HSC Design and Technology: complete 2026 guide to the Major Design Project, modules and exam

HSC Design and Technology is the course where students learn to design like professionals: identifying real needs, generating and testing ideas, producing quality solutions, and evaluating against measurable criteria. It is unusual in the HSC because most of the mark comes from a single year-long Major Design Project rather than from the written exam.

This page is the index. Below: the content areas, the Major Design Project and portfolio, the written exam, assessment weighting, study strategy, and links to every dot-point guide we have for HSC Design and Technology in 2026.

The HSC Design and Technology content areas

The Year 12 course integrates two areas of study.

Innovation and Emerging Technologies. A case study of an innovation, analysing the factors behind its success, the ethical issues involved, and its impact on Australian society and the environment. The study of emerging technologies, such as additive manufacturing, smart materials, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, and their social, environmental, ethical and economic consequences. The study of designers and their work, examining the personal and professional qualities, methods and influences that lead to innovation.

Designing and Producing. The design process applied to develop quality solutions. The Major Design Project and its supporting portfolio. Evaluation against criteria to evaluate success. Marketing and management principles, including market research, the marketing mix, project management and quality control.

The Major Design Project and portfolio

The Major Design Project (MDP) is the centrepiece of the course and is worth 60 percent of the HSC mark. It has two parts:

• The project, a realised product, system or environment that meets an identified need or opportunity, judged on quality, creativity and fitness for purpose.
• The portfolio, documentation of the entire design and production process: brief, criteria, research, idea development, project management, production and evaluation.

The MDP runs across the whole HSC year, so continuous documentation and disciplined project management are essential. Markers reward visible iteration, sound work health and safety practice, and a judgement of the finished solution against the original criteria.

The written examination

The written HSC examination is worth 40 percent of the mark and assesses the Innovation and Emerging Technologies content together with the principles of designing and producing. Expect short-answer and extended-response questions on the case study of an innovation, emerging technologies, designers and their work, the design process, evaluation, and marketing and management. Confirm the exact paper structure against current NESA materials.

Assessment weighting

• Major Design Project (project and portfolio): 60 percent
• Written examination: 40 percent

Because the MDP outweighs the exam, the students who do best are those who choose a manageable project, document continuously, manage time and finance well, and evaluate rigorously.

Dot-point guides

Our focused, dot-point-level guides for HSC Design and Technology in 2026:

Innovation and Emerging Technologies:

• Case study of an innovation
• Invention, creativity and the nature of innovation
• Types and process of innovation
• Factors affecting innovation success and failure
• Emerging technologies and their impact
• Impact of innovation on Australian society and the environment
• Intellectual property and protecting innovation
• Designers and their work
• Global and collaborative design

Designing and Producing:

• The design process
• Major Design Project and portfolio
• Project proposal and project management
• Project development and realisation
• Research and communication in designing
• Materials, tools and production techniques
• CAD, CAM and computer based technologies
• Work health and safety and risk management
• Finance and resource management
• Sustainability and environmental considerations
• Ethics, social responsibility and appropriate technology
• Evaluation and criteria to evaluate success
• Marketing and management

Browse the full set at /hsc/design-and-technology/syllabus.

Study strategy

1. Start the Major Design Project early and document continuously. The folio rewards evidence of an iterative process across the year, not a reconstruction at the end. Keep dated entries, photographs and annotated tests.
2. Write measurable criteria to evaluate success at the briefing stage. They are the thread that connects the need to the final evaluation and justify every decision in between.
3. Manage time and finance like a professional. A Gantt chart, a budget and a risk and work health and safety assessment keep a year-long project on track.
4. Prepare one strong innovation case study. Choose a well-documented, ideally Australian innovation you can analyse across success factors, ethics and impact, and practise writing analytical extended responses.
5. Practise the written paper from Term 3. Rehearse extended responses on innovation, emerging technologies and designers so the written 40 percent is not neglected by the dominant project.

System context

HSC Design and Technology sits inside the wider HSC system. Related explainers:

• How the HSC ATAR is calculated
• How HSC subjects are scaled

For the official syllabus

NESA publishes the full Design and Technology Stage 6 syllabus, assessment requirements and Major Design Project advice at educationstandards.nsw.edu.au. The structure described here reflects the Design and Technology Stage 6 (2013) syllabus; always confirm current requirements and project advice against NESA materials for your year of study.