Industrial Design

 Industrial Design can be a good start if you want to work in product design. Chandigarh University's course gives a mix of learning and making things. Students learn the basics of design, drawing, and software. They also do projects and visit companies to see how real products are made. The labs and workshops help students practice their ideas and turn them into models. Teachers with experience guide students, helping them understand both creative and practical sides of design. The programme also teaches how to solve problems, make ideas clear, and present them properly, which is needed in the product design world. 

Yes, Chandigarh University do provide placement training for Industrial Design students. Each mentor handles only a small group of students. This means every student gets proper attention. If someone has doubts in studies, mentors explain and make things easy. The assigned mentors guide and help students in studies, career choices and even personal growth. The best part is that mentors are chosen based on what a student needs and what they are interested in. This makes the guidance more useful and personal.

Here is the current fee structure from Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID) for their Furniture and Industrial Design (B.Des. Interior & Furniture Design):

- Total tuition fees: 25,10,176 for 4 years
- Hostel: 7,20,000 for 4 years
- One-time fee: 2,000 (at admission)

So, for 4 years (tuition + hostel + one-time fee), it comes to about 32.3 Lacs (Ahmedabad campus). 

Though they usually overlap, Product Design, Industrial Design, and UX Design are different disciplines. The Product Design works on the overall product experience, focusing on user interface, user experience, and aesthetics, ensuring a fully functional product for the end user.

You can say the UX Design is a subset of Product Design, inclined towards usability and overall user experience of a product, specifically in digital contexts. Industrial Design gives more value to the physical appearance, functionality, and manufacturability of the good, especially the ones designed for mass production.

Hope this helps!!!

Of course, there are many Industrial Design colleges offering admission on the merit system. However, it also depends on course type and level. For courses like BDes, MDes, Btech, MTech, etc., the colleges will require you to have a specific entrance exam score, like JEE MAIN. 

Take at least 6 to 12 months to prepare effectively for Industrial Design entrance exams. This will help you go through the entire syllabus, enhance skills, practice sample papers, and mock tests. However, it also depends on individual variabilities.

The NIFT entrance exam for Industrial Design courses, with the Creative Ability Test (CAT) and the General Ability Test (GAT), is usually considered difficult and challenging. It's a highly competitive exam, mainly for popular campuses like Delhi and Mumbai. However, some candidates find the General Knowledge (GK) section of the GAT specifically tougher; the CAT is focused on drawing and design skills and requires creativity and innovation. 

Here are some popular books recommended for Industrial Design students in India:

• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.
• The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda.
• Thinking: Objects Contemporary Approaches to Product Design by Tim Parsons.
• An Industrial Design Guide Vol. 01: Understanding the Science of Product Design by Neville Songwe Jr and Carmen Andrisani.
• Product Design and Developmen by Karl Ulrich and Steven Eppinger.