CEED 2022 Topper Interview: Learn how Anmol Kashyap (AIR 10) aced the exam in 2 months

Anmol Kashyap, who secured the AIR 10 in CEED 2022 exam, explains how he aced the exam in two months, whether having a design background helps, difficulty level of the exam, and much more. Read the interview here.

For any CEED aspirant, there could be nothing better than topping the exam and gaining entry into IDC IIT Bombay, which is regarded as one of the top design institutes in the country It is exactly what happened with Anmol Kashyap, who secured the AIR 10 in CEED 2022. While he was expecting to do well, the final position nevertheless came as a welcome surprise given he prepared for the CEED exam all for two months. It definitely sounds and appears superhuman, but toppers we all know are made of a different breed!

The results for the CEED 2022 exam were declared on March 8; scorecards were available from March 12 to June 14, 2022. The CEED 2022 exam was held on January 23, 2023.

About CEED 2023

The application form for CEED 2023 is currently open. The CEED 2023 entrance exam will be conducted on January 22, 2023.

In a free-wheeling chat with Anmol, we discussed his exam preparation tips, secret recipe for success, books, and much more. Read on!

CEED 2022 Topper Interview

Anmol, many congratulations on achieving AIR 10 in CEED 2022!

Q. Were you expecting such a result?

Anmol: Thank you very much for the kind words. Coming to your question, it's a yes and no at the same time. I was expecting some results like getting selected but I wasn't expecting that I will get such a good rank.

Q. What was your and your family’s reaction?

Anmol: My family is overwhelmed with my result. They're quite happy.

Q: Tell us something about yourself.

Anmol: I belong to a small town, North Lakhimpur, situated near the foothills of Assam Arunachal Pradesh border. I completed my schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya. I took CBSE Science in high school. I was also schooled in fine arts for around 10 years and have a diploma degree in painting from Bangiya Sangeet Parishad.

Q. What is your academic background?

Anmol: I have done my bachelor's in Fashion Communication from NIFT Bhubaneswar as recently as this year.

Q. Does having a design background at the undergraduate level help do well in the M.Des program?

Anmol: Answering this question from four months into my masters' studies, I will say yes, it does help. As the courses that are being taught in Masters are mostly already taught in Bachelor. Also, in master's, all the courses of four years are packed into two, thus it also requires a lot of continued effort to keep on pushing oneself every single day.

Q. Why did you select IIT Mumbai for your M.Des?

Anmol: IDC IIT Bombay is known for its history, heritage and contribution towards design education and innovation in the country and is known to be one of the best design institutes along with NID Ahmedabad. No doubt, just as all the CEED aspirants' and top rankers' dream campus is IDC, mine too was.

Q. When did you start your preparation for CEED 2022?

Anmol: I started my preparation a little late. During the latter part of November. I took exactly two months to prepare, from the first day of my preparation to the day before exam.

Q . How much time is enough to prepare for CEED?

Anmol: For me, it took approximately two months to prepare for the exam. It is lesser than it usually takes. Belonging to a design background and having learnt design for four years, I could do it in less time. But I will not advise you to do the same for others. At least have 3 months in hand for your preparation.

Q. Take us through your exam preparation routine - day-to-day activities, study hours, revision plan, etc.

Anmol: Starting with the day, at first, I used to wake up around 6-7 am in the morning. Then, the first thing I did was to go out of my room and start sketching. I used to allot the mornings for sketching purposes only. After having lunch, I used to take some rest. In the evenings, I was mostly doing my internship work and college assignments as I still was in college. After dinner, I used to sit from 10 pm which would then extend to late nights around 2-3 am. During that time, I only studied for Part A. All the topics, everything that can be consumed, I used to do at night. I would divide time according to needs. E.g. if I felt like attempting a previous year's question paper, I would do that. If I felt like studying some current affairs, I would do that. There was no fixed/hard schedule I followed. I kept a mental map of the entire preparation and used it to cover topics as per my mood.

I feel, in design, it is very important to know when to do and when not to. Because, say, you're not feeling like doing a revision that day, then you must not do it. And the same goes for, if you feel like studying a new topic, say, Indian paintings, then, go ahead and do that instead.

