Design

MYP Design (Year 1-3)

In the Middle Years Programme (MYP), design challenges all students to: 

• apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems

• explore the role of design in both historical and contemporary contexts

• consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action.

• MYP design focuses on a holistic design process rather than final products and solutions.

What is the significance of Design in the MYP?
MYP uses the design cycle as a way to structure inquiry and analysis of problems, development of feasible solutions, the creation of solutions, and testing and evaluating the student’s solution for the design problem. In MYP design, solutions can be models, prototypes, products or systems that students have developed and created independently.

Key Concepts in Design
Key concepts promote the development of a broad curriculum. They represent big ideas that are both relevant within and across disciplines and subjects. Below are the 16 key concepts to be explored across the MYP. The key concepts contributed by the study of design are communication, communities, development and systems.

Aesthetics

Change

Communication

Communities

Connections

Creativity

Culture

Development

Form

Global interactions

Identity

Logic

Perspective

Relationships

Systems

Time, place and space

Related Concepts in Design
Related concepts promote deep learning. They are grounded in specific disciplines and are useful for exploring key concepts in greater detail. Inquiry into related concepts helps students develop more complex and sophisticated conceptual understanding. Related concepts may arise from the subject matter of a unit or the craft of a subject—its features and processes.

Adaptation 

Collaboration 

Ergonomics 

Evaluation

Form 

Function 

Innovation 

Invention

Markets & Trends 

Perspective 

Resources 

Sustainability

Objectives for Design

Criterion A: Inquiring and analyzing 

i. explain and justify the need for a solution to a problem 

ii. construct a research plan, which states and prioritizes the primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem iii. analyze a group of similar products that inspire a solution to the problem 

iv. develop a design brief, which presents the analysis of relevant research.  

Criterion B: Developing ideas 

i. develop a design specification which outlines the success criteria for the design of a solution based on the data collected ii. present a range of feasible design ideas, which can be correctly interpreted by others 

iii. present the chosen design and outline the reasons for its selection 

iv. develop accurate planning drawings/diagrams and outline requirements for the creation of the chosen solution. 

Criterion C: Creating the solution 

i. outline a plan, which considers the use of resources and time, sufficient for peers to be able to follow to create the solution ii. demonstrate excellent technical skills when making the solution 

iii. follow the plan to create the solution, which functions as intended 

iv. list the changes made to the chosen design and plan when making the solution.  

Criterion D: Evaluating 

i. outline simple, relevant testing methods, which generate data, to measure the success of the solution 

ii. outline the success of the solution against the design specification 

iii. outline how the solution could be improved 

iv. outline the impact of the solution on the client/target audience.

*Information on these pages is from the MYP Subject Guides and the MYP Project Guide. International Baccalaureate Organization. 2014. Print.