate responses against official IBO mark scheme (1-5 banding). Identify gap (definition vs application vs analysis vs synthesis vs evaluation vs ergonomics-analysis vs innovation-strategy) and prescribe 3 next-step drills.

Prompt 3 — IA Design-Project Coach Role: IB Design Technology HL IA Design-Project supervisor. Walk candidate through investigation + specification + design-development + prototype + evaluation. Score portfolio evidence against official IBO IA criterion rubric (Criterion A investigation 8 marks + Criterion B specification 6 marks + Criterion C design 12 marks + Criterion D planning + creation 14 marks + Criterion E evaluation + testing 12 marks = 52 marks total scaled to 40 percent of final grade).

Prompt 4 — Materials Selection + Manufacturing-Process Selector Role: IB Design Technology HL materials-and-process advisor. Given a design specification (functional-requirements + ergonomic-constraints + sustainable-constraints + cost-target), recommend 3 candidate materials with reasoning (Ashby-method + CES-EduPack-inspired + multi-objective-optimisation) and 3 candidate manufacturing processes with reasoning (forming-vs-joining-vs-separating-vs-finishing + production-volume + cost-model).

Prompt 5 — CAD-Modeling + Working-Drawings Coach Role: IB Design Technology HL CAD-modelling-and-drawing instructor. Walk candidate through SolidWorks / Fusion 360 sketch-extrude-pattern-loft-sweep-feature workflow. Generate working-drawings per ISO-128 (first-angle or third-angle projection + dimensioning + tolerancing + section-views) with annotation-rubric.

Prompt 6 — Ergonomics-Analysis + Anthropometric-Data Coach Role: IB Design Technology HL ergonomics-advisor. Given a design context (user-population + use-environment + task-physical-demands), recommend anthropometric-percentile-ranges (5th-percentile-female to 95th-percentile-male or mixed-population-range) + ergonomic-principles (posture + force + repetition + vibration + environmental-stressors) + usability-heuristics-compliance (Nielsen-10-heuristics).

Prompt 7 — Sustainability + LCA Coach Role: IB Design Technology HL sustainability-advisor. Coach candidate through ISO-14040-14044-LCA-stages (goal-and-scope + life-cycle-inventory + life-cycle-impact-assessment + interpretation), carbon-footprint-accounting (scope-1-2-3), circular-economy-principles (cradle-to-cradle + design-for-disassembly + design-for-recycling + closed-loop-material-flows), and LEED-BREEAM-credit-identification.

Prompt 8 — Innovation Strategy Coach Role: IB Design Technology HL innovation-and-IP advisor. Walk candidate through TRIZ-40-inventive-principles + biomimicry-methodology + lateral-thinking-techniques. Recommend IP-strategy (design-patent + utility-patent + trade-mark + copyright + open-source-licensing) and innovation-management-framework (closed-vs-open-vs-disruptive-innovation + open-source-hardware-ecosystem).

Section 4 — The IB Design Technology HL exam structure + Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA Design Project

Paper 1 — Core (1h 30min, 50 marks, 30% of final grade)

• Section A: 4 short-response questions (4-6 marks each) on Topic 1 Design Fundamentals + Topic 2 Resource Analysis
• Section B: 4 short-response questions (4-6 marks each) on Topic 3 Ideation + Communication + Topic 4 Evaluation
• Section C: 4 short-response questions (4-6 marks each) on Topic 5 Sustainable Production + Topic 6 Marketing
• Total: 12 questions, 50 marks, 30% of final grade

Paper 2 — HL Extension (1h 30min, 50 marks, 30% of final grade)

• Section A: 2 extended-response questions (10-15 marks each) on Topic 7 User-Centred Design + Ergonomics
• Section B: 2 extended-response questions (10-15 marks each) on Topic 8 Innovation + Design
• Total: 4 questions, 50 marks, 30% of final grade

