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Beginners Preparation tips for Design Entrance Exam

Author : Reeshav Guha

Updated On : September 30, 2022

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Summary: By beginners, we refer to the ones amongst you who are preparing for the design entrance examination for the first time. Some of you must be targeting NIFT, NATA, and UCEED 2023 as your next goal. However, around those exams, there are much confusion and questions about how to prepare for the design entrance examination. Many of you must have felt perplexed by the syllabus and what material you should incorporate in your preparations.

It is evident that to crack your most awaited examination and receive admission, you have to score well in Your examination. There are chances that you will feel clueless at times about where to start. A question must have arisen about how to prepare for any design entrance exam. There's where we come in the frame. We will provide you with one of the best guides for Design Entrance Exams preparation by providing you with some of the best tips and plans to follow. But first, let us tell you a few things about the examinations which you are going to attend.

Get familiar with the examination 

Before we move ahead with the guide of preparation planning, first let us brief you about something else. That thing is the examination, how well do you know your examination? Do you have a clear vision of the examination you are going to take? If not then first read what things you need to do for dealing with a competitive examination. 

Download Free Study Material for Design Entrance Exams by CreativeEdge

Exam date

The very first thing you must know about your exam is when it is going to be conducted. It is critical because the date will help you draw a plan based on how much time you are going to get for preparation. So, always gather information about the important events of exams like Application form date, Date of Admission Application Submission. Date due to download verification and admit card and finally conduction of examination.

Check the exam pattern

Always check for information regarding how many parts the examination is divided. How many papers do you have to face before you qualify for admission? Understanding the exam pattern will help you understand how you should plan your preparations. It will also help you prioritize the segments and help you in identifying the major section you need to prepare for. 

Read more: UCEED Exam Pattern 2023

Assemble the best books for preparation

Have we told you to source the best resource available out there for your preparations? You need to identify the best books which can help you by providing maximized insights on examination patterns, questions pattern, and marking schemes. Also, it must help you cover a prominent section of your syllabus without having to search multiple resources to acquire ultimate knowledge. 

Read more: Best Books for Design Entrance Exams

Make a timetable

If you do not have a routine enlist all your priorities and your learning plan then you will have a hard time managing things. Creating and following a proper timetable not only reduces the excessive labor but saves your time and makes you more productive. Also, it will help you cover your syllabus effortlessly. 

Read More: 6 months Preparation Strategy for UCEED 2023

Solve past year's question paper/ Samples

Always refer to the 10-year question set containing all the question papers from the last 10 years. If you can't get access to this at least go for the 5 years' previous question papers. It will help you to develop a better understanding of the difficulty level of questions. And also, help in getting an idea about the kinds and concepts of questions that you are likely to face in the upcoming examinations. For example, you can look for the Interior designing entrance exam sample paper if you are going for industry design courses. 

Read More: UCEED Question Papers (Last 5 Years)

Get proper rest and stay positive 

Becoming exhausted by long hours of revision and classes is not going to increase your productivity or preciseness. You need to get that fair share of rest for yourself before hitting the examination center. Also, you have to build that sheer amount of confidence in yourself that yes "Whatever I have studied is enough to take me through this challenge". If your body receives proper rest and your state of mind remains positive then you will see enhanced performance while attempting questions in the examination hall.

UCEED Online Coaching

UCEED Online Coaching

Different career options in the field of designing 

When you hit the design domain as your career, you will find many options in which you have to select your niche before you appear for the examination. Choosing your niche and stream will help you focus on your ultimate goal and how you can prepare for that particular stream. 

Architecture 

Fashion 

Industry 

Communication 

Lifestyle Accessories 

___________

Fashion Design 

Textile

Apparel

Styling

Knitwear

Fashion Tech 

Interior

Furniture

Product

Ceramic

Glass

Transport

Automobile

Toy and game. 

Photography

Graphics

Film & Video

Animation

Exhibition

Web

Fashion Communication

Application

UI/ UX

Luxury brand 

Jewelry

Leather

Bag 

Purse

Footwear

Lifestyle products 

Read more: Design As Career

Admission Process in NIFT and other Colleges in Design Courses

Now let's shed some light on how the selection is done in some of the top-notch colleges like NIFT, IIT, etc. With this, you will develop a further understanding of how to prepare for fashion designing entrance exams. These design Examinations have a bit different pattern than other Competitive examinations. They are not limited to the written test but have situational tests too. These students have to showcase their creativity and thinking skills as well as their presentation skills. To summarise they have two parts:

  1. Pen & Paper based/ CBT on general topics (reasoning, maths, gk, etc.- GAT) as well as drawing tests. (CAT)
  2. Portfolio/ Studios test and Situation test. 

Note: Second round will be open for candidates who have qualified in the first round. 

Seat distribution in NIFT, UCEED, and NID

Just like every highly accredited institution the NIFT, NID, and UCEED have very limited numbers of seats to offer to you all. These limited numbers of seats and relatively higher numbers of students make it a very tough competition to deal with. 

Name of the Exam 

Seat distribution 

NID

841 (BDes 475 MDes 366)

NIFT

5023 ( BDes 3873 MDes 1150)

UCEED

199 ( BDes only)

Eligibility Criteria for Writing Design Entrance Exams 

Who is eligible to take the design entrance examination? Do you fulfill that criterion? What is the requirement for a suitable candidate to acquire a seat in top design colleges? Well here is the catch. 

  1. If you have completed your higher Secondary (+2) or if your 12th results are due to be published then you are eligible to apply for the design entrance examination for Undergraduate Programmes. 
  2. For the PG programs, you must be a Graduate or you must have completed your 3rd year with your results awaited. 

UCEED Mock Test

UCEED Mock Test

Strategic planning to prepare for Design Entrance Exam 

In this section, you will find all the information encapsulated which will make your preparation journey smooth and fruitful. 

Supportive Mentors

Find the best mentors for yourself. This you can do by searching for the industry's best coaching. It can be available in both online and offline coaching. So, it depends on you what kind of mentors you are looking for. The mentors will guide you through your preparation journey and help you by providing the required materials to aid your preparation. 

Study materials

As we have always said, without good study material your chances of success get reduced by 60%. So if you want a whopping score in your entrance then make sure to land on the authentic Study materials which carry essential notes, facts, and figures. 

Practice sheets

Practice sheets are the real gem to be found out there. The primary aim of the practice sheet is to accommodate students according to the upcoming examinations. It will help to develop an understanding of the Questions structure, its type, marking scheme, and how much time you can ideally spend on each question. 

Sense of competition

With this phrase, we refer to healthy competition, where you focus on growing up your competency and zeal to score best. It is to work on enhancing your caliber and accuracy while you deal with questions or when you are investing yourself in memorizing. Always try to spend that extra bit of your time to add value to your knowledge. 

Regular current affairs update

Regular current affairs update via open news sources and current affairs, weekly and fortnightly books will help you acquire Information about all the major events which are of great importance. They will help you score the maximum number in the GK and Current affairs sections. 

Participate in competition related to design workshop 

The inevitable part of the design examination is the drawing section. You have to bag a decent score in the drawing section too or else your chances of admission will decline. To achieve proficiency and expertise in drawing you must participate in the design workshop regularly. It will help you familiarise yourself with contemporary designs and also guide you by letting you practice Industry based design. 

Read more: 6 months Preparation Strategy for NIFT Exam

Frequently Asked Questions

You must select a book that covers both topics and sub-topics under the design entrance exam syllabus and is easy to read. You should also review the year of publication of the book when checking the best books, as learning from the new edition would help you learn about the revised syllabus and exam pattern.


Making notes either in writing or digital, both serve as an effective tool for revision purposes. You can make notes by highlighting important information or weak sections in separate notebooks for different subjects. This will help you learn and brush up on concepts quickly.
There are many NID preparation books available in PDF format on various websites. You can download PDF and study whenever you wish to.
Yes, you can get the top-notch quality Linear arrangements questions alongside the solution in pdf form. These are offered by the leading coaching centers to assist their candidates in practicing such questions. It also helps in understanding the concept of the questions and in turn boost candidates' score in the examination.
Yes, for the design entrance examination Linear arrangements are considered vital. So you must practice rigorously for enhancing your score in examinations like NATA and NIFT.

For the design entrance examination, you have to prepare for two different sections. The first one is written (MCQ) while the other is the Creative Aptitude section, also known as a situation test. Some Institutions refer to the previously prepared portfolio or presentation for this round. For the Aptitude based Exam, you can prepare with the help of coaching. The workshop will be helpful for the second round of drawing and design.


The design entrance examinations have two segments. They are:


  • Aptitude Test
  • Situation Model Test

To score well in design-based exams, you have to spare equal time and effort for both rounds. Your second round (portfolio & Situation test) has to be outstanding. You can achieve this through rigorous practice and expert guidance.


Yes, without a portfolio you will be considered ineligible for admission.

The purpose of the situation test is to analyze your creativity, time management, and resources management. It also tests your resilience and imagination skills as well as your presentation skills.


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