UPES B.Des Admissions 2026
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NID DAT Admit Card Date:11 Dec' 25 - 21 Dec' 25
Hello students! The sketching section of the NID DAT exam, which evaluates creativity, observational skills, and concept communication ability, is the most engaging and rewarding part of the NID exam. Your score may be significantly impacted by the NID DAT Drawing Section. But under the strain of the NID DAT Entrance Exam, this demands for practice in time management, mental clarity, and the capacity to finish an idea in its original form. To learn how to perform well on the drawing section of the NID DAT Entrance Exam, read the complete article. The National Institute of Design has declared that the NID DAT exam will take place on December 21, 2025.
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As per the revised selection process , the NID DAT 2026 prelims result will not have any weightage in the final selection of candidates for B.Des and M.Des programmes. The NID 2026 prelims exam will be a qualifying exam to shortlist candidates for the mains exam. NID Mains exam will have 60% weightage for studio test and 40% weightage for in person interview for NID B.Des selection.
To prepare for the drawing section for NID DAT 2026, students need to prepare for the following skills:
According to the NID DAT Syllabus 2026 ,we will try to understand the different types of questions asked in the NID DAT Examination with examples for better clarity :
Pictogram:
In this type of question, you are asked to make a logo, symbol or icon part of the visual information we come across in everyday life. This could be picture-based or a combination of a picture and a short title.
E.g. Sketch a sign for a zoo to inform visitors that “Feeding Animals is Prohibited”.

Completing the picture:
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In this type of question in the Drawing aptitude, you are given a “Visual Hint” or in a box, and you have to complete and bring out something meaningful as per your understanding or for a given theme.
For example, create something meaningful from the hint in the provided box that only depicts the festive theme.
Creative Thinking:
In this type of question, you are given a problem statement. An aspirant must fulfil the challenge by explaining the solution only with a short description or descriptive labels.
For Example, Considering yourself to be a “Product Designer”, you are tasked to design a “toothbrush for elderly” people considering the user's needs. Justify your design with a short description in the given space.

Perspective Drawing:
This is a test of an aspirant's technical understanding, training, and the efforts one has put into developing knowledge of proportions, perspectives, and other critical understandings over time to do things better and right.
For example, imagine you are standing outside your living room. Draw the view of “Inside the room” from outside the window of the same room, clearly depicting the objects and furniture.

A Sample Sketch from the NID-qualified student
Students can also check:
| NID DAT Prelims 2026 (Part-B) Drawing and Sketching based Questions with Solutions pdf | Download Here |
More than tips and tricks, it is the topics that an aspirant aiming for the NID DAT Part-B should focus on, as discussed below according to the NID DAT 2026 Exam Pattern along with examples are :
Perspective Drawing: Mastering the one-point, two-point, and three-point perspectives to build depth and spatial understanding is an essential skill required for creating realistic and visually correct environments, objects and humans.
Human Anatomy and Poses: Understanding human anatomy has become one of the crucial subject areas for making “Interactive sketches,” such as interaction with products, environments, and situations, as asked in the NID DAT exam for more than 10 years.
Object and Product Sketching: Product Sketching, both freehand and perspective, is essential for attempting the questions that demand the “functional understanding” and “Technical Understanding” of the things around us in everyday life. In previous years, one or the other time, the questions were asked in this context for a given theme.
Scenes and Situational Drawings: It is advised to anyone looking to make a career in Design to think through sketches and be observant to absorb all the macro & micro events happening around us every time. A good exercise for capturing such events is to practise 30-second sketches for essence, emotions and interactions within the surroundings. This is very helpful in developing the passive repository of human interactions with environments for sketching the scenes and scenarios.
Creative Problem Solving: Developing a questioning mindset is the last but not the least skill that every mind with a progressive mindset should possess. If you must improve, it is only possible to pump a positive and meaningful change through continuous assessment of yourself and your surroundings.
Examining NID DAT Previous Year Question Papers: Aspirants can improve their drawing skills, learn about reoccurring themes and questions, and comprehend the kind of drawing tasks required by studying NID DAT previous year question papers. In addition to increasing confidence, this practice helps pupils better organize and manage their time throughout the test.
Students preparing for the NID exam 2026 are advised to go through these important NID exam resources - free pdfs for download in order to better prepare for the exam:
NID Prelims Previous 5 Years Question Papers with Solutions (2021-2025) | |
NID DAT BDes Prelims Official Sample Paper with Detailed Solutions | |
NID DAT BDes 2026 Complete Guide PDF | |
NID Prelims Time Management |
Article students are advised to go through:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Students can start practicing with the basic shapes like (squares, rectangles, and circles) in different proportions and in different combinations to develop the ability and muscle memory for good quality sketching.
For the situation or scene based drawing question in part-B of the NID DAT exam, students should emphasize on people’s activities with proper proportions and scale to incorporate items for a stimulating narrative.
It is not compulsory for students but shading gives depth to ideas making the solutions more accessible to grasp and therefore gives an edge to the students in the NID DAT exam.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Yes, if you are in Class 12, you are eligible to sit for the NID DAT 2026 (BDes) exam. The National Institute of Design allows students who are in their final year of Class 12 or have already passed to apply.
To know more access below mentioned link:
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-admission-2026
Hope it helps.
You can get the NIT DAT SYLLABUS, updated version from careers 360 in detail from careers 360 article. Follow the link given from The link of the syllabus article is given below from careers 360
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-syllabus-2026
Yes you are eligible to appear for NID DAT for the M.Des programme. Since you are in final make sure you will have completed your BA by the required deadline. Also go through the specific specializations you want to apply for, some may require certain specific backgrounds to be eligible to apply for them. You can find more details here design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-eligibility-criteria
Hello,
To prepare for M.des exams like CEED or NID DAT, here are some points which you can follow:
Understand the pattern – focus on creativity, design aptitude, and problem-solving.
Practice sketching daily and improve visualization.
Study basics of color, form, and design concepts.
Solve previous papers and build a strong portfolio.
Stay consistent and observe everyday designs for new ideas.
THANKU.
Hi daksh
As 563 rank in nid dat exam cannot guarantee admission in designing college but it could be a good chance to explore some campus as if you are not from general category as category role plays an important role . But now you can do one thing focus on your strengthening your protofile or preparing for the studio test (bdes) or interview (mdes).
Thanks.
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