NID DAT 2019 was conducted today, January 6, 2019. Candidates shared that the NID exam pattern 2019 was different from past years' question papers. Aspirants can go through the test pattern and difficulty level of NID entrance exam 2019 for admission in BDes and MDes course in the article below.
NID Entrance Exam 2019 was conducted across 21 test cities in India today, January 6, 2019. NID DAT (Prelims) is the first step to secure admission in design courses offered at National Institute of Design (NID). Candidates who are shortlisted for admission in NID DAT Prelims are only eligible to appear for NID DAT Mains exam.
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Thus, aspirants who are seeking admission in BDes, MDes or GDPD course offered at NID campuses need to first clear NID DAT (Prelims) which is a written entrance test and thereafter appear for a Studio Test and Interview round which forms a part of NID DAT (Mains). After clearing all these NID admission stages candidates are eligible to secure admission in colleges that accept NID Entrance Exam scores.
NID Entrance Exam 2019 is of three hours duration. NID DAT for BDes and GDPD course admissions was conducted from 10 am to 1 pm whereas the design aptitude test for MDes course admissions 2019 was held from 9 am onwards.
Shiksha spoke to many students right after the exam and as per NID Entrance Exam 2019 student reaction most of the aspirants shared that there was a major change in NID Entrance Exam Pattern which was not as per expectation.
The marking scheme for NID Entrance Exam 2019 was as shared by National Institute of Design authorities. In the paper, the MCQs section was of 70 marks weightage whereas the subjective questions amounted to 30 marks weightage. However, NID did just the opposite as in the NID DAT Prelims 2019 question paper for BDes admissions, the subjective questions carried 70 marks and the objective questions were of 30 marks weightage. Thus, NID Entrance Exam pattern 2019 was such that aspirants need to attempt objective as well as subjective questions as per the below mentioned weightage.
Part |
Type of Questions |
Marks |
I |
Objective |
30 |
II |
Subjective |
70 |
Total |
100 |
NID DAT Prelims 2019 Student Reaction for BDes Exam Paper
Priya Sukhija of Mount Carmel, PU College shared that, “There was exam pattern change this time and it was a little scary as we received our roll marks sheet and there were only 23 questions”. Elaborating further she said, “There were 30 marks for the aptitude questions and 70 marks for drawing questions. It took me a lot of time to draw so it was a different paper from what I expected but I was able to complete my paper on time”.
A student of Pupil Tree School, Ishika Pola shared that the NID Entrance Exam “was pretty good. In the drawing part, one of the portion was quite difficult, rest was the same. She also said that, “The NID exam pattern changed for the exam this year. It was 70 marks for drawing and 30 marks for the aptitude part. The aptitude questions were fine, they were good”.
“My exam was average but I attempted all the questions. If you ask me about the difficulty level of NID DAT 2019, I would rate it 6 on 10. This is primarily because I am slow with the drawing questions and in this paper I had to draw for six questions which was not what I was expecting. Although the drawing questions were easy but I don’t think I was able to give in my creative best in those questions” shared Radhika Saluja of Holy Child School, Ghaziabad.
Madhav from Kumarans EU College said that NID Entrance Exam 2019 was good for him. “The drawing part was a little hard. The weightage of the question paper was 70 marks versus 30 marks, that is, drawing to aptitude section. The aptitude part was simple the drawing part was a little harder. But I was able to complete my NID exam on time”. Confirming the same Priya said, “I first did the aptitude questions and then the drawing questions. But I was not able to attempt my first question properly. In it, we were given a picture of a room and there was a window in the room and you were on a ladder and looking into the room and you had to draw what you see. That was the most difficult question for me rest of the NID Entrance Exam 2019 went well for me”.
NID Exam Entrance 2019 as Compared to Previous Years’ Question Paper
Students were in for a rude surprise while giving NID Entrance Exam 2019. Every year, NID DAT has objective as well as subjective questions in its test paper. Last year, NID Entrance Exam had objective questions of 30 marks weightage and subjective questions of 70 marks weightage. But this year, NID changed the weightage such that the NID question paper had six subjective questions of 70 marks weightage and the aptitude questions were of 30 marks weightage.
