This paper discusses the design activities of students in secondary school in France. Graphics tools are now part of the capacity of design professionals. It is therefore apt to reflect on their integration into the technological education. Has the use of intermediate graphical tools changed students' performance, and if so in what direction, in phase of seeking solutions through a design activity in a situation of teaching and learning? The influence of computer aided design (CAD) tools on design professional activities has been the subject of much research, but little has focused on student activity. Thus, analysing student work through an experimental device, we ask that students produce more solutions without using CAD tools. Do CAD activities encourage the modelling of a particular solution? Does drawing by hand before CAD activities support the production of various solutions and define them more precisely? Through the analysis of solutions developed by students, including traces of their activity (sketches, digital files), we test our hypotheses.