National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

Mission Statement

Established in 1961, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad (with campuses in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar & Bengaluru) is an autonomous institute under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and has been declared ‘Institution of National Importance’ by the Act of Parliament, by virtue of the National Institute of Design Act, 2014.

The mandate for NID, Ahmedabad is to offer world-class design education and to promote design awareness and application towards raising the quality of life by and through:
– Education to create design professionals of excellence to help meet India's diverse design needs. To train design trainers for other design and design-related institutions and positions in the 21st century as global leaders in Design Education and Research by recognising the changes in economic and business environment nationally and globally.
– Ensuring the expansion in the number of quality design professionals and faculty, through existing and new institutional mechanisms.
– Becoming a repository of design knowledge, experience and information on products, systems, materials, design and production processes related to traditional as well as modern technologies.
– Encouraging the design of products and systems of everyday use in a spirit of restless search for indigenous design solutions by focusing on affordable design for the masses.
– To undertake fundamental and applied research to create cutting edge knowledge in the areas of design especially those concerned with user understanding and trends.
– To help place designers in key sectors of national need for benchmarking of standards of design education and practice, and encouraging 'thinking global and acting local'.
– To offer integrated design consultancy services and cutting edge design solutions providing practice opportunities to students as well as a revenue stream to the institute.
– Providing design inputs from the point of view of using design as an integrating force in varied areas like science, technology, management etc. to raise quality of life through well designed products, services, processes, systems, etc.
– To humanise technology and integrate the physical with the virtual and digital worlds through better information and interface design.
– To provide design intervention for craft, handloom, rural technology, small, medium and large scale enterprises, and outreach programmes for capability and institution building and sustainable livelihood, employment opportunities and economic growth.

This vision acknowledges that higher education in design will have greater responsibilities to meet the needs of society both in India and abroad. We must be prepared to accept this challenge so that we can continue to lead advances in educational and technological innovation, creative expression and design led problem solving. At the same time NID anchors itself to cultural strengths of India and fosters strategic design linkages of innovation and entrepreneurship with the various sectors of industry.

International Role

1. University of Art & Design (UIAH) / Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
2. Instituto Profesional DuocUC of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
3. École nationale supérieure de création industrielle (ENSCI), Paris, France
4. École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD), Paris, France
5. Burg Giebchenstein, Halle, Germany
6. Konstfack University College of Art, Craft & Design, Stockholm, Sweden
7. Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, Pforzheim, Germany
8. Shenkar College of Engg. & Design, Ramat Gan, Israel
9. Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, (BIAD), Birmingham, UK
10. Royal College of Art & Design, London, UK
11. The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA), Johannesburg, South Africa
12. Sheridan College of Applied Arts & Design, Canada
13. University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
14. Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
15. University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
16. Instituto Europeo di Design, S R L, Milan, Italy
17. University of Bocconi, Milan, Italy
18. Art Centre College of Design, Pasadena, USA
19. Design & Arts College, Christchurch, New Zealand
20. Hochschule, Hannover, Germany
21. Pininfarina, S.p.A, Italy
22. The Ontario College of Art & Design, Toronto, Canada
23. Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea
24. The Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
25. University College for Creative Arts, Farnham, UK
26. Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island, USA
27. Zurich University of Arts, Zurich, Switzerland
28. Domus Academy, Milan, Italy
29. École Supérieure d'Art et de Design, Reims, France
30. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne, Australia
31. The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
32. I-Style, Italy
33. Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy
34. Dept. of Machine Tools & Factory Management, Technische Universität, Berlin, Germany
35. Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW) Berlin University of Applied Arts, Berlin, Germany
36. École supérieure d'art et design / Cité du design, Saint-Étienne, France
37. Coventry University, Coventry, UK
38. Holon Institute of Technology, Holon, Israel
39. The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
40. Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Kigali, Rwanda
41. Victoria and Albert Museum, UK
42. Lucerne School of Art and Design, Lucerne, Switzerland
43. Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Lemgo, Germany
44. Heriot-Watt University, School of Textiles & Design, Galashiels, Scotland
45. Poli.Design, Consorzio del Politecnico di Milano, Italy
46. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic
47. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
48. Taiwan Design Center, Taipei, Taiwan
49. University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
50. Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan
51. Università San Raffaele, Rome, Italy
52. Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, USA
53. École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Dijon, Dijon, France
54. Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel
55. College of Planning & Design, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
56. Royal Academy of Arts (KABK), The Hague, The Netherlands
57. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA
58. Hof University of Applied Sciences, Hof, Germany
59. Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan
60. Saxion University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
61. School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design, York University, Toronto, Canada
62. Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
63. Haute école des arts du Rhin (H.E.A.R.), Strasbourg, France
64. California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Valencia, USA
65. Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, Poland
66. Faculty of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
67. Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal
68. Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan
69. Pathshala, South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh
70. Deakin University, Australia
71. Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
72. Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design, Kiel, Germany
73. Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
74. School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), People’s Republic of China
75. University of the Arts, London, UK
76. George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology (GBC), Ontario, Canada
77. Haute école d'art et de design (Geneva School of Art and Design), Geneva, Switzerland
78. Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG), Offenbach, Germany
79. HKU University of the Arts, Utrecht, Netherlands
80. Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
81. École nationale des Arts visuels de La Cambre, La Cambre, Belgium
82. University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
83. CENTRO, Mexico City, Mexico
84. Bath Spa University, UK
85. Chanapatana International Design Institute, Thailand
86. King Mongkut's University of Technology, Thonburi, Thailand
87. Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Israel
88. International University of Chabahar, Chabahar, Iran
89. University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal
90. Parsons The New School, New York, USA
91. Business Academy South West, Denmark
92. University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
93. University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Dortmund, Germany
94. Kryachkov State University of Architecture, Design and Arts of Novosibirsk, Russia
95. Accademia della Moda, Institute of Universal Art and Design, Italy
96. F+F Schule für Kunst und Design, Zurich, Switzerland
97. Escola Politécnica (EP USP) & Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAUUSP), Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
98. Technological University of the Shannon, Limerick, Ireland

National Role

Research & Development
Design research is a proactive and exploratory way to develop design practice and education. The institute aims at creating a new body of knowledge on and through design research. The institute conducts design research in the areas of Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile and Apparel Design, Lifestyle Accessory Design, IT Integrated Design, and Design Management in domains related to industrial, social, and cultural concerns through basic and applied research, through experimental development and other activities. 

NID’s design research mandate also includes setting up of Design Research Chairs, which act as catalysts for collaborative research opportunities at NID. Chairholders or Fellows and their associated labs promote holistic design thinking backed by comprehensive research, culminating in futuristic visions, envisaging a better quality of life. 
NID’s research initiatives are fully integrated into its undergraduate and postgraduate curricula.

Centres/Cells under Research & Development:
– Railway Design Centre (RDC)
– Centre for Bamboo Initiatives (CFBI)
– Smart Handloom Innovation Centre (SHIC)
– Innovation Centre for Natural Fibre (ICNF)
– Intellectual Property Rights Cell (IPR)
– International Centre for Indian Crafts (ICIC)

Integrated Design Services
NID undertakes design consultancy projects through its Integrated Design Services (IDS) department. IDS acts as a bridge between the education and professional design practices while serving the needs of various manufacturing, commerce and service sector organizations through diverse design interventions.
The Design projects are taken up and managed professionally and executed through a multidisciplinary approach by team of designers and professionals with faculty members as Project Heads.

Consultancy assignment at NID starts with an enquiry from the client giving details of their probable design intervention that is required, followed by the deliberations with the client in order to understand the scope of the project and creative design brief. Based on the creative design brief, a techno-commercial proposal is made and upon client’s approval of the proposal, the design team headed by the Project Head initiates the design process starting with intense research, conceptualization, design detailing and the final delivery of the project.

This IDS department also brings the institute’s experience and training facilities to the service of those outside its regular education and client service activities.
These programmes help build a network of design collaboration towards economic and social priorities, between the institute and organisation, groups and individuals all over India. These networks help extend design application in many areas which are still new to design.

Workshop and training programmes are tailored to the specific needs of particular groups, aimed at assisting them to put design awareness in schools at primary and secondary levels.

Continuing Education Programme
Continuing education means when adults return to formal education to remain contemporary/current in their career. Wide acceptance and local sustainability are achieved by involving NGOs, voluntary agencies, social workers, other renowned institutions in the planning and implementation of the various Programmes offered by Continuing Education Programme (CEP). It can associate itself with other Institutes and research organizations for developing joint course modules. The continuing education scheme is, therefore, multi-faceted and enjoys supreme flexibility to allow grassroots community participation and design enhancement initiatives for professionals working at various levels. CEP looks to undertake the following framework:
– Equivalency programme designed as an alternative education programme equivalent to existing formal, general or vocational education.
– Income-generating programme where the participants acquire or upgrade their vocational skills and take up income-generating activities.
– Quality of life improvement programme which aims to equip learners and the community with essential knowledge, attitude, values and skills to raise their standard of living

Centre for Teaching and Learning
Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), was founded in late 2019, with an aim to support, promote and facilitate an academic ambience for sharing thoughts and innovations in Design. It operates across the three NID campuses- Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Gandhinagar. At CTL in NID Ahmedabad, efforts are made to create an institutional culture focused on “learning” by facilitating a space for discussions on design pedagogy.

Since the design community is a highly vibrant community, the faculty members can share, reflect on and research vis a vis teaching- learning methods. While most of the NID pedagogy stems from the principle of “learning by doing” of progressive pedagogy; over the years, faculty colleagues have evolved their own variations of the same. CTL facilitates sharing and enhancement of learning methods. The work is based on current research and best practices for effective teaching and learning in the domain of Design. CTL facilitates under three distinct verticals of explore, reflect-share- critique and connect. With this line of thinking, CTL holds lectures, workshops and trainings for faculty colleagues to inform them vis a vis new research in the domain of design pedagogy, cognition, learnability etc.