Confirming the same Ishika said, “I was not expecting this change in NID test pattern. There were 6 questions in the subjective section. Part A was aptitude test and Part B was the descriptive part”. Talking about the difficulty level of each section of the NID exam she said, “The difficulty level of the aptitude questions was easy and the drawing part I felt was challenging. It wasn’t difficult but it was challenging as you had to think a lot and be very creative. Solving the first question was the most difficult part of NID DAT Prelims for me”. She further shared that she was able to complete her paper on time and there was no time constrain as such.
“The test pattern was completely different from previous years’ question papers. There were three questions from spatial ability and then there were some GK questions. I like the creative questions but not fine arts part of the exam and so I wasn’t very thrilled about the NID entrance exam this year”, shared Priya.
On the other hand Madhav shared that, “I didn’t know about this pattern change but some of my friends were expecting it”. He also shared that there were around 22 aptitude questions in NID Entrance Exam 2019.
NID DAT Prelims 2019: Subjective Questions asked for BDes Admissions
As per NID Entrance Exam student reaction 2019, some of the subjective questions asked in the exam are as mentioned in the table below:
Question No. |
NID Entrance Exam Questions 2019 for BDes Admissions |
1 |
A picture of a room was given and there was a window in the room and you are on a ladder and looking into the room. You had to draw what you see in the room. |
2 |
A picture from a side view was given and students had to draw it from the front view. The picture had a dead old man, a dog barking towards the thief. Students had to draw this picture from the front view. |
3 |
Draw and colour a stamp commemorating the 160th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. |
4 |
Draw a man or a woman sitting on a table and in front of them there is a spoon, a fork and a plate. |
5 |
Draw to depict that all that is gold does not glitter in a realistic manner and write a few lines on it. |
6 |
Draw a fork and a spoon that have been brought together at the handle. |
NID DAT Prelims 2019 Student Reaction for MDes Exam Paper
There was a change in the MDes question paper for NID admissions 2019 as well. The weightage of the aptitude questions was 25 marks and subjective questions amounted to 75 marks weighatge.
Aspiring to secure admission at NID Ahmedabad for MDes in Product Design, Mitesh Kumar who is currently working with TCS shared that his NID DAT Prelims exam went well. “I had a great time giving NID exam this year. It was challenging and required me to put in my creative best. Some of my friends found the test paper to be a little lengthy but since I am quick with the drawing aspect I was able to complete my paper within the given time, he said.
Prashant Pradhan who works with DQ Labs shared that there was a change in exam pattern for NID Entrance Exam conducted for MDes admissions 2019 as well. He shared that the NID DAT Prelims 2019 paper for MDes course comprised of theory questions that candidates needed to complete in 30 minutes duration and a two hour drawing paper to be done separately. Elaborating further he said, “The theory paper in my opinion was the easiest I’ve seen. It comprised of 12 questions carrying 25 marks”. As per him, “The Product design drawing paper was very well made and it challenged a lot of different aspects”. He found the Interaction Design paper to be a little strange. “I think the questions could be considered ambiguous and open to interpretation which makes it very hard for one to gauge if they have done a good job or not”, he said.
Talking about NID Entrance Exam 2019 for MDes admissions, a Graphic Design and Fashion Lifestyle Accessories aspirant, Neetu Mishra said, “The paper was OK but you can’t really be sure with the NID entrance exam because the first part was good in a way because the GK questions were easy. The second part which was the creative and drawing part was very tricky and very interesting to solve at the same time”. Elaborating on the difficulty level of NID DAT Prelims 2019 for MDes course she said, “Difficulty level of section A was average and section B would be above average and also a lot more questions were asked in the drawing section this time around”.
Reema Gulati who wants to pursue Lifestyle Accessory Design from NID Gandhinagar was quoted as saying that NID Entrance Exam 2019 contained questions from Visual Spatial Ability, Mental Ability Questions, Analytical Questions along with some puzzles. She also shared that the paper was as per her expectations.
NID DAT Prelims 2019: Subjective Questions asked for MDes Admissions
As per NID Entrance Exam student reaction 2019, some of the subjective questions asked in the exam are as mentioned in the table below:
Question No. |
NID Entrance Exam Questions 2019 for MDes Admissions |
1 |
For Product Design: You are going for a trek. Design a product that fits a bottle, shoe, sandwich, book and phone. Draw this product and explain how it can be used. |
2 |
For Interaction Design: In the future India will be voting on mobile phones. Identify three problems and illustrate solutions to these problems. |
3 |
Five icons were given from “UN Sustainable Goals for 2018”. |
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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.
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Contributor-Level 10