“IF you make a beautiful sculpture, that is art. But if you have a specific use for that sculpture, that is a design piece,” explains Vaibav Sharma, an Interior Architecture design student at Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF).

From Class 9 Vaibav knew he wanted to be a designer as he got some exposure to it in his Art & Design class in school. But most students have very little exposure to design, which is vast and seems to be gaining prominence in India. At the UG level one can choose from an eclectic mix of disciplines right from product to interface design.

UG courses kick off with a Foundation Course, where students get savvy about basic design principles. But by the end of the first or second year, some students rue their choice of programme.

Know your design discipline
Shares Ramneek Kaur Rajitha, Associate Prof of Communication Design at PAF, “We recently had a student who shifted from a Fashion Communication course at another institute to Pearl’s Communication Design programme”. The student wanted to do communication design as a whole. So, it’s important to choose wisely. The best way to know your design interest is to ask established designers. Websites like coroflot.com feature the profiles and portfolios of design students, faculty and professionals from around the world. Many designers have private blogs or websites; view these and connect. View project work by the students of in design colleges on their websites. For instance, one can see the industry-projects by students at National Institute of Design (NID) at Young Designers. Connect and expose yourself to various design disciplines. Your answers may be a few clicks away!
 

• Read career review on textile deign 

Also, visit design colleges to view students’ work, which tends to be displayed in corridors and galleries. Another reason to visit a college is to see the infrastructure and chat with current students, about their campus experience. Abhishek (named changed) joined an animation training institute, which goes by the name of a famous artist. “The faculty was really bad,” he complains, three years and Rs 7 lakhs later.
 

• Meet Dilip Chhabria, India's ace Transportation Designer!

While the promise of a career in design is growing, admission can be a competitive experience, as India has limited colleges and seats. An aptitude test, studio tests and portfolios, are standard selection procedures. Private design colleges can set you back from Rs 7-22 lakhs (tuition fees), while the state-run ones can cost between Rs 2-3 lakhs. “A bit of de-schooling happens, initially,” shares Ramneek, referring to the shift from lecture-style classes to hands-on, studio mode of teaching, which students take a while to get used to. Expect interactions, discussions, assignments and jury. The time for spoon-feeding and rote-learning is over!


Must-read! Pradyumna Vyas, Director of NID spells out the relevance of design, upcoming areas, and what impresses the admission committee...

 

More course options after Class 12: