NIFT Exam Analysis 2020 for MDes Admissions

NIFT Entrance Exam for MDes admissions was held on January 19 such that aspirants gave Creative Ability Test (CAT) and General Ability Test (GAT).

NIFT CAT exam for Master of Design (MDes) admissions was held from 10 am to 1 pm and GAT exam was conducted from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm. The exam pattern was exactly as shared by exam authorities in the admission brochure.

NIFT Exam Analysis 2020 for GAT

Questions in General Ability Test (GAT) for MDes admissions were as shared in NIFT exam pattern. The comprehension section was tricky whereas the reasoning questions were easy.

NIFT Exam Analysis 2020 for CAT

The MDes CAT Paper comprised of three questions with choices in each.

The first question had four blocks in which the students had to draw and write on any one of the three given topics:

• If one becomes invisible and then one gets to help someone using this quality, this had to be showcased in four blocks
• (b) “Imagine you are lost in a jungle at half your original size, show the advantages you would enjoy in the given situation.”
• (c) Show and write about the independent lives of senior citizens giving the rising scenario of seniors living alone on their own.

Solution: These situations all called for not only the fertile imagination but also identifying needs and solutions, aiming to not only test the creative imagination but also their empathy quotients, the causes they believe in, the social responsibility they are ready to shoulder and the solutions they can think of.

The second question was about designing a print advertisement for a magazine for any one of the given products: Surf Excel and Kellogg’s.

Solution: Since these are existing products in the market, it was imperative to remember their existing logos, colour scheme, typography of the brand, tag line, the mascot (in case of Kellogg’s), brand positioning and also the theme around which their ads currently revolve. Eg. Where Surf Excel has emotional quotient to its brand with ‘daag achche hain’, Kellogg’s, on the other hand, invites kids to a fun filled journey with his mascot in a fantasy world of milk and cereals, health, goodness and fun, with the tagline ‘let’s make today great’ for the great start of the day. All of this had to be kept in mind while attempting your version of their print ad.  

The third question was regarding how a hiring should be done for a new launch brand of maternity garments, for its sales and marketing staff and the qualities that should be looked for to fulfil this requirement.

Solution: Here, again the empathy quotient was important as to what kind of needs and concerns would a would-be-mother have, understanding her trauma at losing her shape, gaining weight and size, need for comfort, need to yet look glamorous or presentable at various occasions, frequent instances of oedema, fear of never getting her pre maternity self-back, doubts of handling the upcoming responsibility, worry and disinterest in spending too much on maternity wardrobe hoping to shed them at the earliest post birth, leading to the merchandise addressing these concerns like comfort factor, stretchabilty factor, versatility, looks, camouflage or flattering depending on the confidence of the client, breathability, cost effectiveness etc, all these factors have to be empathised and thus emphasised upon. Also the staff’s age and appearance too should be comforting to the client, like a motherly looking staff will evoke more trust and empathy while a prim young girl with gym fit body may add glamour to the store but may evoke wishful nostalgia bordering insecurity to the client. All of this thinking and more needed to be explored in handling of this question.  

NIFT Management & Technology papers didn’t see any change in their respective formats and were same as in previous format having 150 questions to be attempted in 180 minutes, with various sections of Case Study, Business Domain, Quantitative, Comprehension, General English & Reasoning.

The best would now go to the second stages of Situation test (for BDes) & GDPI (for MDes, MFTech and MFM), which would further comprise of 20% for former and 30% for the later, in the final merit list.  For the BFTech, however written is the only and decisive exam and their merit in the same will reveal if they get a call for admission counselling.

Wishing All the Luck once again!

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About the Author:

Shipra Anand is the Founder Director of Academy for Fashion Careers in Lucknow.