Design Entrance Exam | Prepare with AIDAT

The field of design in India is evolving and we see it! It started as a niche creative industry, but now has become a force to reckon with as a contributor to innovation in businesses, user experience and brand identity. As days pass, the lines between technology and creativity continue to blur, opening unparalleled opportunities for skilled designers.

For students preparing to take AIDAT, All India Design Aptitude Test, it becomes important to understand what employers and industries actually need. It is not a matter of merely passing an entrance test; it's about laying the foundation of a career that shall define the next decade of your professional life.

The Design Industry Reality Check

The Indian creative economy is flourishing with estimates showing that companies with design led operations are ahead of their competitors in expanding revenue and market value. Startups in Bengaluru to manufacturing powerhouses in Mumbai, organisations are scouting out designers who are strategic, collaborative and result oriented in their work.

Numbers are fascinating tales. Newly graduated students of recognised design schools are joining the job market with an initial package of between 4.5 to 9 lakhs per annum based on their specialisation and strength in their portfolio. More importantly, the design  profession is steep as senior professionals in the field of UI/UX, brand strategy, and design leadership are offered much higher pay. However, most students forget that only technical skills cannot help them get there.

What Actually Matters in 2026? 

Conceptual Thinking Over Decoration

Design isn't about making things pretty, it's about solving problems with intelligence. When, say, an e-commerce platform needs to reduce cart abandonment or a healthcare startup needs to make onboarding of a patient easier, they need designers who think systematically.

Modern design education emphasizes this shift. You're not just learning to use tools; you're learning to ask the right questions. Why does this user struggle here? What behavior are we trying to encourage? How can I form a support function?

Build this capability by:

• Questioning everything you see, why does this app work that way?
• Documenting problems you encounter in life and sketching solutions for them
• Reading case studies on companies like Swiggy, PhonePe, and Flipkart
• Attending design thinking workshops and hackathons
• Pursuing projects that solve real-world problems, not limited to aesthetic exercises.

Communication via Design Language

Your designs will be judged by those who can't explain design principles but intuitively know when something is wrong. Your job is to present complicated information in an easily digestible manner, to direct user focus consciously, and to elicit specific emotional responses.

This goes beyond color palette selections that are visually appealing. It's knowing about cultural context, accessibility standards, and how a different audience interprets visual hierarchies.

Master this through:

• Exploring successful Indian brands and their visual identities.
• Understand how color meanings vary across regions and cultures.
• design for different target audiences (age, language and ability)
• Learning from failures, analyze designs that confuse users, understand why
• Getting Comfortable with Design Critiques and Articulating Your Choices

Digital Fluency as a Baseline Expectation

By 2026, saying you know Photoshop will be like saying you can use Microsoft Word-it's assumed. What will matter is how efficiently you work, how well you understand industry workflows, and if you can pick up new tools quickly.

Designing tools are changing, evolving and advancing. Figma has reached ubiquity for UI/UX work. The AI-assisted design tools are no longer experimental; they're production-ready. Understanding 3D software opens up opportunities in product design, gaming, and immersive experiences. Having the capability of motion design definitely helps set candidates apart in competitive job markets.

Get technically capable by:

• Deeply learning one tool before jumping to the next
• Mastering industry-standard workflows - not just features
• Trying out AI design assistants and learning about their strengths and weaknesses.
• Actual project building, not just following tutorials
• Joining the design communities where professionals share techniques and shortcuts.
• Understanding of file formats, design systems, and handoff processes

Evidence-Based Design Decisions

Gut feeling is fine, but professional design is rooted in data. Why did users not go there but instead go here? Which of the two layouts had been the superior in conversion? What are the pain points that user interviews would tell us?

Before finalizing collections, fashion designers analyze sales data and social media trends. Interior designers learn spatial psychology and sustainability of materials. Graphic designers study competitor positioning prior to selling brand identities. A professional outwits an amateur because one has a research-based practice.

Develop Evidence Based Design plan by:

• User research via surveys, interviews, usability testing.
• Using case studies and design research publications.
• Following the trends on Behance, Dribbble and Awwwards.
• Knowing the analytics tools and the effect of design on business measures.
• Competitive analysis. Practice on actual brands in your portfolio projects.

Working within systems, not solo

The solitary creative genius who has his romanticised image in place is a thing of the past. The reality of design is a dirty business of collaborating: product managers compelling the feature, developers justifying their technical choices, marketers with an opinion on colour, and clients who must have the change now.

The skill of negotiating such relationships, supporting your choices with evidence, integrating feedback in a graceful and sophisticated way, and being a compromise-intelligent person will make you successful in the career as much as design skill would.