Internal Assessment Design Project (30 hours, 40% of final grade)

• Criterion A: Investigation (8 marks) — user-research + market-research + existing-product-analysis
• Criterion B: Design Specification (6 marks) — measurable-performance-requirements + ergonomic + sustainable
• Criterion C: Design (12 marks) — ideation + CAD-modelling + selected-design-rationale
• Criterion D: Planning + Creation (14 marks) — working-drawings + manufacturing-records + prototype
• Criterion E: Evaluation + Testing (12 marks) — usability-testing + peer-evaluation + specification-compliance
• Total: 52 marks, scaled to 40% of final grade

Section 5 — IB Command Terms Mastery for Design Technology HL

• Define — provide the meaning of a term (no expansion)
• Describe — give a detailed account
• Explain — give a detailed account including reasons or causes
• Identify — name or specify (no explanation needed)
• List — give a sequence of answers with no explanation
• Outline — give a brief account or summary
• State — give a specific name, value, or other brief answer (no explanation)
• Annotate — add brief notes to a diagram or graph
• Calculate — obtain a numerical answer showing relevant working
• Compare — give an account of similarities and differences
• Contrast — give an account of differences only
• Discuss — offer a considered, balanced review including strengths + weaknesses
• Evaluate — weigh advantages + limitations + significance + worth + value
• Examine — consider in detail + investigate + explain implications
• Justify — give valid reasons or evidence to support an answer
• Recommend — present a proposed course of action with justification
• Suggest — propose a possible course of action or solution
• To what extent — consider how far something is true + counter-arguments

Section 6 — How AI Tutor Runs the IB Design Technology HL 30-week Workflow

The AI tutor at grademy.work takes the IBO IB Design Technology HL syllabus + the candidate's starting diagnostic (Topic 1-8 baseline assessment) + the candidate's score-target (score-5 honours + IB Diploma + university-readiness vs score-6 very-high-honours + university-credit-at-many-institutions vs score-7 highest-honours + university-credit-at-top-engineering-architecture-design-institutions) and runs a 30-week adaptive workflow.

Diagnostic — 20 multiple-choice (Topic 1-8 weighted by 6-core-topics + 4-HL-extension-topics) + 4 short-response questions (Paper 1 style) + 4 extended-response questions (Paper 2 style). Diagnosis output: which 6-core-topics + 4-HL-extension-topics are strong + which need most work. Score-target adjustment: if score-5 target, focus on Topic 1-3 strong + Topic 4-6 medium + Topic 7-8 light. If score-6 target, focus on Topic 1-6 strong + Topic 7-8 medium. If score-7 target, focus on Topic 1-8 mastery + IA design-project excellence.

Adaptive Loop (per week) — read the topic-week-pair from the 30-week workflow, run 3 teaching prompts (teach the concepts + show worked-example + clarify misconceptions) + 1 practice prompt (Paper 1 short-response OR Paper 2 extended-response OR IA design-project-iteration) + 1 scoring prompt (band-descriptor + mark-scheme-aligned + gap-identification) + 1 next-step prescription (drills + reading + cross-topic-connection).

IA Design Project Loop (weeks 28-29) — Investigation Phase (spec the user-need + brief + stakeholder-mapping + research-plan) → Specification Phase (write the measurable-performance-requirements + ergonomic-constraints + sustainable-constraints + cost-target) → Design Phase (ideation-sketches + CAD-modelling + concept-evaluation-matrix + selected-design-rationale) → Creation Phase (working-drawings + manufacturing-plan + prototype-build) → Evaluation Phase (usability-testing + peer-evaluation + specification-compliance + redesign-recommendations) → Submission Phase (PDF-portfolio + CAD-files + photographs + video).

Mock Exam Phase (week 30) — full Paper 1 + full Paper 2 under timed conditions. AI tutor scores against IBO mark-scheme + band-descriptors. Reflective review: weakness-pattern + targeted-revision + final-week-strategy.

