The objective of the NID examination is to choose people with their own creative expression, a high degree of creative innovation and quality, and who have critical, analytical problem-solving skills. It tests the scenario-based, user-based, and culture-centric knowledge and approach to design.

The Comprehensive strategy includes

  1. As the examination intends to test all these cognitive skills, it is required to develop them multifold in the right direction with proper approach and guidance.
  2. Understand the questions asked in the exam, and see their focus area and variety. Go through the previous year’s papers and see what kind of questions are asked, their difficulty level and which type or category of questions are given preference each year. Also while practicing the papers, try to find out your sequence of questions and how you should proceed with the actual paper, this will save time and will give you confidence in the exam.
  3. NID is not just about sketching skills, rather it assesses your thoughts, their depth, intellect, and how they are solving the problem. So we need to work on finding creative solutions. Case studies are always beneficial in which you can look at the creative ideas of others and try to think of different possibilities. In this manner, you will develop a solution-oriented approach to every question.
  4. NID exam has drawing/sketching questions that require thinking out of the box in terms of storyline, creative writing, poster designs, etc. so need to work on composition, color knowledge, fonts, storyline, animation, writing skills, proportions, and all such things. 

Along with developing the concepts and creativity, another area that requires focus is Deliverable

  1. How you deliver the answer to any questions is very important. Some space would be provided to you in the exam, usually on an A4 sheet, so start preparing on the A4 sheet only from the beginning. Can make rectangles on the sheet or take printouts of previous papers to understand the space in which you need to answer.
  2. Practice your sketching skills on a daily basis. Try out different mediums and tools. Draw the overall composition first with a light hand and if that seems good then start detailing out. Use different grade pencils and eraser types and make your comfort level with their usage. Get comfortable with other mediums as well. Try to use those mediums which are fast and you can comfortably produce good results. Can try working on dry colors, soft pastels, or any such medium.
  3. You should be able to visualize and draw the object from different angles. Objects could be the usual objects that we see. Try to put something completely different in those objects like adding hands to a tree. In the initial efforts, can combine two images together to understand how they will look and then draw them from different heights, different angles, and different natural conditions.
  4. Maintaining the quality of sketches up to the expectations of the exam is one of the most difficult parts as NID DAT papers are lengthy, requires a lot of thinking and sketching and you can experience time issues. So while practicing daily sketches, try to keep a track of time consumed. Remember that an average but complete answer is better than an incomplete ‘awesome’ answer.

Some miscellaneous activities that are useful for the Exam

  1. NID also put questions based on your general knowledge of art, culture, and traditions. Looking at the new art styles and prominent works on a daily basis can help score these questions. Try to observe the style, strokes, colors, artists, cultures, and every associated detail. One artwork on a daily basis is also enough. NID sometimes directly asks to identify the art style of a given painting.
  2.  Along with the design part, the problem statement sometimes asks to provide a tagline or to write a few descriptive lines so this can be practiced along with the daily sketches or storyboards.
  3.  Practice drawing a comic series, having at least 3-4 frames. This will develop sketching, animation, and storytelling skills. Can draw a cover page for it or a promotional poster and can give a title or tag line. Such creative exercises will keep you happily engaged and will take care of preparation too.
  4.  Try to look at newspapers and art magazines, play games in which colors are used, or you need to make some combination to get the answer, or just games in which you need to identify the images or logo. You can expect similar questions in exams which you casually solved in your childhood, now we can practice them a bit more.

In the exam, focus on presenting your ideas in a clear and effective manner. Once you practice answering questions in a time-bound manner, utilize that practice in exams and don’t overrun the time allotted for each question. The focus should be on how you can present your answer instead of how much you’ll get from that answer. Having a structured preparation till the exam can ensure good results and Our institute having expertise in this field can majorly contribute to the preparation efforts.