DEEP DIVE INTO ART AND DESIGN COURSES

Whether you prefer to work with water colour, acrylic or on a computer, art and design careers offer
rewarding career opportunities for everyone who is an artist at heart. From the look and feel of our
living spaces to the colours displayed in advertisements to the layouts of websites, art
& design influences our lives in ways we don't even realize.

As such, art & design careers can take forms one might not have thought about: people with art and
design degrees find work in nearly every industry imaginable, in niche roles that didn't even exist ten or
fifteen years ago. And to make it very clear, art and design are not interchangeable. They are separate
concepts and we shall look at them separately.

Under Arts, we will be looking at Fine Arts and Performing Arts as two specialisations. However, we will
take a deeper look at Design specialisations that are numerous and professionally more lucrative.

Following are some of the specialisations offered under Art and Design

Arts

• Fine Arts- Fine Arts essentially is an art form, which includes objects mainly created for con­
cept or aesthetic value rather than utility.

• Performing Arts- Performing arts are art forms in which artists use their body, voice, or ob­
jects to convey artistic expression.

• Design

• Visual Communication- Visual Communication Design is a form of communication that takes place
with the use of a visual aid.

• Fashion Designing- A career in fashion designing is right for you if you are talented and exude style in
everything you do.

• Animation -Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images to create an illusion of

Game Design -Game design starts with an idea and the entire process is about giving shape to that
idea.

A
• Game Design -Game design starts with an idea and the entire process is about giving shape to that
idea.

• Interior Designing- Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that in­ volve
turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities that are to take
place there.

Following is some in-depth information about each of the above courses.

Fine Arts

Fine art is a type of visual art through which ideas are presented through paintings, sculptures and
drawings to portray ideas or anything the artist wants. Although it's one of the oldest pro­ fessions and
has been around for thousands of years, new career options in fine arts have emerged. Fine arts
generally trains people in skills such as painting, sculpture, theory of art, print making, collage,
assemblage, calligraphy, photography, conceptual art and applied art. In this regard, one of the most
popular degrees in this field is the Bachelor of Fine Arts.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts focuses on critical thinking, project development, community en­ gagement
and collaboration in the field f art. Students learn to translate concepts into individ­ ual expression by
using drawing, colour, form, space, structure, and composition. However, the programme is based on
theory and doesn't provide much application oriented application. To give you an idea, BFA is like a B.Sc
or B.Com, which is mainly theoretical. Whereas courses like Fashion Design or Game Design is like
engineering, hence more professional and vocational.

Eligibility: To be eligible for this programme, a student must have secured a minimum of 50%
marks at Higher & Senior Secondary level (lOth& 12th) in any stream.

Performing Arts

The discipline of performing arts is generally defined as a combination of drama, music and dance
practices. A performing arts B.A. program may include courses in the following subject areas: Music
performance, Theatre history, Dance and culture, Musical theatre, Dance tech­ nique, Dramatic
literature.

Eligibility: Here too, students should have secured a minimum 50% marks at Higher & Senior
Secondary level (lOth& 12th) (Any Stream) after which they will have to appear for entrance tests.

A
Some famous courses in Design:

Fashion Design

Fashion design. It deals with the designing of clothing and lifestyle accessories. This art is influ­ enced
by cultural and social attitudes and has evolved over time and place. Apart from having a keen sense of
colour i.e. combination of shades and tones, visual imagination & knowledge of market trends, fashion
designers need to be artistic, creative and must possess ability to trans­ late ideas in sketches.

Basic educational qualification for a course in fashion designing is 10+2 from any stream, it varies
depending on the course chosen.

Fashion designers can find employment with professional designers as apprentices, with manu­
facturing units, export houses, boutiques, media as costume designers, freelancing for fashion houses
and boutiques and at the same time it is a rewarding possibility for self-employment by opening your
own boutique.

Eligibility: In order to get admission into a Fashion college, students should first clear the en­ trance
exam, which would check their aptitude and eagerness towards that course. The test would either be
a OAT- Design Aptitude Test or GAT- General Aptitude Test.

Interior Design

Interior design uses various architectural, technical and creative skills to create an aesthetically pleasing
environment according to a client's needs and specifications. It mostly deals with fur­ nishing the
interiors of a place. An interior design degree opens up numerous opportunities in the residential and
commercial design sectors as well as outdoor landscaping and designing.

