NID Entrance Exam 2018 Student Reaction for BDes & MDes

National Institute of Design Entrance Exam 2026 ( NID Entrance Exam )

DeskCalelnderRegistration - 11 Sep '25 - 1 Dec '25

Updated on Sep 1, 2021 19:28 IST

NID DAT 2018 Student Feedback

NID DAT (Prelims) 2018 was conducted today, January 7 across 23 test cities in the country. Admission process conducted by National Institute of Design (NID) comprises of two stages which are NID DAT (Prelims) and NID DAT (Mains). Thus, any candidates who is seeking admission in BDes, MDes or GDPD course offered at NID 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 admission stages candidates are eligible to secure admission in colleges that accept NID Entrance Exam scores.

NID Entrance Exam 2018 was of three hours duration and was held from 10 am to 1 pm today. The test pattern of NID DAT (Prelims) is such that candidates need to attempt objective as well as subjective questions of 100 marks weightage.

Explore colleges based on NID Entrance Exam

Pune
₹35.85 L
Ahmedabad
₹16.84 L
Pune
₹12 L
Hyderabad
₹13 L

Want better recommendations?

There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
Pune
₹17 L
Delhi
₹9.95 L
Dehradun
₹22.65 L
Sonepat
₹11 L
Jalandhar
₹9.6 L
Mumbai
₹29.4 L
Confused about which college or exam to opt for?assitentRcpRhsImage
  • Chat with our counselor
  • Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
View allCollections

Shiksha spoke to students after NID DAT 2018 was conducted and most of the students who took NID exam for BDes exam shared that the test was lengthy and a bit difficult than past years’ papers. Similar was the reaction given by MDes aspirants who also shared that NID DAT Prelims 2018 was average to difficult with respect to the standard of questions asked in the paper.

The marking scheme for NID Entrance Exam 2018 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.

Explore more Design exams with upcoming dates

SAT Registration Deadline for ...

18 Oct '25

UCEED 2026 Application DATE

1 Oct '25 - 31 Oct '25

SEED 2026 Online registration ...

1 Aug '25 - 30 Nov '25

IIAD 2026 - Application

1 Sep '25 - 7 Dec '25

KALSEE 2026 Application Form S...

1 Jan '26

NIFT 2026 application form OPE...

22 Nov '25 - 6 Jan '26

CT SET 2024 Application Form

28 Feb '26

SMEAT 2026 Application Form Da...

15 Dec '25 - 15 Mar '26

WUD DAT 2026 Registration STAR...

10 Oct '25 - 30 Dec '25

GLS DAT 2026 Application Last Date

1 Sep '25 - 15 Jan '26

NID DAT Prelims 2018 Student Reaction for BDes Exam Paper

Ishika who had taken a year off to appear for NID’s BDes exam shared that overall the MCQs section was not very difficult but the drawing questions were a bit tricky. She was quoted as saying, “Section 1 was pretty good but Section 2 was tricky especially for students like me who were prepared for more creative type questions like poster making and designing questions. So, I was not really expecting the type of questions asked. Thus, the paper really caught me a little off-guard but I managed it pretty well”.Comparing NID DAT Prelims 2018 for BDes admission with last year’s paper, Ishika shared that, “I didn’t really go through past years’ questions but I think this year’s subjective questions were tougher than previous years’ papers”.

Navneet who wants to secure admission at NID Ahmedabad shared that his paper was average. He further said, “I cannot really say if I will clear the paper as the competition is high in NID. But yes, overall my paper was average and I hope that is the case with others as well”. He shared that in the MCQs section questions asked were mostly GK based and other questions in this sections were from Visual Spatial Ability, Logical Reasoning and there were 3 Passages in the test.

“The MCQs section was easy, it was not that difficult”, shared Sneha Bhanot. She also elaborated by saying that the MCQ section did not have too many questions from GK but it had questions from topics such as Visual Spatial Ability and Maths. Sneha also revealed that there were 3 passages in the exam which were not very difficult and so were easy marks to score.

Talking about her experience of giving NID Entrance Exam 2018, Mrinal, a BDes aspirant shared that, “The exam was fine, for me, Section A (the theory part) was pretty good but Section B with the drawing part was lengthy and I couldn’t complete my paper on time”. She also shared that the drawing questions were not direct and one had to really think about how to draw the questions asked as there was no one right way to draw it. Elaborating further she said, “In the MCQs section, questions were asked on Visual Spatial Ability, Mental Ability, General Knowledge (like History, Civics) and there were some Maths questions too.

Other aspirants also shared same views, Faid Khurram felt that the paper was lengthy, he revealed that, “the paper was very good but I think I could have done more in the drawing section but I was limited by time. But overall it was quite good. I could attempt the theory questions easily. For me the MCQs section was easier but my friends found the MCQs section to be tough. I would rate the difficulty level of the section to be 7/10. The subjective questions were a little unexpected so I would say that they were a bit hard. I knew how to attempt the subjective questions but they were a little different from what I expected”. Talking about the type of questions asked in the paper he shared, “In MCQs section, questions were asked on Visual Spatial Ability like count the number of triangles and some symmetry questions were also asked. Apart from these questions, pictures were given and we had to mention the appropriate words with them like different pictures of a fork or shoe were given and we had to give words to them, so it was about how you interpret the whole thing. Even Maths and GK questions were asked. But maximum questions in the MCQ section were on Visual Spatial Ability, Mental Ability, Maths and English”.

Karan Deshmukh felt that overall the paper was good "the aptitude section was not difficult but time was not sufficient for the drawing section". He also shared that the questions asked in the drawing section were quite difficult to understand and so was time consuming. 

“My paper went really well”, shared, Vipul Kumar who completed his paper within the stipulated time duration as given for NID Entrance Exam 2018. He further revealed that as per him nothing in the paper was difficult but one could say that the passage part was a bit tricky.

Extremely happy with her paper, Anushka Jain a student of Vidya Niketan shared that, “My paper went really well, I found it relatively easy to what I was expecting. I kind of browsed through past years’ question papers and this year the paper was a little more generic as compared to the other papers. I felt that the earlier papers were a little more creative and required little more thinking to do and this year the paper was generic”.

Unlike other aspirants Anushka felt that the subjective questions were not that difficult and only tested an aspirant’s language skills and understanding ability. Regarding the same she was quoted as saying, “In the subjective questions if your language skills are well-developed then it is easy to catch on a few things but if they are not then probably the questions asked in the paper could confuse you a little. I completed the subjective questions within an hour. I am from ICSE (board) background so I am well versed with my language skills so this section was not a problem for me. Apart from that, a lot of random facts were asked and if you are not someone who is enthusiastic in making and going through facts and figures then you would find the paper tough”. She also went on to share that the paper had questions like “who is a descendent of Tyrannosaurus. I had read about this at some of time so I knew the answer but someone who is not aware of this would not know the answer”.

Giving a comparative analysis of NID exam, Simran Sachdev said, “NID exam had a similar pattern to that of previous year. This time there were two comprehensions and the one given for a 2 marker was a bit long. Apart from that, the questions asked in creative ability section about rescuing people from balcony on which people are stuck in a fire checked one's practical thinking and one’s ability to solve day to day level problems” She also shared that the difficulty level of the paper “was the same as it has been in the previous 2016 and 2017 papers”.

Subjective Questions asked in NID DAT Prelims 2018 for BDes Admissions

Question No.

Question

No of Marks

1

A silhouette of 3 objects was given and students had to draw them with shadows in different textures and shade it accordingly as per the material mentioned like glass, paper and wood.

10

2

A scene of a building that has caught fire near the ground floor stairs was given. The building has a middle aged mother with two children of 4 year and 7 years who are stuck on the first floor balcony. Students had to draw two scenarios to show their rescue with the help of a ladder, a rope and a scooter.

14

3

An 18 your boy has planted a pea plant and a corn plant together and the next day he sees something that he thinks he is imagining and students had to draw what he saw.

6

Total Marks

30

 

NID DAT Prelims 2018 Student Reaction for MDes Exam Paper

Students shared that in NID DAT Prelims 2018 for MDes course the test paper comprised of 59 questions in the MCQs section which were of 70 marks followed by 3 questions in the subjective section which were of 30 marks.

