10 tips to crack interview for design courses at NID, NIFT & IIT
Candidates seeking admission to design courses offered by the IITs, NIDs, or NIFTs must know that the admission process in these colleges is multi-tiered. Stage 1 of most design entrance exams is a written test. Shortlisted candidates must appear in a Studio/Situation Test that will evaluate their creativity and ability to handle different materials. In the case of PG courses, the Studio Test is typically followed by a Personal Interview. The prospect of appearing in a Personal Interview is daunting for many candidates. Also, there is no pre-defined formula as to what questions the jury may ask. So, preparing for the Personal Interview can be tricky. So, here we bring a few tips that candidates would find handy when facing the interview round for NIFT Entrance Exam, NID Entrance Exam, and CEED.
Design Admission Process
Most design entrance exams have a design aptitude test (DAT) that tests the design aptitude of the candidate. The NID DAT entrance exam 2025 has the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. The National Institute of Design (NID) conducted the DAT Prelims exam on January 5, 2025. On the day of the exam, the candidate had to bring their admit card and a valid photo ID proof. The NIFT 2025 entrance exam was conducted on February 9, 2025.
10 Tips to Crack Interview for Design Entrance Exam
The ten expert tips to ace your Design Entrance Interview are as follows:
1. Be on time
- Make it a point to reach the venue where your interview is to be conducted (or log in to the system, in case of an online interview) on time. You may also visit your interview venue a day before the exam and do a recce on travel time, traffic situation, and the surrounding environment. However, if that is not possible, then make sure that you get the directions to the venue a day before.
- Also, a good practice is to reach your interview venue at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time for your interview.
2. Maintain etiquettes
- It’s important to maintain a respectful and formal attitude during your interview. Avoid casual greetings such as "Hi" or even "Hello." Instead, opt for a polite and appropriate greeting like “Good morning” or “Good afternoon.”
- When you enter the interview room, greet all the panelists courteously and ask for permission to be seated. Make sure your mobile phone is turned off; if that’s not possible, at least set it to silent mode to avoid any distractions.
- Address the interviewers respectfully using “Sir,” “Ma’am,” or “Madam,” and always maintain a polite tone, regardless of the situation. Avoid interrupting, arguing, or responding rudely.
- At the end of the interview, thank the panelists for their time, offer a polite farewell, and leave the room gracefully.
3. Dress appropriately
- Although there is no set dress code to appear for the interview round for admission in design courses offered at NIFT, NID, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IISc Bangalore, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur and IIT Hyderabad. However, it is advisable to wear formal clothes.
- Also, pay special attention to the footwear you wear. Wearing chappals or any other casual footwear for an admission interview is a strict No-No.
4. Do not use Slangs
Under no circumstances should you use slang like ‘you guys’, ‘OMG’, ‘cool’, ‘kinda’, ‘what’s up’, ‘awesome’, etc. If you utter any such words, chances are the jury may take offense. An interview is an extremely formal event, and you should make sure that you keep it that way.
5. Maintain eye contact
Try maintaining eye contact with the interviewers, this shows that you are confident and are well-aware of the questions put before you. However, make sure that you are not staring and simply conveying the fact that you are extremely interested in appearing for and clear the interview.
6. Carry your Portfolio
The panelists would be very interested in going through your work, and this will give you an added advantage because most likely, on viewing your portfolio, the entire interview would be conducted on how and why you created the different works mentioned in your portfolio.
Know how to create your portfolio for design course admissions by viewing the 5 Tips to prepare your portfolio for the CEED and NID Entrance Exam.
7. Do your homework
A little research on the college and course that you are applying for will always come in handy. You can do this research on the internet. This effort put in by you will prove helpful as it will reflect to your interviewers that you are interested in securing admission to the college.
8. Avoid conventional answers
- Try and be as original in answering questions as you possibly can. Do not memorize any answers. In an admission interview for design courses, the panelists want to understand whether you have the creative instinct in you, along with the ability and aptitude to pursue the course you have applied for.
- Some of the most common questions asked in NID and CEED interview rounds are – Why did you select this particular course/ Where do you see yourself 5 or 10 years down the line? These are open-ended questions asked to judge the personality of a candidate and frankly speaking there is no standardized (correct) answer to these questions. So, be original and truthful and this is what will work wonders for you.
9. Know your subject
Most of the interviews for design course admissions revolve around testing the candidate’s aptitude and ability for the design stream they have selected to pursue. So, here it is advisable to be thorough in the subject of your preference, read about popular personalities in your field of choice, and develop a brief outline of what your expectations are of pursuing the course opted for.
10. Do not know the answer, admit it
If you have a subject question wherein you do not have any clue of the answer, admit your ignorance very frankly. Do not bluff or beat around the bush. Simply, inform the interviewers that you do not know the answer. If you are confident enough, you can ask the interviewer for guidance on where you can learn more about the topic, thus showing your curiosity about the subject.