Build collaboration skills through:

• Working on freelance projects for real clients with real deadlines
• Join student design collectives or clubs
• Competitions based on teams
• Documenting your process to allow others to follow your thinking
• Practising presenting work and dealing with feedback in a professional manner

Flexibility means future-proofing

The design tools you learn today may become obsolete in five years, and all the trends that dominate 2026 will look dated by 2030. The industries will move on to newer technologies, user expectations will evolve, and new design specialisations will emerge.

What remains constant is your ability to learn. Designers who succeed are those who approach their careers as one long education, always testing, always soaking up influences, always challenging their assumptions.

Be flexible by:

• Experimenting with innovative technologies such as AR filters, generative AI, or spatial computing

• Following thought leaders across various design disciplines
• Regularly attend design conferences, workshops, and webinars.
• Reading beyond design-psychology, technology, business, culture
• Being open to unlearning obsolete practices and embracing superior methods

Your Portfolio is Essential

AIDAT gets you into college. The portfolio gets you internships, jobs, and opportunities. It's the single most important tool in your career arsenal.

But here's what admissions committees and employers are looking for: they want to see how you think, not just what you can make. Include your research, your iterations, your failures and your learnings alongside polished final deliverables.

Portfolio essentials for 2026:

• 8-12 carefully selected projects that demonstrate range and depth
• Case studies that describe the process, and not only the results.
• Evidence of solving real problems, even in academic projects.
• CLEAR explanations of your role in collaborative work
• Projects displaying technical skills and conceptual thinking
• Regular updates to reflect your growth and current capabilities

Cracking AIDAT: Strategy Beyond Syllabus

AIDAT tests design aptitude including your inborn capacity to observe, visualise, and think creatively. Though you cannot fake aptitude, you most definitely can sharpen it with focussed practice.

The test is meant for assessing creative thinking, visual perception, design sensitivity, and skills of communication. It tests for the raw talent needed to be a great designer, independent of skill level.

Tips For Cracking Design Entrance Test

• Master the basics: excellent observational drawing, principles of design, knowledge of proportion and perspective.
• Be culturally current: Know key Indian and international designers, understand significant design movements, follow conversations on contemporary design.
• Practice timed exercises: Creative aptitude tests are always time-bound, so practice working quickly without compromising quality. 
• Visual vocabulary: Draw from observation regularly; train yourself to record ideas visually. 
• Think beyond the obvious: The test rewards original thinking. Practice coming up with multiple solutions to the same problem. 
• Review systematically: take mock tests, analyze mistakes, work specifically on weak areas. 

What Careers Can one Pursue After Earning a Design Degree?

Once a candidate clears AIDAT and graduate from a reputed design college, they get options to pursue various paths, like:

1. Digital Design Roles: UI/UX designers, product designers, designers working on apps, websites, and digital experiences.
2. Visual Communication: Graphic designers, brand identity specialists, publication designers creating everything from logos to full ecosystems of branding.
3. Spatial Design: Interior designers, exhibit designers, retailers, retail space planners that create physical spaces.
4. Fashion and Lifestyle: Clothing designers, textile designers, accessory designers, fashion stylists working in traditional and contemporary segments.
5. Motion and Experience: Animation designers, motion graphics artists, experience designers creating dynamic visual storytelling.
6. Emerging Specialisations: Designers for service Design researchers Design strategists working at the intersection of design and business.

The career options are much broader than the traditional roles. With experience, designers advance to the creative direction, design leadership, entrepreneurship, and consulting. Numerous set up their own studios, or work on an international level for global brands and agencies.

Design Courses Via AIDAT

Success in design isn't a matter of innate talent, it's cultivated through the process of deliberate practice, real curiosity, and relentless effort. Every great designer you admire began exactly where you are standing now… unsure, but willing to take the first step.

The skills described here are not mastered overnight. Choose one area to work on this month. Create consistently. Seek honest feedback. Remain interested in the reason designs function or fail. Document your progress. Celebrate little  improvements.

Remember, AIDAT is your gateway but the real journey starts after. The design industry requires new perspectives, diverse voices, and innovative thinkers who can approach tomorrow's challenges.

Want to get started? Register for the AIDAT entrance test via its official portal. Note it, your design career doesn't start when you enter college; it starts the moment you start taking this seriously.

In India, design courses are trendy and appeal to the artistic mindsets willing to pursue a career in fashion, graphic, product or interior design. However, there are some factors which students must keep in mind before choosing to pursue a Design Degree out of  FOMO or wrong perception of one' s skills. Here are seven reasons as to why certain students might not find design courses suitable to them even though they feel they are made for designing. 

The Absence of Real Passion and Interest

Design requires imagination, critical analysis and a passion in aesthetics and usability. Lack of interest in design concepts usually causes the students to lack motivation, and thus, can adversely influence their academic work and career development.

Wrong Expectations 

Stats of design students in India indicate that the dropout rates in specialized courses such as design are more than other technical and non-technical courses. This is an indication of the discrepancies in the expectations of the students and the reality of the course and many end up dropping studies half way through.

Biases toward Structured Learning

Design education is not as fixed and more investigative in nature and it demands self-directed learning and exploration. The design courses can be frustrating and overwhelming to students who prefer learning in strict and predictable environments, and not knowing what is right and wrong.

Financial Limitations and ROI Issues

Design degrees may be costly, particularly when pursuing the course in private institutes that have studio and material tuition fees. The payback period (ROI) is very diverse and students who do not have excellent portfolios might also struggle to get gainful employment right after graduating.

Poor Technical and Digital capability 

Contemporary design extensively uses digital resources and applications (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite). Students who feel uneasy or unconversant with technology might not be able to follow at a pace that will impact their confidence and achievement.

Little Stress Tolerance of Subjective Feedback

Design is often subjective and iterative, with peer criticism, faculty criticism, and client criticism. Students that are stressed or demotivated by repeated subjective feedback might not succeed in the design discipline.

Incompatible Career Expectations

Most students anticipate high paying glamorous design careers without a full understanding of how intense the industry could be. In the absence of achievable career aspirations and readiness to face entry-level challenges, it is usual to be disgruntled and switch careers.

All-in-all, if a student is not crazy about designing, creativity, and wishes to do everything to build a lucrative design career, he/she should not pursue this course. Because designing is not everyone’s cup of tea, it is better  to look for alternative career options and not waste months studying something you don’t feel passionate about. 

Thus, before taking design courses, students must think hard about their eagerness to be creative, their wheel of comfort with ambiguity, their financial preparedness, and their career expectations. Reflective self-assessment may also avoid ineffective enrollment and help students to pursue courses and programs that match their stronger and intended aims. 

Are you searching for a career that blends creativity, style, and stability? Interior design courses are trending high in 2025 and for good reason. As homes and offices prioritize comfort, aesthetics, and eco-friendly solutions, skilled interior designers are in hot demand across India and globally.

Today's top interior design courses focus not just on beauty, but on innovation. Learn space planning, 3D modeling, and the newest sustainable design trends that transform any space into a masterpiece. Whether you choose a diploma or a degree, these programs equip you with hands-on skills and industry insights that employers crave.

Institutes like Manipal University and CVM School of Design offer courses tailored to today’s market, including training in smart home integration and biophilic interiors connecting people with nature indoors. Plus, industry-relevant internships and portfolio development boost your job prospects instantly.

Why is this course so sought after? The interior design field promises creative freedom, strong job growth, plus opportunities in real estate, hospitality, and corporate sectors. And with digital tools becoming vital, you’ll learn technologies that give you a competitive edge.

If you’re passionate about shaping spaces and want a career that’s future-proof, start exploring interior design courses today. Invest in your creative skills and join a booming industry!

The National Institute of Design (NID) continues to strengthen its global presence by virtue of a broad network of global as well as collaborative programmes. Ranked by Business Week (USA) amongst the Top 25 European & Asian Design Programmes (2006, 2007) and amongst the Top 30 design colleges globally by Ranker in 2014, NID has continued to adhere to excellence in learning as well as creative partnerships with world-class international design schools.

Faculty and Research Collaboration

Since NID is approaching six decades of designing learning in India, faculty exchange has emerged as one of the prime focus areas. Short- and long-term faculty exchange programs with its associate universities are fostered by the institute to develop cross-cultural learning and encourage research conversation in design. Research remains the pillar of NID's academic culture.

NID Press and Publications

NID's publishing arm, NID Press, chronicles the institute's philosophy of design and innovations in the form of books, monographs, catalogues, and newsletters. Its premier publication, The Trellis, focuses on research work, archival research, interviews, and book reviews with open invitations for contributions from both the faculty and students globally.

Collaborative Workshops and Open Electives

Through its Continuing Education Programmes (CEP), NID conducts short-duration workshops and collaborative training programmes bringing design in touch with industry, commerce, and service sectors. Visiting professors from partner institutions often co-conduct the workshops with the facilitators, facilitating cross-learning.

NID also organizes its Open Electives every year in January–February, where senior students from all disciplines are welcomed to participate in two-week multidisciplinary design workshops. International students and faculty are also welcomed, helping in creative exchange and experimentation.

Student Exchange Opportunities

NID offers semester-long exchange student programs typically between January to May during which the participants have the opportunity to undergo India's design ecosystem. The exchange requests are processed by the home institutions' respective International Offices in accordance with regulations that have been established.

Through these initiatives, NID continues to be at the vanguard of international design education by fusing Indian creativity with international cooperation to create the future generation of innovative thinkers and researchers.

The National Scholarship Scheme, initiated by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is a program that seeks to empower Scheduled Tribe (ST) students by giving them complete financial support in seeking higher education in India's best institutes. The scheme is meant to motivate bright ST students to attend undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various professional fields like Engineering, Management, Medicine, Law, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

100% Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship

This 100% funded Central Sector Scheme is undertaken by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It addresses all the notified and recognized institutions' approved courses. The award of the scholarship extends until the completion of the whole course, subject to maintaining satisfactory academic progress, as attested by the institute.

But the students availing of this scholarship are not entitled to receive any other Central or State scholarship during the same course.

 The income is derived by totaling the gross income of both parents from all sources — salary, agriculture, business, property, or any other source.

Important provisions are

If both parents earn, their combined income is considered.

In case of a single parent, only that parent’s income is counted.

For orphans supported by a guardian, the income limit does not apply.

For married students, the spouse’s income is added to the family income.

The certificate of income must be submitted only once at the time of admission. For salaried workers, Form 16 is accepted, whereas for others, certificates issued by the specific State or UT authority are acceptable.

Premier Institutions and Course Coverage

A total of 252 top institutions in India have been notified under the scheme currently (Annexure-I). They are prestigious IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, National Law Universities, and other high-ranked government colleges. Only those students from these institutions who are admitted on the basis of merit are eligible for the scholarship. Those admitted under management quota in private colleges are not included.

Providing Equity in Education

National Scholarship Scheme is an historic initiative for preventing good ST students from pursuing world-class education due to financial constraints. By paying for tuition fees, living expenses, and study expenses, the scheme provides opportunities for tribal youth to succeed in competitive, high-impact professional careers — building a stronger, more diverse India.

During the course of China's fast growth, society has increasing demands for educational reform. Unlike other elementary disciplines, design puts more importance on practicality, which demands that, in the course of design education reform, more efforts should be made to stimulate students' subjective initiative and enhance students' problem-solving ability in case of failure. This paper systematically elaborates on a more scientific approach to curriculum reform suitable for China's educational system, based on positive psychology and taking grit into account. It conducts research and analysis of the curriculum reform of design education based on positive psychology using field research, logical analysis, and other methods of research. It is easier to design education curriculum reform from the perspective of positive psychology than from that of normal education curriculum reform, and the contribution of grit to participation in the educational curriculum reform towards positive psychology is much higher than in the traditional educational curriculum reform, as per experimental study. 

In present times, in China, some problems and social contradictions have arisen due to rapid development. Consequently, most researchers call this new phase of Chinese society a transitional period. While a country or nation is transitioning, its education system will tend to experience all forms of changes and reforms. Due to the progress and foresight of the development of modern education, educational transformation and reform should precede societal reform and transformation, and the progress and foresight of educational theories and thoughts should ensure the progress and foresight of educational development. Since the past few years, with the nation's interest and the constant shifts in the need of talent for the society, universities and colleges have carried out a lot of research on modifying the teaching content and curriculum system (Tadesse and Melese, 2016; Yun, 2017). Yet the outcome is far behind what society needs (Shmuel, 2018; Campbel, 2020). Positive psychology asserts that human nature can only be eliminated or repressed by developing and enhancing positive power. As a new movement in psychology, the positive educational concept endorsed by positive psychology presents a new study perspective. Though majority of colleges and universities' human capital development objectives are all at "technical application talents," their curriculum contexts and pedagogies are not consistent with the name (Koh, 2017; Mohamed and Ahmad, 2019). Positive psychology research has had mixed success among many scholars. For example, Li Jinzhen et al. in "Positive Psychology: A New Research Direction" examined the emergence, general research areas, and current development status of positive psychology. It is said that the concepts of positive psychology have emerged in previous psychological studies, following the extensive introduction and examination (Li, 2019). While it is no longer new, Vickers (2018) and Fu and Clarke (2019) are confident that its systematic and systematic examination can provide a new research direction for psychology. In "Positive Psychology: Ideas and Actions," Miao Yuanjiang introduced the central framework content of positive psychology as an idea and an action (Yuen et al., 2019). It outlines the gigantic response it has received within the academic and societal realms, and it gazes into the future of the positive psychology's growth trend with optimism and concern (Tao, 2017; Huang et al., 2021). Grit is a learning culture that challenges students to work through a string of failures before attaining success. Cultivation grit is a vital personality attribute that must be highlighted in China's new school system. In conducting educational reform studies, it is essential to take into account the influence of the personality attribute on educational achievement.

This research aims to encourage educational curriculum reform, as well as investigate and assess design education curriculum reform from positive psychology, as well as the disadvantages and flaws of traditional design curriculum education. Discuss and analyze the design of education curriculum reform according to the concept of positive psychology.