NID DAT 2020 was held from 10 am to 1 pm today, December 29, 2019. Find out what students had to say about the difficulty level and test pattern of NID Entrance Exam 2020.
NID Entrance Exam 2020 was held across 21 test cities for Bachelor of Design (BDes) course and 16 test cities for Mater of Design (MDes) course admissions. Candidates were asked to report for NID Entrance Exam 2020 by 8:30 am and the test centre gates were closed at 9:30 am.
NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT) is the means through which aspirants can secure admission in BDes, MDes and GDPD course offered at colleges accepting NID entrance exam scores for admission. NID DAT Prelims is the first stage that candidates need to clear in order to secure admission in the prestigious National Institutes of Design (NIDs).
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NID Entrance Exam pattern is such that the test paper is divided into objective and subjective type questions. The weightage of creative ability questions in NID DAT Prelims 2020 is 70 marks whereas general ability questions are of 30 marks weightage.
Shiksha spoke to students at NID exam centre at Himalaya Public Senior Secondary School, Rohini where more than 300 students took NID Entrance Exam 2020. Most of the student who took NID DAT Prelims 2020 shared that the exam was much easier than what they had expected. But the only challenge was to complete the design entrance exam on time as they had to solve seven creative ability questions which were thought provoking and lengthy to attempt.
- NID DAT 2020: Difficulty Level of the Exam
- NID DAT 2020 Exam Pattern vs Past Years’ Papers
- NID DAT Prelims 2020: Questions Asked in Creativity Ability Section
NID DAT 2020: Difficulty Level of the Exam
Shifali who gave NID DAT 2020 for Graphic Design course admissions shared that this is the first design entrance exam that she appeared for but she found NID exam to be easy. “It was a little time-consuming because I was getting so many ideas while attempting the drawing questions and so in the end I had to rush”. She further shared that, “I completed my paper on time but I could have attempted the end questions in a much better way if I had more time”.
Talking about NID DAT 2020, Ritvika, a student of DPS RK Puram shared, “It was fairly good, a few questions related to current affairs were tricky but the rest was easy. The marking scheme was exactly as shared by exam authorities, 70 marks for drawing questions and 30 marks for Maths, Logical and General Ability questions”.
Kannur, Amity School, Gurgaon said that NID exam “was very easy. The basic exam pattern was given that there is going to be Maths questions and all. First of all, there were no questions from Maths and English, only from Logical Reasoning. As far as the General Aptitude Test (GAT) is concerned there were questions only from Logical Reasoning and GK. The questions from the creative section were as it is every year”.
Pooja, DPS Gautam Budh Nagar, “The exam was pretty good. The marking scheme was exactly as shared in the brochure. Weightage of general ability questions was 30 marks and for creative aptitude questions we will be evaluated from 70 marks. But in the creative ability section, we were separately given the marking scheme for each question”. She further elaborated about NID exam pattern by saying, “Basic questions were asked in the first part of the exam like current affairs and reasoning. In creative section, we had to make posters and solve general problem solving questions”.
Ankita, Modern Public School said, “My exam went fine. Section A that contains GK is always difficult because there is no limit to the type of questions that can be asked here. Section B of NID exam had seven questions and we had to solve these as per the marking scheme. My drawing questions went OK and I was able to complete my paper on time”.
Vadanya, The Air Force School shared that her NID, “Paper went good. It was a little challenging because it was long due to the new pattern of more drawing questions and less Maths questions. The aptitude questions were easy and there was more emphasis on GK and Current Affairs. The two marker questions were easy and GK questions were hard. The creative questions were moderate in difficulty level”.
NID DAT 2020 Exam Pattern vs Past Years’ Papers
Most of the students who took NID Entrance Exam 2020 had solved past years’ question papers as well as sample papers for this design entrance exam. Dhriti, Bosco Public School said, “The exam was nice. There were questions from drawing, the exam basically tests us on how creative we are. The aptitude section was not difficult at all”. Elaborating further, she said, “I have solved previous years’ papers for NID DAT and the exam pattern and difficulty level was almost similar. In fact one question was repeated wherein a cake was given and it was divided into four parts and we had to draw and explain the question as per the conditions given”.