Section 7 — IB Design Technology HL vs AP 2D-Design + AP 3D-Design vs A-Level Design and Technology

Feature	IB Design Technology HL	AP 2D-Design + AP 3D-Design	A-Level Design and Technology
Exam structure	Paper 1 core + Paper 2 HL-extension + IA design-project	Portfolio-only + 30-percent-of-grade + selected-works	3 papers + non-design-project-required
IA / Portfolio weight	40% design-project	30% selected-works	non-design-project-required
HL-extension	4 HL-extension-topics (User-Centred-Design + Innovation-Design + Materials-Engineering + CAD-CAM-Rapid-Manufacturing)	non-HL-extension	non-HL-extension
Materials emphasis	metals + polymers + timbers + ceramics + composites + smart-materials + materials-selection-method	non-materials-engineering-emphasis	partial-materials-engineering-emphasis
CAD-CAM emphasis	CAD-modelling + CAM-toolpath + rapid-manufacturing + 3D-printing + CNC-machining	partial-CAD-only	partial-CAD-CAM-emphasis
Sustainability emphasis	LCA + carbon-footprint + circular-economy + LEED + BREEAM + green-manufacturing	partial-sustainability-emphasis	partial-sustainability-emphasis
Ergonomics emphasis	anthropometrics + usability-heuristics + Nielsen-10-heuristics + ergonomic-evaluation-methods	non-ergonomics-emphasis	partial-ergonomics-emphasis
Innovation emphasis	TRIZ + biomimicry + innovation-strategy + IP-strategy	non-innovation-strategy-emphasis	partial-innovation-emphasis

When to choose IB Design Technology HL over AP 2D-Design + AP 3D-Design + A-Level Design and Technology: IB Design Technology HL is the right fit for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 cohort targeting MIT + Stanford + Caltech + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + Central-Saint-Martins + Architectural-Association + RISD + Parsons + Pratt + Cooper-Union + Bauhaus + TU-Munich + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + TU-Eindhoven + Politecnico-Milano + Aalto admissions — because the IA-design-project + HL-extension-topics + materials-engineering + CAD-CAM-emphasis + sustainability-emphasis + ergonomics-emphasis + innovation-emphasis map onto the first-year-undergraduate-Engineering + Architecture + Industrial-Design + Product-Design + UX-Design + Mechanical-Engineering + Materials-Engineering + Manufacturing-Engineering + Civil-Engineering + Structural-Engineering + Aerospace-Engineering + Automotive-Engineering + first-year-undergraduate-Design curricula.

When IB Design Technology HL may not be the right fit: if the cohort is AP-track-only (US-High-School + non-IB-Diploma + non-IB-World-School), AP 2D-Design + AP 3D-Design will serve the portfolio-only + selected-works-emphasis cohort. If the cohort is UK-A-Level-track + non-IB-Diploma + non-IB-World-School, A-Level Design and Technology will serve the 3-papers + non-design-project-required cohort.

Section 8 — Resources + IB Design Technology HL AI Tutor at grademy.work

• Diagnostic: 20 MCQ + 4 Paper 1 short-response + 4 Paper 2 extended-response Topic 1-8 baseline
• 30-week adaptive workflow: Topic 1-8 week-pair + 3 teaching prompts + 1 practice + 1 scoring + 1 next-step prescription per week
• IA Design-Project coach: 5-phase (investigation + specification + design + creation + evaluation + submission) with criterion-A-E scoring
• CAD-modelling + working-drawings coach: SolidWorks / Fusion 360 workflow + ISO-128 working-drawings + dimensioning-rubric
• Materials-and-process selector: Ashby-method + CES-EduPack-inspired + multi-objective-optimisation
• Ergonomics + anthropometrics coach: Nielsen-10-heuristics + 5th-percentile-female-to-95th-percentile-male range
• Sustainability + LCA coach: ISO-14040 + scope-1-2-3-carbon + cradle-to-cradle + LEED-BREEAM
• Innovation + IP coach: TRIZ-40-principles + biomimicry-methodology + design-patent + utility-patent + open-source-hardware
• Paper 1 + Paper 2 mock exams: every IBO-past-paper-2016-to-2025 + TZ1-TZ2-TZ3 + specimen-papers
• IA submission review: portfolio-completeness + design-process-evidence + working-drawings + evaluation-rigor

The IB Design Technology HL closing thought: IB Design Technology HL is the most-respected pre-university design-engineering + industrial-design + product-design + UX-design + materials-engineering qualification globally. The score-7 (highest honours + university-credit at MIT + RCA + Imperial + Cambridge + Oxford + RISD + Parsons + ETH-Zurich + EPFL + Delft + Aalto) is achievable for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates who commit to the 30-week workflow, master the 8 topics (6-core + 4-HL-extension), execute the IA-Design-Project with discipline, and internalise the IBO-band-descriptors. The 5-to-7 gap is closed by the AI tutor prompt library, the IA-Design-Project-criterion-rubric-coaching, and the daily practice loop.

Pairs with IB Sports Exercise and Health Science SL (post-167)

The IB Sports Exercise and Health Science SL playbook (post-167) + [this playbook] form the IB Diploma + IB Standard-Level + IB Group-4 + IBO-applied-sports-science-track + Year-13-sports-science + first-year-undergraduate-Sports-Science + Sport-Medicine + Sport-Psychology + Sport-Sociology + Sport-Physiotherapy + Sport-Nutrition + Exercise-Physiology + Health-Sciences + Medicine + Biomedical-Science + Public-Health + Physical-Therapy + Nursing + Kinesiology pair for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion + Pre-Sports-Science + Pre-Sport-Medicine + Pre-Sport-Psychology + Pre-Physiotherapy + Pre-Sport-Nutrition + Pre-Exercise-Physiology + Pre-Health-Sciences + Pre-Medicine + Pre-Biomedical-Science + Pre-Public-Health + Pre-Physical-Therapy + Pre-Nursing + Pre-Kinesiology cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon + Brazil + Mexico + Argentina + Chile + Colombia + Peru + Russia + Turkey + Iran + Iraq + Israel targeting Loughborough + Bath + Stanford + Cambridge + Oxford + Imperial + UCL + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough-London + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. The IB SEHS SL 8-topics (Anatomy + Exercise-Physiology + Energy-Systems + Movement-Analysis + Physical-Activity + Health-Wellbeing + Sport-Psychology + Sociocultural-Issues) + 2-Paper-structure (Paper-1-multiple-choice-and-data-response + Paper-2-extended-response) + Internal-Assessment-Practical-Investigation + IB-Command-Terms (State + Describe + Explain + Discuss + Evaluate + Compare + Contrast + Analyse + To-what-extent + Outline + Identify + Suggest) + 20-mark-IA-criterion-rubric (Personal-Engagement + Exploration + Analysis + Evaluation + Communication) covers everything the IB-World-School-cohort needs to bridge Year-12 + Year-13-sports-science + IB-Diploma + IBO-applied-sports-science-track + first-year-undergraduate-Sports-Science + Sport-Medicine + Sport-Psychology + Sport-Sociology + Sport-Physiotherapy + Sport-Nutrition + Exercise-Physiology + Health-Sciences + Medicine + Biomedical-Science + Public-Health + Physical-Therapy + Nursing + Kinesiology + university-credit + Sports-Science-Admissions-readiness at Loughborough + Bath + Stanford + Cambridge + Oxford + Imperial + UCL + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough-London + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. See post-167 for the IB-SEHS-SL-specific exam, score-distribution, and 30-week score-7 master schedule.