An Interior Designer should have good Drawing and sketching skills. Apart from having good net­
working and interpersonal skills to get projects, interior designers should also be resourceful. Al­ so,
technical knowledge regarding the latest software required in designing as well as the latest additions in
home improvement products are must for an interior designer.

Eligibility: A student who aspires to join interior design courses must have cleared their class
12 in any stream. The candidate may also be required to clear an entrance test for drawing and
designing skills. Candidates need to show to the college a portfolio of work that displays their drawing
skills as well as ideas.

A
It must be remembered that design, unlike art, is more user driven and its products/services al­ ways
find an end use. The degree counterpart in design is B.Des. The Bachelor of Design is a more
professional course that offers specialisations like animation, graphic design, fashion de­ sign and
interaction design.

Top Colleges for Art and Design:

There are many colleges and institutions in India which offer courses in Art and Design. However, listed
in the following are the top colleges whose courses are highly reputed in India.

National Institute of Design (NID)

NID offers professional education programmes at Undergraduate and Post Graduate level with five
faculty streams and 18 diverse design domains. NID has established exchange programmes and ongoing
pedagogic relationships with more than 55 overseas institutions. NID has also been playing a significant
role in promoting design.

Admission: To secure admission in the National Institute of Design, students should have passed
qualifying examinations under the Higher Secondary (10+2), or equivalents like AISSCE/ IB/ICSE etc.
Students will also have to pass the entrance examination and appear foran inter­ view.

The National Institute of Design Entrance test encompasses three aptitude tests that carry a min­ imum
of 60 marks. The main intention of this exam is to assess the aptitude, innovation and per­ ception of the
applicants.

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is a fashion institute in India. It was set up in
1986 under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and is an institution of de­
sign, management and technology for the international fashion business.

Admission: Admission to NIFT is based on the rank one secures in the paper or online based test
which is conducted by the institute (CAT & GAT). Apart from that, one needs to have passed
12th with PCM

A
Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology

Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology is a non-residential institution founded in 1996. Admission

here is based on the rank one secures in entrance test which is conducted by the institute (SEAT). Apart

from passing 12th, a portfolio is also required for the admission followed by an Interview. Admission at

this institute is purely provisional, subject to their satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions.

Pearl Academy

Pearl Academy is also one of the top art and design institutes in India. It is situated in Delhi and was

formerly known as Pearl Academy of Fashion. It is a privately held fashion design institute located in

Naraina Industrial area, New Delhi. The institute is affiliated to the Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Admission: It offers admission to students who have scored a rank in the Written Examina- tion

conducted by the University (PAFEE) and who have passed 10+2 with more than 50% ag- gregate.

The Industrial Design Centre, lIT Bombay

The Industrial Design Centre, liT Bombay is also a highly reputed institution to pursue studies in design.
It offers Master of Design degree programs in industrial design, visual communication, animation
design, interaction design & mobility and vehicle design as well as a Ph.D program in Design.

Admission: To gain admission, students should appear for the Common Entrance Examination for
Design (CEED), which is conducted every year jointly by aliiITs and liSe. The test is hosted by the
Industrial Design Centre at liT Bombay. It is a joint entrance exam for post graduate studies in the field
of technological design, covering a student's logical, creative, observation and draw­ ing skills, tested in
particular for admission to various design courses in the field of Product De­ sign, Industrial Design,
Visual Communication, Animation Graphic and, Vehicle Design and Mo­ bility.

A
KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Art and Design is one of the oldest professions and career options in the world. Despite be­ ing one
of the oldest career options,it is also highly diversified and has a huge number of streams in it

• Some the most famous streams in art and design are: Fine Arts, Visual Communication,Per­ forming
Arts,Fashion Designing, Animation,Games Design, product design,interaction de­ sign and Interior
Design.

• There are separate degrees and specialisations for each stream mentioned above. General­ ly,
students have to complete a bachelor's degree in arts after which they can obtain fur­ ther
specialisation or enter the professional world

• The top colleges which offer courses in art and design are: National Institute of Design,Na­ tional
Institute of Fashion Technology,Srishti Institute of Art,Design and Technology,Pearl Academy and
Sir JJ College of Applied Arts and the Industrial Design Centre at liT Bombay

End of the Section