It encourages in-house faculty to reflect on their teaching methods and share thoughts through critical analysis and various means of interaction. CTL also aids in coming together of cross disciplinary faculty across three NID campuses to share, discuss and reflect on their teaching, by facilitating formation of FLGs/SIGs- Faculty Learning Groups/ Subject Interest Groups.

@ Connect, CTL aims to partner with departments within the three NID campuses, alternative education hubs & think tanks, with international MoU partners; to share, learn & contribute towards a robust “design learning and teaching culture”. CTL facilitates formation of COPs- Communities of Practice, across the International MoU partners. COPs are a group of people who come together to share ideas or concerns and determine solutions.

National Design Business Incubator (NDBI)
NDBI is an initiative of the National Institute of Design, set up with the support of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. NDBI is incorporated as a non profitable Section 25 Company under The Companies Act of India. The mandate of NDBI is to nurture a culture of entrepreneurship in the creative minds of young designers, so that their ideas metamorphose into newer and niftier products or services capable of being marketed and sold. The outcome is creation of a new class of entrepreneurs the Designpreneurs.

India Design Council
In pursuance of the National Design Policy announced by the Government of India on January 8, 2007, the Central Government has constituted the India Design Council on March 2, 2009 and the Director of NID is appointed as the Member-Secretary of the Council. The India Design Council acts as the national strategic body for multidisciplinary design and is involved in promotion of design to ultimately make Indian industry a design enabled industry.
Amongst other activities, India Design Council has initiated India Design Mark in cooperation with Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP) which is in the form of learning from the well-established Good Design Award system in Japan, functioning since 1957, to establish judging criteria for India Design Mark and inviting experts to be a part of jury for India Design Mark determination. India Design Mark is a design standard, a symbol, which recognizes good design.

Industrial / Business associations for students
Professional educational programmes at the National Institute of Design are based on a system of learning that makes students aware of the needs of the client. The emphasis at the institute is to guide young students to engage with real world situations and develop an ability to address the needs of those situations in a contemporary context. The student designers are mentored and guided by experienced faculty members from NID. The faculty members at the institute are professionals engaging with society and sectors of the economy through their research, and design practice. Academic practices at NID recognise the unique and sector specific design needs while setting new standards of design and design education in India. Professional education at NID integrates research and design service across all the disciplines offered. An interdisciplinary approach makes it possible for students from diverse disciplines to integrate their learning in a holistic manner. The institute focuses on experiential learning accompanied by an approach to design that gives primacy to hands-on experience. This approach, while building a strong knowledge and skill base seeks to hone ability for original conceptual quality and context specific design solutions.

Students are encouraged to pursue opportunities in areas such as social communication, service sectors, technology enhanced learning, Craft Design, Green Design, Universal Design, and Experiential Design. The faculty at NID strives towards imparting state of the art design learning by keeping abreast with new developments in engineering and technology, social and environmental concerns, and policy issues. The quality of education received by NID graduates has contributed to their success at various levels across diverse segments of the economy; their works and ideas have been duly acknowledged nationally and internationally.

Sponsored projects for NID students fall into three major categories.
1. Sponsored classroom projects: Sponsored classroom projects can take place during the last two years of NID’s B.Des. (4 years) and in the second year of the M. Des. (2 ½ years).
These projects are conducted over a 4 to 8 week period in the classroom along with opportunities for client contact. Such projects are an integral aspect of NID’s curriculum and seek to expose students to a wide variety of existing scenarios in the industry, along with testing their problem-solving abilities. Such projects are conducted for a batch of students under the guidance of an experienced faculty member. The outcome of the said project is shared with the sponsor. These projects are budgeted with actual expenses towards conducting the project that include: cost of faculty time, travel cost (if any), cost of materials, cost of sampling/prototype development, and contingency.

2. Industrial Training: Industrial training continues for 6 to 8 weeks; wherein, the student works on a project in the premises of the industry/organisation and under the supervision of the sponsor. It is scheduled in the curriculum at the end of third year of the B.Des. and in the second year of the M.Des.
Through this hands-on industrial training, the student engages in one or more areas of design and development, production, marketing, and several other aspects.

3. Graduation Project: As per NID’s curriculum, all Graduation semester students are required to undertake a Graduation project with a client organisation. This Graduation project comprises a comprehensive project based on a predetermined design brief. The Graduation project, which is expected to be of 6 months duration, is a complete demonstration of independent client service by the student under the guidance of a faculty member from NID. The student is expected to generate a professional design proposal that integrates application and implementation capabilities. The project brief is approved by the student’s faculty guide who is required to review the progress of work. On successful completion of the work, a comprehensive document of the project & its outcome is submitted as prescribed by NID from time to time. The student’s performance on the project is critically evaluated by a jury comprising NID faculty members and external experts for the award of the NID’s Professional Education Degree upon the student.

Main Focus

• Communication Design
• Industrial Design
• Interdisciplinary Design Studies
• IT-Integrated Programmes
• Textile, Apparel, & Lifestyle Accessory Design