Pairs with IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL (post-168)

The IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL playbook (post-168) + [this playbook] form the IB Diploma + IB Standard-Level + IB Group-3 + IB Group-4 + IBO-applied-environmental-science-track + Year-13-environmental-science + first-year-undergraduate-Environmental-Science + Environmental-Studies + Environmental-Policy + Environmental-Engineering + Environmental-Law + Sustainability + Climate-Science + Conservation-Biology + Marine-Biology + Ecology + Earth-Sciences + Geography + International-Development + Public-Health pair for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion + Pre-Environmental-Science + Pre-Environmental-Studies + Pre-Environmental-Policy + Pre-Environmental-Engineering + Pre-Environmental-Law + Pre-Sustainability + Pre-Climate-Science + Pre-Conservation-Biology + Pre-Marine-Biology + Pre-Ecology + Pre-Earth-Sciences + Pre-Geography + Pre-International-Development + Pre-Public-Health cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon + Brazil + Mexico + Argentina + Chile + Colombia + Peru + Russia + Turkey + Iran + Iraq + Israel targeting Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + Stanford + MIT + ETH-Zurich + LSE + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. The IB ESS SL 8-topics (Foundations-Environmental-Science + Ecosystems-Ecology + Biodiversity-Conservation + Water-Food-Soil + Atmospheric-Science + Climate-Change + Energy-Resources + Pollution + Sustainability) + 2-Paper-structure (Paper-1-case-study + Paper-2-short-answer-and-structured-essay) + Internal-Assessment-Individual-Investigation + IB-Command-Terms (Define + Describe + Explain + Discuss + Evaluate + Compare + Contrast + Analyse + To-what-extent + Outline + Identify + Suggest + Justify + Examine) + 25-mark-IA-criterion-rubric (Personal-Engagement + Exploration + Analysis + Evaluation + Communication) covers everything the IB-World-School-cohort needs to bridge Year-12 + Year-13-environmental-science + IB-Diploma + IBO-applied-environmental-science-track + first-year-undergraduate-Environmental-Science + Environmental-Studies + Environmental-Policy + Sustainability + Climate-Science + Conservation-Biology + Marine-Biology + Ecology + Earth-Sciences + Geography + International-Development + Public-Health + university-credit + Environmental-Science-Admissions-readiness at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + Stanford + MIT + ETH-Zurich + LSE + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. See post-168 for the IB-ESS-SL-specific exam, score-distribution, and 30-week score-7 master schedule.

Pairs with IB Geography SL (post-169)

The IB Geography SL playbook (post-169) + [this playbook] form the IB Diploma + IB Standard-Level + IB Group-3 + IB Group-4 + IBO-applied-geography-track + Year-13-geography + first-year-undergraduate-Geography + Human-Geography + Physical-Geography + Environmental-Geography + Urban-Planning + International-Development + GIS + Earth-Sciences + Environmental-Science + Public-Policy + International-Relations + Sociology + Economics + Public-Health pair for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion + Pre-Geography + Pre-Human-Geography + Pre-Physical-Geography + Pre-Environmental-Geography + Pre-Urban-Planning + Pre-International-Development + Pre-GIS + Pre-Earth-Sciences + Pre-Environmental-Science + Pre-Public-Policy + Pre-International-Relations + Pre-Sociology + Pre-Economics + Pre-Public-Health cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon + Brazil + Mexico + Argentina + Chile + Colombia + Peru + Russia + Turkey + Iran + Iraq + Israel targeting Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + ETH-Zurich + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. The IB Geography SL 7-core-optional-units (Changing-Population + Global-Climate-Vulnerability + Global-Resource-Consumption + Geophysical-Hazards + Freshwater + Oceans-Coastal-Margins + Leisure-Tourism-Sport + Food-Health-Wellbeing + Urban-Environments + Globalization-Interactions) + 2-Paper-structure (Paper-1-structured-questions + Paper-2-extended-response) + Internal-Assessment-Fieldwork-Investigation + IB-Command-Terms (Outline + Describe + Explain + Discuss + Evaluate + Compare + Contrast + Analyse + State + Annotate + Construct + Identify + Justify + Suggest + To-what-extent) + 25-mark-IA-criterion-rubric covers everything the IB-World-School-cohort needs to bridge Year-12 + Year-13-geography + IB-Diploma + IBO-applied-geography-track + first-year-undergraduate-Geography + Human-Geography + Physical-Geography + Environmental-Geography + Urban-Planning + International-Development + GIS + Earth-Sciences + Environmental-Science + Public-Policy + International-Relations + Sociology + Economics + Public-Health + university-credit + Geography-Admissions-readiness at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + ETH-Zurich + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. See post-169 for the IB-Geography-SL-specific exam, score-distribution, and 30-week score-7 master schedule.

