Top Tips For NID Exam Preparation For The 2024 Entrance Exam

There needs to be a routine plan to prepare for the NID entrance exam. Every candidate has to create a plan based on their abilities and motivation. If you have just started, you will need to spend 2-3 hours daily over the next 2 months to prepare for the exam.

The NID DAT Prelims is a paper-based exam. It is for 3 hours and carries 100 marks. The phrasing of instruction is English. It is divided into Objective and Subjective type queries.

The topics coated in the Objective section of the NID DAT Prelims exam are General Knowledge and Current Affairs, Numerical and logical Ability, History of Art, Elements and principles of Design, Color Theory, English Language and Comprehension, and Fundamental understanding of Science.

The topics covered in the Subjective section of the NID DAT Prelims exam are Visual Sensitivity, Form Sensitivity, Object Drawing, Sketching, Problem Label and solving, Creative Thinking, Visual Communication, Sequential Drawing,  and Creative Writing.

Practice NID Sample Papers

Here are the top 10 tips for you to prepare for the NID DAT exam:

Study last year’s NID exam papers:

Before you start your NID Exam Preparation, you must download the NID Sample paper and practice the NID previous year’s question paper. You need to study and analyze the papers. Understand the topics and types of questions asked in the exam papers. Try solving the questions given in the papers. This will help you understand the level of difficulty and time you are taking to answer the questions. Based on the NID Result 2024, make a list of topics you need to practice and your areas for improvement.

Practice rapid sketching:

You need to start your NID Exam Preparation by learning how to sketch. 40% of the marks in the NID DAT Prelims paper may be for questions requiring sketching. If you are already good at sketching, you should practice more to become an expert. If you are a beginner, you can start with basic sketching of lines, shapes, patterns, forms, doodles, etc. Once you learn that, you should start sketching objects, human figures, and scenes through live observation. You can learn this from multiple PDFs and Videos available on the internet. One great resource is the NID Online Learning Kit offered by BRDS. It has 100+ video tutorials on how to improve drawing and sketching. Improving the speed of your sketching is very important. You need to practice rapid sketching for a minimum of 30 minutes every day.

Practice drawing in perspective & proportion:

One important thing NID aims to assess in the DAT Prelims paper is the observation and visualization skills of the candidate. They assess this by giving questions that require candidates to visualize scenes objects or human beings from different perspectives and points of view and draw them in proportion to each other. For example, the question may ask candidates to imagine they are an ant on the floor of a restaurant and draw what the ants can see. This skill of drawing in perspective and proportion needs to be learned and practiced. Students must refer to either books and YouTube videos or gain access to BRDS’s NID Study Material Kit, which gives them access to both books and videos for learning and practicing both topics.

Practice coloring

Most design aspirants like coloring in different media. But in the exam paper, you can only use colors in the dry medium which means pencil colors. Students must practice how to color skillfully and fast using pencil colors. For this, you need to gain a basic understanding of color schemes and color theory. This will help you understand the dos and don’ts of how to use color in your designs. About 50% of visual questions will require you to color the design. Many times students complete their drawing but are left with no time to colour their drawing. To avoid this, practice coloring daily.

Come up with unique & interesting ideas:

The most important skill NID aims to assess through the exam paper is your creativity. Creativity is the ability to understand the problem and come up with unique, interesting, and feasible solutions. To develop this skill, you must build a habit of “thinking outside the box”. A simple tool to think outside the box is to ask these 3 questions in any question situation- Why not? / How else? / What if? These 3 questions allow you to go beyond the obvious ideas and develop interesting solutions to the questions asked. For example, if the question is- “Imagine & Illustrate 5 alternate uses of discarded tires”, you can come up with unique options by asking the question- What if the tires were used ………..

  • As a swing by hanging on a tree with a rope
  • As a pot for plants
  • As a vessel for animals to drink water from ..….. and so on

Practice time management. Solve questions in a fixed time.

Read the newspaper and current affairs websites every day

About 30% of the objective section questions are based on General Knowledge and Current Affairs. The questions mainly relate to significant events or developments that have occurred in the previous year. Reading the newspaper and signing up for newsletters on current affairs websites is fairly easy and takes a short time. All candidates must do that.

Study History of Art and revise basics of subjects from 8th to 10th Std

About 30% of the objective section questions are based on the History of Art and basic subjects of 8th to 10th Std. Art is the basis of all Design, hence understanding the history of art is important for all aspiring designers. History of Art covers Art movements, famous paintings, monuments, architecture, buildings, installations, Indian civilizations, etc. Students must revise basic subjects like Physics, Geography, and History for 8th to 10th Std from NCERT textbooks. Some questions are asked to see your general awareness of these topics.

Practice quizzes for GAT topics

General Ability Test or GAT topics generally account for 40% of questions asked in the objective section of the paper. GAT topics are:

  • Numerical Ability: Probability, Question on Ages, Maths,
  • Analytical Thinking: Verbal, Non-verbal, Passage-Inference
  • English: English Grammar, Comprehension

The questions are not that difficult but they need to be solved quickly. You should solve each question in less than 1-2 minutes. The only way to achieve this speed with accuracy is to practice quizzes. BRDS Study material books and Online Learning Kit has more than 5,000 questions on GAT topics which you can practice.

Solve NID sample papers

  • Check last year’s NID Sample Papers

All aspiring candidates must solve at least 5 sample papers before the actual exam. There are multiple benefits for candidates from solving NID Sample Papers 2023 and 2024 :

  • Prepares them to attempt unexpected or out-of-syllabus questions
  • Gives them a clear idea about the entrance exam paper pattern
  • Helps them understand the topics asked in the exam paper
  • Increases their confidence by attempting a full mock paper
  • Improves their ability to complete the paper in a given time
  • Helps them understand their strengths and weaknesses and areas to focus
  • Makes them aware of their level of preparation and areas for improvement

If you follow the above tips, there is a strong possibility that you will clear the NID DAT Prelims exam and get shortlisted for the NID DAT Mains exam.