What after CEED 2025? Shift focus to Portfolio

IIT Bombay will conduct the CEED 2025 exam on January 19. Candidates who qualify in the exam will have to apeared in interviews conducted by the participating colleges. Heer we bring what is next after CEED 2025 results. Find out what should be your plan of action next.

IIT Bombay will conduct the CEED 2025 exam on January 19, 2025. The exam will be conducted in a center-based mode. The candidate had to select their exam center when applying for the exam. The CEED 2025 application form is now closed. The admit cards of CEED 2025 will be released on January 3, 2025. Successfully registered candidates can download the admit card by entering their email ID and password. On the day of the CEED 2025 exam, the candidate needs to follow exam-day guidelines, like reaching the exam center on time and carrying their admit cards and photo ID proof. The results of CEED 2025 will be declared on March 7, 2025. If you qualify in the CEED 2025 exam, what's next? In this article, Shiksha has jotted down some tips to do after the CEED 2025 exam:

Things to do after CEED 2025

Prepare portfolio: For those students who are not appearing for NID, it is strongly advised to start making plans for Studio Tests and Portfolio to be shown during the interview.

Fill out application form: Once a candidate is rewarded with a valid CEED score, she/he has to fill out the application forms for respective IITs and IISc. This procedure is not centralised and each college releases its application forms at different times and is independent of each other. The forms themselves typically ask for up to three work samples from the candidate, a statement of intent, among other things. Often aspirants of design might have some sketches, products, models, digital works, etc. which they can directly show in the application forms. If they don’t have such works, then it is strongly advised to start preparing such works. These have to be branch specific.

For example A student of animation might consider putting these three works in his her portfolio: Caricatures of Indian politicians, a storyboard showing some folktale, and a short animated stop motion film.

What is the Studio Test?

CEED exam tests the fitness of a candidate to undertake design courses, but it does not suggest which field of design will be best suited for her/him. This testing is done in the studio test round. IITs and IISc carry out studio test and branch-specific Design Aptitude Test (DAT) in two parts. The first part consists of theory questions.

For example: In 2015, for Visual Communication, IIT Bombay gave a short poem and asked the candidates to write its interpretation in 5 sentences. Similarly, the Mobility and Vehicle design question was to draw a three-quarter view of a farm tractor. Next part of DAT consists of making some sort of artifact. For example, in 2015, IIT Bombay had a question that required the candidate to make a box that will hold some fixed number of Laddu.

Preparation for DAT 2025

It is not very difficult to prepare for DAT held at IITs and IISc. Right after the CEED exam, a candidate can make small articles using cartridge paper, aluminum wire (22 gauge recommended), thin sheets of metal, and modelling clay. The following articles are suggested: the small human figure, a pen stand, a jewelry box, a car, a refrigerator model, a small notebook, a mobile phone holder, and flowers.

For this, the candidate is advised to use materials individually as well as in combination with the rest of the materials. There are several varieties of modelling clays available. Air drying variety is the best one because it has a consistent texture and preserves the form. Further, the candidate can use these practiced forms as work samples while filling the form or if it turns out exceptionally well, then one is advised to use it in the portfolio as well!

What is a Portfolio?

Candidates are advised to start working on their portfolio immediately after CEED 2025. A designer creates artifacts that are very difficult to describe in words, therefore, to test the suitability of a candidate for a specific design field, IITs, IISc and NID ask the candidates to show their past works during the interview round.

It is expected that the candidate shows the works they have designed in their college, in their company, or as their hobby. The task here is to include such work of art that shows that the candidate possesses the necessary aptitude to undergo the course.

A word of caution: While using your company work, be sure to obtain permission from a suitable authority.

Now, most candidates often need to put a portfolio together. They should first scan for whatever work they have done in the past. Sometimes, decorations made for college festivals, posters, and collages that won prizes, or even t-shirts and caps designed for friends make great additions to the portfolio. Sometimes, during CEED or NID preparation many candidates sketch some innovative design, even this can be shown as a part of the design portfolio. Just make sure that it is designed, i.e., it solves some problem, and not just an artistic sketch such as a sketch of your favorite actor. Make sure that the sketches, models, or prototypes you show in your portfolio are diverse and innovative. Also, it should be noted that in the portfolio, moving works such as a working model or an animated film score much more than a simple pencil sketch.

In conclusion, after completing CEED, besides preparing for NID, the candidates should focus on building the work that they can show in their application form and portfolio. And practice their skills for studio tests and DAT, once they are invited for these.

About the Author:

Prasanna Gadkari is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore. Along with a career in Product Design spanning over eight years, Prasanna has mentored hundreds of aspirants to reach their dream of doing a Master in Design (M.Des) from IITs, IISc and NID. He runs TeaCupBlog, a place where he and other students share their tips and experiences on pro bono basis.