Isha, Ryan International School, Rohini shared, “The paper was easy but it was a little lengthy and we had to speed up to solve all the questions. I had solved past 8-9 years question papers of NID exam and the exam pattern was almost similar to the questions asked in previous years’ papers.
NID DAT Prelims 2020: Questions Asked in Creativity Ability Section
NID aspirants shared some questions asked in Part II of the exam. The questions asked in this section had different weightages allotted to them.
NID DAT 2020 Questions |
Marking Scheme |
---|---|
An open cube was given in zebra pattern and students had to draw it in 3D form. |
5 marks |
A person is sitting under a jamun tree and there was a pumpkin patch. The person thinks that the tree is so big but has tiny jamun fruit and wouldn’t it be better if the tree had pumpkins. This was a storyboard question and students had to draw it in the three spaces given. |
13 marks |
An old bulb was given and students had to conceptualise it in five humorous ways. |
15 marks |
Design three defensive mechanisms for trees so that they do not get cut down. |
15 marks |
Design a kitchen from the perspective of a three year old child. |
12 marks |
A part of a quote by Rabindranath Tagore was given “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free” - A poster had to be created with the above quote in mind. | 10 marks |
Candidates appearing for NID DAT 2020 can also go through the links mentioned below:
NID Entrance Exam Analysis | NID Entrance Exam Answer Key | NID Entrance Exam Cutoff |
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Student Forum
Answered a month ago
Candidates will be able to apply online by registering on the official portal, filling out the form, uploading documents, and paying the application fee. The registration process will start after the release of the NID DAT 2026 official notification. National Institute of Design is expected to relea
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
The NID DAT 2026 notification will provide information about eligibility, application process, fees, exam dates, exam pattern, and selection process. The notification provides details of seat capacity at each NID campus for both B.Des and M.Des.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID DAT 2026 notifications will be available on the official website of NID at admissions.nid.edu. Official notification of the NID entrance exam is all set to be out by the first week of September 2025. The notifications will be out for UG and PG programmes.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
National Institute of Design is expected to release the NID DAT 2026 Applications by the first week of September 2025 for B.Des and M.Des programmes. The registration for NID DAT 2026 will be on the official website of NID. Candidates can fill out the application form by registering, filling in info
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID notification for 2026 is expected to be out by the first week of September 2025. The official notification will be out on the official website of the NID and will contain details about the NID entrance examination.
The NID notifications will include:
General Information
Important Dates
Intake Capa
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
One can follow these tips for NID 2026 preparations:
- Know your NID Syllabus.
- Understand the exam pattern of NID DAT.
- Make the NID DAT 2026 preparation plan.
- Books to refer.
- Practice till you are perfect using mock tests and previous year's papers.
- NID DAT Exam Day Strategy.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
In general, the average salary after passing from NID is between 8-12 lakhs. It can also range between 17 and 50 lakhs, depending on the recruiter and the performance of the student.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, there are placements in NID campuses. NID has separate Placement cells for the placement process. Placement in NID completely depends on the performance of the student during the selection interview. Some of the top recruiters of NID are:
- Malabar Gold & Diamonds
- J.P.Morgan
- Tcs
- The Asian Heritage F
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID students can get job opportunities in graphic designing, UX designing, animation, fashion communication, furniture designer, fashion consultant, Textile designer, web designer, product designer, film and video communication and much more.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID Ahmedabad has a good record of placements. NID Ahmedabad consistently leads in placement outcomes among NID campuses. In 2025, the average package was around ?21.3 LPA and the highest package was around ?30 LPA. The Total offers made were 620.
S
Contributor-Level 10