Career Opportunities In Design

08-03-2019 16:47:49 8028

A career in design belongs to this set. Somehow people are not as much familiar with career opportunities in design as they are with opportunities in engineering, medical and management etc.

All careers are not alike. In some careers there is not much scope to experiment and explore. Here one is expected to follow the beaten path. There is another set of careers in which one is free to experiment, explore and make maximum possible use of one's creativity. However in past few years many new courses in design have come up and this field of study is drawing attention of young people. There are new design institutes as well.

We see designs everywhere. A television set has a design and so has a car. Things like television sets, cars etc. are in a particular shape and size because these have been designed like this. It is through designing, products (and services) are made more attractive and useful. When we've to make choices we go for a better and conveniently designed product. From this explanation you can gauge the importance of design in society and business.

Formal study of design starts from graduation level. The best part is that students from all disciplines like science, arts, commerce etc. are considered eligible to join Bachelor programmes in design after passing 10+2. The decision to join a course in design should be well thought out. Students should check their aptitude for such courses and gather other relevant information like the work of a designer, availability of job opportunities etc. before making up their minds.

What a Design Course covers? In a design course you're taught basics of design, visual aesthetics, problem identification and solving problems. These topics are covered during first one or two years of a bachelor design course. The later part of the course is focussed on the particular discipline of design the candidate has chosen to study or have been included in the course.

Few of the Major Design Disciplines Are Mentioned Below:

Interior design is about creating visual, aesthetic delight by use of design, decoration etc. at living and office spaces.
Furniture design deals with applying design to furniture items being made from wood, metal and plastic etc. to ensure comfort and convenience.
Industrial design relates to industrial set up, dividing space for machines/ equipment and creating ambience for optimum productivity.
Ceramic & Glass design is a branch to create designs for ceramic & glassware and other utilities made of them. It also includes use of glass in buildings etc.
Exhibition design is gaining importance as more and more exhibitions are being organised for selling products, creating awareness etc. Allocating exhibition space between stalls, entrance, other utilities etc. and bringing liveliness are few of the things covered under this.
Fashion design as one of the most sought after branches deals with bringing out clothes, accessories etc. that people like and want to be identified with.
Communication design is creating interesting text, graphics and images to convey messages and publicise products, services and social messages etc.
Textile design is used in putting designs, colours and combinations in various types of fabrics to add value and attraction.
Footwear Design has a bigger domain as all of us use footwear at home and workplace. Research based design makes footwear light, comfortable and easy to put on.
Automobile design is related to motor vehicles of all sorts like two wheelers, four wheelers etc. and deals with looks, seating arrangement and structure of vehicles.
User Experience design is aimed to create the best possible experience for people using facilities. It has applications for washing machines, automated teller machines and also physical spaces.
Graphic design combines art and technology to communicate ideas through images, text and drawings etc. Graphic designers prepare brochures, logo, posters etc.
Website design is what we see at the websites we visit. Creating web pages by incorporating information, putting pictures etc. are covered under this.

All the disciplines may have few common themes. Some of the disciplines may be overlapping at times. Those who want to make detailed study of a particular discipline of design should make sure that their chosen course meets this requirement.

Entrance Examinations for Design Courses
Top design institutes in the country select candidates for their courses through entrance examination. There are a number of such tests for various groups of institutes. Prominent among these are:-

NID Design Aptitude Test (NID DAT)- This test is meant for admission to National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Kurukshetra and Vijaywada and upcoming centres at Bhopal and Jorhat.

Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design (UCEED)- Few IITs in the country also conduct design courses. UCEED is for such courses at IIT, Mumbai, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur

Entrance Examination for All Centres of National Institute of Fashion Technology

MIT Design Aptitude Test for admission to undergraduate design programmes at MIT Institute of Design, Pune and Avantika University, Ujjain
FDDI All India Entrance Test for admission to bachelor and master programmes at various centres of Footwear Design & Development Institute
Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED) for admission to M. Des./ Ph .D programmes at IIT, Bombay, Guwahati, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, IIITDM, Jabalpur.

The objective of the above entrance tests is to judge the candidates' suitability for undertaking a design course. All the above tests may vary in the pattern of questions asked and candidate should have a good understanding of such pattern to perform well. Test duration may also differ. Test syllabus covers visualization & spatial ability, observation & design sensitivity, environmental & social awareness, analytical & logical reasoning, language & creativity, design thinking & problem solving among others.

Complete details of tests are available on their respective websites. In few cases old question papers are also provided.

Institutes and Courses
Given below is a list of well-known government and private institutes offering design courses.

Government Institutes

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad/ Kurukshetra/ Vijaywada/ Bhopal/ Jorhat- B. Des. In Industrial design, Communication design, Apparel & Lifestyle design, IT integrated (Experiential) design, Interdisciplinary Design Studies.
Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Guwahati, Hyderabad- B. Des.; M.Des.
National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jodhpur, Srinagar, Raebareli, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Gandhinagar, Kannur, New Delhi, Patna, Shillong, Kangra, Bhubaneswar - B. Des. In Fashion design, Accessory design, Leather design, Textile design, Knitwear design; M.Des.
Footwear Design & Development Institute, Chandigarh/ Rohtak/ Noida/ Fursatganj/Jodhpur/Patna/ Guna/Ankleshwar/Chhindwada/ Kolkata/Hyderabad- B. Des. In Fashion, Retail & Fashion Merchandising, Footwear Design & Production, Leather Goods & Accessories Design, M.Des (Computer Aided Design/ CAD)
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur- B. Des., M. Des. (Product design, Space design, Communication design)
Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar (Assam)- B.Des. in Multimedia Communication & design

Private Institutes

Banasthali Vidyapith- B. Des. In Fashion & Lifestyle design, Communication design; B.A. in Textille design, M.A. in Textile design (Printing/Weaving)
CEPT University, Ahmedabad- Bachelor of Interior design, B. Des. in Building Products & Systems/ Furniture, M.Des. in Interior design, Furniture design, Building Products & Systems, International Masters of Interior Architectural design
Manipal Academy of Higher Education- B. Des. In Fashion design , Interior design, B.A. in Fashion design, Interior design
Nirma University, Department of Design - B. Des. in Industrial design Communication design
Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune- B. Des. in Communication design, Industrial design, Fashion design, Fashion Communication,
Srishty Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru- B.Des. in Business Services & Systems Design, Creative Education, Human Centered design, Industrial Arts & Design practices, Information Arts & Information Design Practices, Public Space design, Visual Communic-ation & Strategic Branding, M.Des. in various disciplines of design
PES University, Bengaluru- B. Des. in Product design , Interaction design, Communi-cation design
Jaipur National University- Bachelor in Fashion Design, Diploma in Fashion Design
Maharaja Ranjitsingh Gaekwad Institute of Design, Vadodara- B.Des. in Crafts, Ceramics & Glass, Moving Images, Communication design, Accessory design; M.Des. course is also available in the same subjects
Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communi-cation Technology, Gandhinagar- M.Des. in Communic-ation design
MIT Institute of Design, Pune- B. Des./M. Des. in Industrial design, Communication design, Fashion design
Avantika University, Ujjain- B. Des. in Industrial design, Communication design, Digital Experience design
NMIMS School of Design, Mumbai- B.Des.
UPES School of Design, Dehradun- B.Des. with specializations in Communication & Media/Interaction design, Interior & Retail Space design ,Animation & VFX design, Graphics design, Industrial & Product design, Transportation & Mobility design; M.Des. in Transportation design, Interaction design, Industrial design
Anant National University, Ahmedabad- B.Des. Interaction design, Product design, Space design, Transdisciplinary design; Master of Integrated Product Design
VIT School of Design, Vellore- B.Des./ M. Des. In Industrial design
Chitkara University, Punjab- B.Des. In Interior design Animation design, Game design; M.Des.

The above list is indicative. There are more institutes and courses. Make sure that the course you choose has proper recognition from statutory body/ies.

Areas of Work
Design has meaning and utility for different sectors like electric & electronic appliances, machines & machine tools, computer hardware & software, packaging, lifestyle products & accessories, industrial control systems, railways, road, air & water transport, bio-medical products, print & digital media, FMCG products, furniture & space, industrial products, computer games, video production etc. The list can go long. It can easily be seen that designers are required in all the industries dealing with above.

Career Opportunities
You shouldn't be surprised if you don't find many advertisements for designers, in print and electronic media. In fact campus placement is quite common now a days to source professionally qualified people in designing. While deciding about institute to join a design course, it will be good if you've a look at the placement record of the institute. As described above, designers are required in variety of industries. Some of the companies that have recruited designers through campus placement in past few years include Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Infosys Technologies Ltd, Microsoft India, Adobe, IBM India Research Lab, Mahindra & Mahindra Automotive, Ashok Leyland, Accenture India, Philips, Toshiba, General Motors Design, Titan Industries, Bookmyshow, Atlas Copco India Limited, Welspun, TI Cycles of India, Wipro Technologies, Tractor & Farm Equipment (TAFE) Limited, Honeywell Technology Solutions, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Tata Consultancy Services, Oracle, Tanishq, Godrej Industries, Future Group, J.P. Morgan, Nokia Research India, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Samsung Design, Mindtree, Honda R & D India, VIP Industries, Adidas Group India, LG Electronics India, Zomato.com, Glaxosmithkline Consumer healthcare limited Maximum demand is for National Institute of Design (NID) students. NID has pioneered design education in India. Many other institutes are also trying to raise their standard to attract more companies to their campuses.

Freelancing opportunities are also available for designers. It 'll be better to have some experience before you venture into freelancing and consulting. For career success in design you should develop your curiosity and observational skills along with abilities to synthesise, analyse and visualise. Designers often work in a team. So being a good team player will also help.

- Vijay Prakash Srivastava
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