Q. Did you face any challenges and how did you overcome them during your preparation?

Anmol: There were a lot of challenges during my preparation. Firstly, I was preparing when I was in my final year of college. Thus, college assignments were a thing and there were a lot of hard deadlines associated with it. Also, I was doing an internship with BigBasket back then in UX Design, thus, I had regular tasks to do. Which also was a constraint but these things really did help me to push my limits and inspired me to keep on studying for the entrances I targeted.

Q. How can one prepare for the sketching section of CEED?

Anmol: Preparation for the sketching part is very natural and it differs from person to person. What I did was, I used to wake up early in the morning. With a fresh mind, I used to go out of my room and look for spaces, products etc. And then, I used to sketch them on my handy A5 sketchbook.

Simultaneously, I would go to Google and learn certain topics like light and shade, perspective, etc. which are important with respect to CEED and NID syllabi.

Q. Suggest some books to prepare for CEED 2023 exam.

Anmol: I will not be able to refer to any books as I myself haven't studied from books or so. I prepared without coaching. What in fact, I will suggest is that there is everything over the internet. There are YouTube channels with preparation videos, websites with resources and Telegram groups, etc. I suggest if one goes through the web thoroughly, they'll understand everything.

The best book will be a compilation of the previous year's question papers.

Q. How important is solving sample papers and taking mocks?

Anmol: That is the most important part of the CEED exam. Practice is what all of my batch mates have worshiped. Practice is what makes you strong enough to tackle any question that would appear in the exam.

Q. How difficult is CEED? How would you compare it to other entrance exams like NIFT and NID?

Anmol: CEED in one word is more difficult than NID or any other design entrances. I said it!

Coming to the question, CEED is an exam that asks for 'to the point answers. They'll provide you with all the constraints and you'll have to come up with solutions within that boundary. Whereas, NID is an open-ended exam. They'll provide you with the problem and expect you to solve it in any way you want. One can be more creative while solving NID questions but in CEED, you would end up with a lot of logical processing in the back of your head.

Q. Give us a glimpse of your exam-day experience.

Anmol: My CEED experience was quite normal as all the fun and daring exam-day experience already happened on my NID exam day. Thus, I will share my NID day here instead.

So, my day started with me waking up early in the morning. I did all the exam day rituals that happen in a typical Indian family. Double-checked the stationeries and documents and off we go to the exam center. Now comes the fun part, while on the way, a sudden reminder hits me that I don't have my wrist watch which I used to keep for tracking time during my mock tests. Now what? As a damage control move, I ask my parents, one by one, if they'd bought any watches, etc. and no, nobody has one. What do I do now? All the time, I prepared with a watch next to me, and today on D-day, I don't have one. The situation has become so intense and in the next 30 minutes, the exam is going to start.

At that moment, I calmed myself down. Took deep breaths in and out. Drank some water and brought in a positive mindset. "Chug it! I can do it. I have practiced enough papers that a watch cannot decide my fate today."

With that mindset, I went into the exam hall. Meditated a bit. Then, was provided with the question paper which I started answering one by one and when I finished the last question, I could hear the invigilators announcing, "five minutes left." I took a deep breath, relaxed, and enjoyed the best five minutes of the day.

And by God's grace, I came out with an all-India rank 1 in the discipline I appeared in.

Q. What are your career plans

Anmol: My career plans are yet unknown. I see myself as a learner and wish to be a learner throughout my life. I enjoy the journey more than the end goal.

Q. A few words of advice for future design aspirants?

Anmol: There is a difference between being a designer and being an entrance-ready design aspirant. I have emphasized this to all the aspirants who've connected with me for advice, tips, etc. Never think of yourself as a designer during your exam preparations. It will affect your ability to do well in CEED. For now, your prime focus should be on the paper and developing strategies to crack it with a top rank.

IDC and NID will make you the best designer in the two years of the master’s course.

Also Read:
UCEED 2022 Topper Interview: AIR 1(SC category), VANSH ANEKAR shares important tips
Practice UCEED 2023: Drawing Test Practice Questions
Top Design Entrance Exams 2023: Check Admission & Application Process, Schedule, Pattern