Vipul who took the exam for MDes admission at NID was quoted as saying, “My paper was not good. It can be because I did not prepare that well. I had seen previous years’ papers and they consisted of questions that tested one’s creativity level but this year the questions were vague”. Confirming the same, Raghav who took NID DAT 2018 exam for MDes course shared, “the question paper wasn’t as smooth as it was last year”. He further said, “you couldn’t really clarify the questions and we had really odd questions but the drawing part was pretty easy it wasn’t that difficult it was simple actually”.

Talking about the type of questions asked in the exam, Raghav revealed, “The first 18 questions in the MCQ section were on GK and then 2-3 comprehension questions were there and then some Visual Spatial Ability Questions, Mental Ability Questions, Analytical Questions and some puzzles”. He also shared the difficulty level of the questions asked by saying, “GK was ok not really difficult. It was more about your general understanding of what all is happening around you. Analytical Reasoning questions were average the Logical Reasoning questions were hard especially the number series questions and the puzzles were fine”.

Along same lines, Radhika shared that as per her the MCQ questions asked in NID DAT 2018 were moderate to hard with respect to the difficulty level whereas the drawing based subjective questions were easy. She also gave a comparative analysis of this year’s paper with that of last year by saying, “Last year the paper was easier than this year as direct questions were asked and last year more number of questions were asked with less weightage whereas this year less number of questions were asked with more weightage”. So, as per her this year NID DAT Prelims 2018 for MDes admissions was more challenging.

Subjective Questions asked in NID DAT Prelims 2018 for MDes Admissions

Question No.

Question

No of Marks

1

Write a story based on 5 given objects and state one scene that you liked.

8

2

Draw three objects that can be held or used using only your thumb and index finger.

10

3

A description of a Steel Tube manufacturing company was given and students had to create 4 innovative products from the leftover steel rods with the specified diameters

12

Total Marks

30

Other related articles:

NID DAT Prelims 2018 Exam Analysis by Experts

Design Colleges accepting NID Entrance Exam 2018 Scores/Ranks & Seats Available for Admission

NID Cut-off 2017 for MDes, BDes & GDPD Admission

Videos you may like
About the Author
Download Important Dates for Design Exams

News & Updates

Latest NewsPopular News

Explore Other Exams

1 Oct '25 -

31 Oct '25

UCEED 2026 Application DATE

1 Nov '25 -

7 Nov '25

UCEED 2026 Application DATE (L...

Nov '25

NIFT 2026 application form OPE...

Jan '26

NIFT 2026 application form (La...

Jan '25

UID DAT 2025 exam date

12 Sep '24

UID DAT 2025 Registration STAR...

1 Aug '25 -

10 Aug '25

AIEED Examination

31 Jul '25 -

5 Aug '25

AIEED Examination

30 May '25

Cycle 2: Semester 1 Fee Paymen...

17 May '25

Cycle 2: Acceptance Deadline

1 Aug '25 -

30 Nov '25

SEED 2026 Online registration ...

5 Jan '26

SEED 2026 Admit Card (B.Des)

Jul '25

PESSAT DAT 2025 Application Cl...

Jan '25

PESSAT DAT 2025 Exam START Dat...

Sep '25

Pearl Academy Application Form...

Jul '25

Pearl Academy Registration 202...

May '25

DEED Application 2025

Jan '25

DEED 2025 Exam Dates (Phase 1)

The list of exams are recommended based on what other exams do the students in your area show interest in
qna

Student Forum

chatAnything you would want to ask experts?
Write here...

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

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

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

Sayeba Naushad

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

Sayeba Naushad

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

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

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

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a month ago

One can follow these tips for NID 2026 preparations:

  1. Know your NID Syllabus.
  2. Understand the exam pattern of NID DAT.
  3. Make the NID DAT 2026 preparation plan.
  4. Books to refer.
  5. Practice till you are perfect using mock tests and previous year's papers.
  6. NID DAT Exam Day Strategy.

S

Sayeba Naushad

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

Sayeba Naushad

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

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

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

Sayeba Naushad

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

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10