Design and Technology 2025 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• reflect the original need for the project consistently throughout the process of design and development, and in all decision making
• develop the proposal for the product, system or environment to be produced rather than explore other possible projects
• present the proposal and management section as a plan for future direction.

In better projects, students were able to:

• make reference to relevant sources to identify a need or opportunity that their idea for the Major Design Project (MDP) seeks to address
• ensure areas of investigation are directly relevant to their MDP and provide explanations of how these investigations will guide the development of the project moving forward
• develop a comprehensive time plan and make justified modifications to it when issues arise, clearly addressing how these changes are necessary to overcome challenges.

Areas for students to improve include:

• justifying their final MDP selection by building a case for why it was chosen, rather than analysing and comparing alternative ideas or explain why other options have not been selected
• stating quantifiable criteria for success, for example, ‘the product should be under 10 kg as this will satisfy the ergonomic requirements for the target market’.

Students should:

• research and test in areas relevant to the intended product, system or environment
• show the development of the design or concept through sketching, model making, testing and experiments in the evidence of creativity section
• show how refinement of ideas leads to the solution presented
• include evidence of the development of the product, system or environment.

In better projects, students were able to:

• demonstrate their creativity in many ways, for example, idea generation, sketching, problem solving and prototyping
• apply the design process as a continuum of research, idea generation, prototyping, testing, evaluation, that then flows onto the next evolution of the design and continues to follow the established design process
• present physical development of their design through a range of prototyping materials, for example, cardboard, foam, wood, metal, plastic, fabric or 3D printing
• ensure that application of conclusions and identification of resources are not missed in bodies of text by using icons to highlight where they appear in the folio.

Areas for students to improve include:

• integrating research throughout the folio at relevant stages of the design process, rather than collating it into one section
• setting up their final MDP display thoughtfully for marking, ensuring it effectively showcases the design process from start to finish, for example, using labels to correspond to the folio page numbers to clearly link the folio to the practical work
• understanding the NESA folio requirements: 80 A4 page folio, including title page and index, image size 80 x 50 mm
• understanding that the purpose of the 6-minute multimedia part of the folio is to allow students to demonstrate areas of their project that cannot be shown in person, such as experimentation, testing, use of the final design and evaluation. It is not an infomercial or further explanation of areas addressed in the folio
• ensuring all practical works that are connected to 240 volt power sockets have WHS certification by an accredited person in accordance with Australian Standards for works involving electrical voltages in excess of 32 volts and/or high currents
• demonstrating practical skills in the final product, but also through prototypes, software use, and visual communication throughout the project.

Students should:

• use language that shows reflection and analysis, rather than telling the story of the project development
• be succinct, offering information that relates directly to solving the problem or meeting the need
• show the relationship between the proposal and the presented design solution.

In better projects, students were able to:

• demonstrate ongoing evaluation throughout the folio, using different coloured text or icons to ensure they were not missed
• evaluate the function and aesthetic aspects of the final design equally and draw out the relationships between them
• reflect on their project’s impact on the individual, society and the environment in relation to the natural environment and the physical environment in which the product will be used.

Areas for students to improve include:

• relating their design to the impact on the individual, society and the environment
• revisiting their initial time plan in the folio to evaluate any modifications that have occurred, explaining how and why these changes have been made
• evaluating their project’s relationship to the proposal by referring to the criteria for success established in the proposal section, expanding on why it is successful or what could be done differently next time to ensure success.

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• engage with any stimulus material provided and refer to it in the response
• communicate ideas and information using relevant examples
• expect to interpret data/graphs/tables and assess information for accuracy, reliability and/or validity
• review the response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.
   

Question 11

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a general understanding of how prototyping helps identify issues in a project to facilitate improvements
• outline clearly the key roles of prototyping, such as testing and refining design concepts.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing more than a definition of prototyping
• responding directly to the term 'role of', focusing on how prototyping contributes to the development of a design.

Question 12

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify a relevant ethical issue, such as privacy or data security
• describe the characteristics of the issue, for example, how personal data must be kept secure to prevent unauthorised access, or how privacy rights must be respected in data collection and storage
• relate the ethical issue to the management of personal data, identifying, for example, how mishandling personal data could lead to privacy violations or security breaches.

Areas for students to improve include:

• linking an identified ethical issue back to data management practices
• focusing on one ethical issue, rather than listing multiple issues
• responding in more detail than just general terms by including specific examples or features of the ethical issue.

Question 13

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify an environmental impact of both battery types, highlighting issues such as resource depletion and the contribution to landfill waste
• discuss both positive and negative environmental impacts, such as the longer lifespan of lithium-ion batteries and their contribution to pollution and resource scarcity
• provide specific examples of environmental issues, such as the extraction of lithium or disposal challenges.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing more than a description of the batteries
• focusing more on the environmental impact of the batteries, rather than on the battery itself.

Question 14

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of how design innovations lead to changes in user experience
• explain the cause and effect relationship between an innovation and its impact on the user
• make clear connections between specific design features and the ways users interact with products. For example, ergonomic keyboards reduce strain on users' wrists leading to more comfortable typing at work
• provide relevant examples to effectively illustrate how innovations improve or alter user experience.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using relevant examples of design innovations to support their response
• describing how design innovations influence the way users interact in different contexts
• explaining clearly how an innovation changes the user experience
• focusing on the change to user experience, rather than simply describing the use of the innovation.

Question 15

In better responses, students were able to: 

• make reference to the stimulus provided
• provide an in-depth cause and effect analysis of at least two major impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on designers, including both short and long-term effects
• refer to environmental, ethical and social implications or issues associated with AI
• link implications of AI to global issues, for example, how AI affects employment in developing economies or the ethical dilemmas of AI decision-making in design processes
• recognise positive and negative implications of AI, such as how AI-driven insights can personalise design experiences, while also increasing inequality
• draw conclusions by examining the implications of AI, addressing its benefits and potential drawbacks
• demonstrate a deeper understanding of how AI is transforming the design industry by providing further examples
• construct a comprehensive response that explores the influence of AI on creativity, efficiency, ethical considerations, and the evolving role of designers
• provide legal implications and draw relationships with ethics and the rights and responsibilities of designers
• draw out the implications of AI for the designer and discuss broader effects or consequences when analysing its impact.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a cohesive response by using connective terms, full sentences, and paragraphs
• making clear reference to the stimulus provided, and using this to support the conclusions drawn
• demonstrating a deeper understanding of the effects of AI on designers, and considering multiple perspectives, such as how AI tools influence both the creative and practical aspects of the design process
• elaborating on how social and ethical issues of AI influence the design industry at a global level, for example, how AI could reduce human involvement in design and the implications this has on creative job opportunities
• linking the effects of AI on designers to real world examples
• using cause and effect language to clearly demonstrate the relationship between AI advancements and its impact on designers.