B.Des (Bachelor of Design)

What is B.Des?

Bachelor of Design (B. Des.) is an undergraduate design degree for 4 years and it is offered by many top design institutes of India. Students who are interested to study this course can apply and if selected, they can study the technical and practical aspects as well as uses of design in a variety of fields. There are different specializations like fashion design, product design, industrial design, fashion communication, and more. One can excel in these fields by learning different aspects and techniques.

There is a high demand for designers and professionals from design backgrounds as the design industry is booming at a fast pace. Therefore, today is the right time to study this course. Many colleges in India offer this course through direct admission and through entrances as well, after a personal interview and assessment round.

B.Des. the syllabus includes topics like product branding, design documentation, CAD, CAM, material design, software user interface design. The advance and the basic technical courses are taught together so that design students can find a job in any field which includes tech companies like, Philips, Maruti Suzuki, Samsung, TATA Enterprise, eBay, Oracle, Nokia research company etc.

There are many career options after completing B.Des. one can enter the design industry and can go for fashion, textiles and many other fields. Students can further study M.Des. for more knowledge and career outcomes.

Types of B.Des

Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) is a professional undergraduate course of 4 years offering many specializations by top design institutes in India. Basic B.Des. eligibility is the completion of Class XII with a minimum of 50% in any stream or Diploma in Design. Candidates who pursue a degree course in the design are trained on the latest trends and technologies that are incorporated at various levels in the designing process. Students are not only provided knowledge through theory, however, they are also kept engaged in the classroom through regular workshops, fashion shows, seminars and exhibitions of their own work.

The average fees to pursue B.Des. can be under Rs. 10 Lakhs in private colleges and under Rs. 7 Lakhs in government colleges like NIFT. Many students find immediate employment after the Bachelor of Design course in terms of internship, project work and permanent employment. The average salary after doing B.Des. is around Rs. 3 lakhs.

B.Des. Eligibility

The bachelor of design course has advanced in years by adding further subjects like material design, graphic design, product branding, etc in its curriculum. Therefore it has a certain eligibility criterion that needs to be followed for admission into B.Des. course.

• Passing class XII in any stream: Aspiring students can directly take admission into a B.Des course if they have graduated high school from a recognized educational board, through direct admission to colleges, or through various entrance and counselling afterwards.

• Diploma in design: students can pursue B.Des. if they have completed their diploma course in design recognized by AICTE.

B.Des. Admissions

Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) admission is done through various entrance examinations like SEED, AIEED, DAT, etc in various private and government universities across India. Minimum age limit is 20 years and 23 years for B. Des. admission in institutions like NID and NIFT respectively. Students can secure a place in a good college if they have scored as per the benchmark set for entrance exams. The number of seats for B.Des. students in government colleges are less, therefore higher the scores, the better are the chances of admission in elite institutes like NIFT, NID, IIT-IDC, MITID to name a few.

Top B.Des. Exams

Mentioned below is the list of exams which are required for the admission in B.Des.:

AIEED: All India Entrance Examination for Design or AIEED is a national level entrance exam conducted by ARCH Academy of Design for the acknowledgement to Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs in Design. The exam is conducted in online mode.

The exam is conducted in three stages:

1. General Ability Test (GAT): The exam GAT is conducted in online mode. The exam duration will be 2 hours. There will be a total of 60 questions for 100 marks. The question will come from design sensibilities, design-related awareness, logical reasoning, awareness of global issues and comprehension of concepts. Students can check the sample papers here for GAT.

2. Creative Aptitude Test (CAT): The exam is conducted in online mode. The duration of the exam is 3 hours and consists of 50 questions. The total marks will be 200. The exam will comprise Articulation Skills both lateral thinking and creative problem solving, design thinking, written and visual, & awareness of design principles. Sample papers CAT test can be practised to increase comprehension.

3. Video, Portfolio and Personal Interaction: time span of the exam will be 30 minutes worth of 200 marks. It will encompass profundity of thinking, focus and clarity, general articulation skills and range of work in the portfolio.

Highlights about AIEED

• Candidates should have passed Class 10+2 (CBSE/ICSE/IB/State Board/NIOS or equivalent board approved by CBSE).

• Candidates should have attained the age of 16 years and above, as per Pearson-Edexcel norms applicable to all International Undergraduate level courses.

• Only the Candidates that possess a valid NATA score/AIEEE rank are exempted from taking the AIEED Exam. These candidates need to directly appear for the interview.

• The mode of examination is online.

• AIEED is aimed at assessing logical reasoning and awareness on world affairs, candidates design sensitivity, ability to solve problems and creativity.

• There will be 2 different parts of the exam CAT (Creative Ability Test) or GAT (General Ability Test).

• The number of questions asked in the examination is 50.

UCEED: The exam is held under the guidance of UCEED Admissions committee conducted by Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. It is a national level entrance test organized for admission into undergraduate design courses. Students who will score the qualifying marks in the entrance exam will get admission into the B.Des programme successfully. Admission will be offered to various participating institutions like IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Bombay and IIT Guwahati on the basis of the rank. The UCEED exam is open to all Indian as well as all foreign national candidates.

Highlights for UCEED

• The question paper will now have two parts, A and B.

• The mode of examination in both parts are different. Part A is a computer-based test, whereas Part B is paper-based.

• Total marks are 300.

NIFT Entrance Exam: The exam has been conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology. The exam is organized to get admission into bachelors of fashion technology, bachelor of design, master of design, master of fashion technology and master of fashion management etc. the aspiring candidates need to qualify the Creative Ability Test (CAT) and General Ability Test (GAT) to get selected. The qualified candidates will get admission in various campuses of NIFT located in Chennai, New Delhi, Bhopal, Gandhinagar, Kangra, Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Raebareli, Shillong, Kannur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Srinagar and Patna.

Highlights about NIFT

• The mode of examination is offline.

• The types of questions will be only multiple-choice types.

• Time duration is for only 2 hours.

• The exam paper will contain various sections like – English Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, Communication Ability, Analytical, Current Affairs and General Knowledge.

• There is no negative marking in the paper.

NID DAT: NID Entrance Exam has been organised by the National Institute of Design. This is a national level entrance exam conducted to enrol the eligible candidates into various UG and PG courses provided by the institute. Eligible candidates will get admission in B.Des and M.Des courses on the basis of scores obtained in the two phases of entrance test – prelims and mains. Admission will be provided to the candidates in various campuses of NID situated in Ahmedabad, Kurukshetra, Gujarat, Bangalore and Vijayawada.

Highlights about NID DAT:

• The mode of examination is offline.

• There will be objective and subjective types of questions.

• The paper will be of total 100 marks.

• The total time is 3 hours.

• There is no negative marking in the exam.

B.Des Specializations

Bachelor of Design degree is offered in many subjects, therefore a lot of specializations are there. Major specializations are discussed below:

• Bachelor of Design in Fashion Design: Bachelor of Design in Fashion Design bestow an underpinning in design and fashion towards fabricating proficient and professional designers and managers. The course supplies a desegregated approach to design rather than producing specialists, and is flexible with a broad range of skills authorizing them to work across a wide range of design disciplines. Some of the major career options after doing B.Des. in Fashion Design are - costume designer, fashion show coordinator, fashion and apparel designer, stylist, fashion reviewer, etc.

• Bachelor of Design in Fashion Communication: This program primarily focuses on four major domains i.e., Fashion Media, Graphic Design, Fashion Thinking and Space Design. Utmost career options after doing Bachelor of Design in Fashion Communication are fashion advisers, teachers/lecturers, fashion designers, fashion assistants, merchandising officers, sales executives, fashion journalists etc.

• Bachelor of Design in Product Design: The B.Des in Product Design prepares students for a career in the global product design industry. In this course, students learn how to tackle complex problem solving, develop realistic outcomes required in different fields, and explore creative solutions.

• Bachelor of Design in Communication Design: Bachelor of Design in Communication Design incorporates the brand new knowledge and technology in the visual communication design world. The communication design degree is taught and developed by top design leaders of India. It opens up with several job opportunities like design consultants, brand consultants, graphic designers and creative/art directors.

• Bachelor of Design in Industrial Design: Industrial Design opens an abundance of job opportunities in architecture, engineering, architectural, art directing for, desktop publishing, drafting the designs made by engineers to fashion designing, digital media, interior designing and even graphic designing. After completion of B.Des in industrial design, students can work in industries including, media houses, communications, public relations, business and education.

• Bachelor of Design in Textile and Apparel Design: After doing Bachelor of Design in Textile and Apparel Design, students can learn the art and skill of creating and implementing designs for knitted, woven or printed fabrics, embroidery designs, print, weave, colour detailing, texture, etc.

• Bachelor of Design in Glass and Ceramic Design: The glass and ceramic designing specialization are considered an exclusive and creative course for design students. Students explore and develop skills in courses like material science, economics, research as well as efficient use and regulations for the use of raw materials.

B.Des. Syllabus

The following table shows the list of the syllabus for B.Des.:

• Introduction to design

• Elements of design

• Material studies in design

• Communication studies in design

• Design sketching

• Technical design drawing

• Rendering and illustration

• Fundamentals of computing in design

• Principles of design

• Electrical and electronic studies in design

• Physical ergonomics

• Applied mechanics for design

• Form studies

• Architectural Studies in Design-I

• Communication Studies in Design-II

• Model making and hand tools workshop

• Surface Modelling in Computer-Aided Vision

• Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics

• Design documentation

• Design project - 1

• Simple product design

• Cybersecurity

• Design Management-I, Consumer Psychology

• Design thinking

• Solid modelling in computer-aided design

• English Language and Technical writing

• Nature and form

• Environmental science

• Design Project-II, Display and Control Design

• Design management

• Business communication

• Creative narration-I

• Quantitative research

• Design research and methodology-I

• Connectivity and mobility

• Architectural studies-II

• Elective I

• Elective II

• Software user interface design

• Design project-III

• Design workshop

• Product Branding and Identity

• Design Research and Methodology-II

• Applied Statistics and Infographics

• Materials and Processes in Design-I

• Unconventional manufacturing

• Elective III

• Elective IV

• Control system in the design

• Design project - IV

• Professional practice in design

• Form in four dimension

• Material and processes in Design-II

• Production planning

• Elective - V

• Industrial training

• Design documentation-II

• Design project - V

• Design degree project

Scope of B.Des.

• The design industry is booming in India, therefore there is a need for designers having different specializations like Industrial Design, product design, fashion, textile, etc.

• In terms of job opportunities, B. Des. is better than BFA as it offers a higher annual salary package of around Rs. 3 lakhs per annum - Rs. 8 lakhs per annum.

• Elite institutions like NIFT, NID, etc. offer the highest placement in India for design students. The highest salary after doing B. Des. is around Rs. 48 lakhs per annum in NID and Rs. 20 lakhs per annum in NIFT.

• Some students also pursue MDesand MBA in Fashion Management after doing B. Des. for better subject knowledge, skill development and better career opportunities.

B.Des. Salary

Careers Opportunities after B. Des.

Employment opportunities after doing B.Des. is huge as India has a huge market for design. A number of foreign and regional investors are paying more attention to the design and display of a product, company and aesthetics. Mentioned below are the employment areas where students can find immediate employment after completing B.Des. are: