NID-DAT - Exam Pattern and Syllabus

DAT is a national level, design entrance exam conducted by the National Institute of design for admission into its undergraduate design of Bachelor of Design (B.Des) and Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (GDPD). Know the NID DAT syllabus and accordingly cover the concepts you need, to nail this entrance test and get into the top design colleges. Also know the NID DAT exam pattern, the different sections that will be there in the exam, the number of questions and the time limit.

Exam pattern for NID-DAT (prelims)

Exam Name	National Institute of Design – Design Aptitude Test (prelims)
Mode of the Test	Paper & Pencil (offline)
Medium	English
Sections in the test	2
Number of Questions	Section 1- 64 Question Section 2- 3 Questions Total - 67 Questions
Section 1 Details	64 questions for 70 marks
Section 2 Details	3 Questions for 30 marks
Total Marks	100
Negative Marking	Nil
Skills Tested	Analysis Creativity Knowledge Comprehension Visualization

Exam pattern for NID-DAT (mains)

Name of the Exam	National Institute of Design – Design Aptitude Test (mains)
Sections	Studio Test, followed by a Personal Interview
Medium	English
Formats Tested in Studio Test	Including but not limited to: Hands on model making Drawing Sketching Group Discussions Presentations Audio Visual Exercises
Total Marks	100
Duration	3 Hours

Here is the syllabus for NID-DAT

Students should keep their scope as broad as possible and practice as many mock tests and previous years papers as they can to get a true sense of the kind of concepts they will be tested on and their degree of comfort with them. Following is a broad outline of the topics students can focus on.

Stage 1: NID-DAT (prelims), WRITTEN TEST :

Communication skills
Composition
Design theory
Nature & Geometrical Form
Animation
Imagination
Creativity
Drawing Skills (For subjective part)
General Mental Ability
Design skills
Environment sensitivity
Visual Design
Principles of Composition
Thematic color arrangement
Ornaments and Motifs
Proportions and Perspective
Abstract Symbolism
Memory Drawing
Graphs and Pictograms
3D Visualization
Colour Terminology
Optical illusion
Mood and Theme
Good vs Bad Design
Understanding Light and Shade
Form and Function
Lateral Thinking
Theme Development
Foreshortening and Perspective
Inspiration and Design Development
Colour, Pattern and Texture

Stage 2: NID-DAT (mains), STUDIO TEST

Hands on model making
Drawing
Sketching
Group Discussions
Presentations
Audio Visual Exercises
Doodling
Evolving Ideas

Kindly note that only those students who have been shortlisted after the NID-DAT (prelims) test are eligible to give the NID-DAT(mains) examination. A Personal Interview round immediately follows the studio test on the day of the NID-DAT(mains) exam where the students have a face-to-face with the faculty.

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