Tips to prepare for NID Design Aptitude Test
National Institute of Design Entrance Exam 2025 ( NID Entrance Exam )
Result - 17 Feb '25
If you are appearing in the NID DAT 2025 exam, you must be ready to get a good score in the Design Aptitude Test. The NID DAT 2025 exam has two components - DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. Here we bring you tips to prepare for NID Design Aptitude Test. Keep reading.
Tips to prepare for NID Design Aptitude Test
With a keen interest in sketching, photography, reading, and apparel design, Tanishka Jain had one of her wishes come true when she cleared Stage 1 of the NID Entrance Exam 2016. A graduate of HL College Ahmedabad, Tanishka has applied for the Apparel and Lifestyle Accessory Design course at NID. Scoring 53 out of 100 in NID DAT 2016, Tanishka very candidly spoke about how she felt when her NID Entrance Exam result was declared by saying, “I was not sure about this, but while studying I didn't leave any stone untouched. And so my chances of clearing the exam were quite clear”. Read the complete interview with Tanishka Jain to know how she cleared NID DAT 2016. The NID DAT Prelims 2025 results 2025 for the M.Des program will be announced on February 17, while Prelims results for the B.Des program will be declared on April 1, 2025. Candidates who qualify in DAT Prelims must appear in DAT Mains, which includes a Studio Test and an Interview. The DAT Mains Studio Test and Interview will be conducted from March 3 to April 6, 2025 (M.Des) and from April 26 to May 4, 2025 (B.Des).
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Q: Is the NID exam difficult?
Q: Is the NID DAT exam very difficult to crack?
Q: What is the difficulty level of NID DAT?
The NID Entrance Exam is considered to be one of the toughest design entrance exam conducted in the country. In NID DAT, more weightage is given to subjective, drawing related questions. Thus, candidates need to be extremely creative and have a clear understanding of their concepts when appearing for the NID exam.
For preparing the final results for the B. Des program, the DAT Prelims will be allocated 40% weightage, while DAT Mains will be given 60%.
During the DAT Mains, which comprises a Studio Test, the candidate is tested hands-on and have to show their drawing abilities, creativity, innovativeness, and material-handling ability.
Read the interview with Tanishka Jain on how to prepare for NID DAT Aptitude Test.
Q. How did you prepare for the exam?
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Ans. As I had no idea about the pattern and syllabus of exam, I brought a book covering quant, general knowledge and logical reasoning which helped me understand the pattern of the question paper and I also went through some question papers.
Q. Which coaching classes did you join?
Ans. I didn't take any coaching but yes, arranged some last years’ question papers and tried solving them to prepare better for NID DAT.
Q. When should one start preparing for the exam/how much time is necessary to score well in the exam?
Ans. Preparation for GAT should be started early as the exam paper contains general knowledge questions also which take time and quantitative problems also. Also, becoming better equipped to solve CAT questions also takes reasonable time. So, I would say 1-1.5 months of preparation time is necessary if you want to be well-prepared for NID DAT.
Q. How long did you prepare for the exam and how many hours did you study in a day?
Ans. I started my preparation from December and used to study 2-4 hours a day. Drawing was always my hobby and so It didn’t take much time of me.
Q: Is it possible to crack NID DAT 2025 without coaching?
It is not mandatory to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT 2025. It is because, the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute cannot exactly teach you to be creative or become innovative. Instead, with a little effort these skills can yourself learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitide test is to evaluate the drawing skills of the candidate. So, make it a point to work on your design skills, including learning how to draw line, shadow, figure, gesture, cartoon drawing, etc. When practicing drawing, also keep a tab on the drawing speed, as it will help you complete the paper in the allotted time.
Q: How difficult is it to get into NID Ahmedabad?
NID Ahmedabad admission 2024 is based on NID Design Aptitude Test conducted for both B. Des and M.Des courses. The Design Aptitude Test comprises two steps:
DAT Prelims - The applicant takes the Prelims test initially.
DAT Mains - Candidates are chosen for DAT Mains based on their performance in that Prelims.
For admission to the BDes or MDes course, it is mandatory to appear in both that Prelims and that Mains. NID DAT Prelims comprises both objective- and subjective-type questions. Candidates must have a well-thought-out NID study plan if they want to ace the test. Candidates might adhere to the following preparation schedule for the NID Entrance Exam 2024:
- Know the NID DAT exam pattern and marking scheme well
- Get well-versed with the NID DAT syllabus
- Prepare a time-table and strictly adhere to it
- Attempt NID DAT previous year question papers
- Solve NID DAT sample papers and mock tests
- Keep revising.
Q: How many seats are there in NID Bangalore?
NID Bangalore offers a fulltime MDes course. The total seat intake of NID Bangalore MDes is 95, divided among five specialisations:
| Discipline | Seats |
|---|---|
| Universal Design | 19 |
| Digital Game Design | 19 |
| Information Design | 19 |
| Interaction Design | 19 |
| Design for Retails Experience | 19 |
Q: Does NID Bangalore accept NID Entrance Exam score?
Yes, NID Bangalore does accept NID Entrance Exam scores for admission to its Master of Design (M.Des.) programs. The National Institute of Design Aptitude Test (DAT) is mandatory for all applicants seeking entry into any M.Des. programme at NID Bangalore.
Therefore, if you're aiming for an M.Des. at NID Bangalore, you must take the NID DAT and score well to be considered for admission. The exam typically takes place in December each year, and the institute releases the cut-off scores along with the results in May or June.
Here's a quick overview of the NID DAT for M.Des. admission at NID Bangalore:
Exam Structure: The NID DAT comprises two parts: Prelims and Mains.
Prelims: This is a computer-based test (CBT) with objective-type questions assessing design aptitude, general knowledge, and observation skills.
Mains: Shortlisted candidates from the Prelims are invited to take the Mains, which consists of studio tests and a personal interview. The studio tests evaluate your design thinking, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.
Eligibility: Candidates with a Bachelor's degree in any discipline are eligible to apply for the NID DAT for M.Des. programs.
Selection Process: Admission to NID Bangalore M.Des. programs is based on a combination of your NID DAT score, studio test performance, and personal interview.
Remember, NID Bangalore is a highly competitive institute, so scoring well in the NID DAT is crucial.
Q: Who is eligible for MDes course admission at NID Gandhinagar?
Candidates need to have a valid bachelor's degree of a minimum four years duration or equivalent from a recognised university to apply for NID Gandhinagar MDes course. Aspirants with full-time Diploma of a minimum of four years in Design, Fine Arts, Applied Arts or Architecture after Class 12 can also apply for MDes. Candidates belonging to General or General-EWS category must be born on or after Jul 1, 1993 to apply for MDes.
Q. Did you refer to any important books or study material? What were they?
Ans. Yes, I bought Arihant's book "NID PREPARATION BOOK" online. It was very useful.
Q. Are there any important topics to score well?
Ans. Ofcourse, in GAT, going through General knowledge questions and being aware of current affairs is important and in CAT, observation, perspective and colour theory are important.
Q. Any preparation tips from your experience?
Ans. The only and best preparation tip I can give is start observing everything the day you start preparing for NID. Nothing can help you better than observing things, humans, and views.
Q. What as per you are the mistakes one should avoid while preparing for the exam?
Ans. Writing the exam without having a time management strategy in place can prove to be a big mistake.
Q. How did you prepare for different sections of the exam?
Ans. I started with CAT section and used to practice for it for 2 hours everyday and along with that I used to study atleast 2-3 GAT topics everyday.
Q. When did you start revising the syllabus?
Ans. I started my revision on January 1, 2016.
Q. How did you manage time while giving the exam?
Ans. The most important thing is to go through the whole question paper before starting to solve the questions. I took 1 hour and 15 minutes to solve the GAT section and rest of the time I gave to the CAT section.
Q. What mistakes should one avoid while giving the exam in order to score well?
Ans. One mistake students generally do is taking too much time in solving difficult GAT questions, which takes too much time and are of less marks.
Q. Which as per you was the most difficult part of the NID DAT exam?
Ans. There was no such difficult question; the only important thing is to understand what they are expecting from our answers. How the examiners want us to interpret the question and thereafter write the answers according. So, no question is tough. In each question they just want to know our perspective.
Q. Is there any section that plays the “deciding factor” for getting shortlisted in the exam?
Ans. Good current affairs knowledge, good line quality, knowledge of perspective, and colours can play as deciding factors in NID Entrance Exam.
Q. How do you plan to prepare for NID Studio Test and Interview round?
Ans. I will start making my portfolio containing apparel designs and other designs and also be confident and well-aware of different aspects of design as well as my personality for my interview round.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 weeks ago
NID Ahmedabad's affiliated colleges offering B. Des specialisations through NID entrance exam. Taking into consideration, the last-round cutoff, getting a 70 rank is not sufficient to allow you to take admission at the institutes affiliated to NID Ahmedabad. Considering the NID Ahmedabad cutoff 2024
P
Beginner-Level 5
Answered a month ago
The reporting time for the DAT Prelims exam will be mentioned on the NID DAT 2025 admit card. Reach the exam center as per the reporting time. Note that latecomers will not be allowed inside the NID DAT 2025 exam center.
The gates at the exam center will close half an hour before the exam.
NID DAT 20
P
Beginner-Level 1
Answered a month ago
The National Institute of Design (NID) released the NID DAT 2025 admit card for DAT Prelims on December 24. The direct link to download the admit card is given on this page.
Note that admit cards will be issued only to successfully registered candidates.
To download the admit card, you need to log-in
M
Contributor-Level 10
NID Entrance Exam Notifications
NID evaluates aspirants based on their knowledge, creativity and aptitude for design. Experts share that NID is one of the most challenging design entrance exams conducted in the country. However, if prepared well, the difficulty level of NID Entrance Exam is medium. On of the main reasons why NID is such a competitive exam is there are very limited number of seats. For instance, there are only 425 seats available for the BDes programme through NID. In contrast, the NIFTs offer 2748 seats.