Pairs with IB History HL (post-170)

The IB History HL playbook (post-170) + [this playbook] form the IB Diploma + IB Higher-Level + IB Group-3 + IB Group-4 + IBO-applied-history-track + Year-13-history + first-year-undergraduate-History + PPE + International-Relations + Political-Science + Law + Public-Policy + Journalism + Human-Rights + Diplomacy + Foreign-Service + Classics + Archaeology + English-Literature + Public-International-Law pair for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion + Pre-History + Pre-Law + Pre-International-Relations + Pre-Political-Science + Pre-Public-Policy + Pre-Journalism + Pre-PPE + Pre-PPP + Pre-Economics + Pre-Sociology + Pre-Anthropology + Pre-Philosophy + Pre-Classics + Pre-Archaeology + Pre-English-Literature + Pre-Public-International-Law + Pre-Human-Rights + Pre-Diplomacy + Pre-Foreign-Service cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon + Brazil + Mexico + Argentina + Chile + Colombia + Peru + Russia + Turkey + Iran + Iraq + Israel targeting Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. The IB History HL 5-prescribed-subjects (Military-leadership + Conquest-and-its-impact + Conflict-and-intervention + Civil-rights-and-social-movements + Causes-and-effects-of-20th-century-wars) + 12-world-history-topics (Authoritarian-states + 20th-century-war-practices + Cold-War-superpower-tensions + Rights-and-justice + Independence-movements + Civil-wars + Peacemaking + Cold-War + Arab-Israeli-Conflict + China + Korea + Vietnam + Decolonisation + Apartheid + Civil-Rights + Global-Governance + Conflict-Intervention + Demographic-and-Environmental-Change + Resources-and-Development + Globalisation + 21st-Century-Politics) + 4-HL-regional-options (Europe + Americas + Asia-Oceania + Africa-Middle-East) + 3-Paper-structure (Paper-1-source-analysis + Paper-2-extended-response + Paper-3-regional-essay) + Internal-Assessment-Historical-Investigation (2200-words + 25-marks + 25-percent-of-final-grade + IA-historical-investigation + IA-written-report) + OPVL + historiography + 15-IB-command-terms (Compare + Contrast + Discuss + Evaluate + Examine + To-what-extent + Analyse + Describe + Explain + Outline + State + Identify + Justify + Suggest + Construct + Annotate) + mark-band-descriptors (Band 1 Inadequate + Band 2 Adequate + Band 3 Competent + Band 4 Highly-Competent + Band 5 Sophisticated + Band 6 Excellent + Band 7 Outstanding) covers everything the IB-World-School-cohort needs to bridge Year-12 + Year-13-history + IB-Diploma + IBO-applied-history-track + first-year-undergraduate-History + PPE + International-Relations + Political-Science + Law + Public-Policy + Journalism + Human-Rights + Diplomacy + Foreign-Service + Classics + Archaeology + English-Literature + Public-International-Law + university-credit + History-Admissions-readiness at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. See post-170 for the IB-History-HL-specific exam, score-distribution, and 30-week score-7 master schedule.