Vishnu C P makes it to IITB MVD

Hey everyone, My name is Vishnu C P, 22,keralite,  Automobile engineer , Vehicle Design enthusiast. Cleared ceed2016 with rank95 and got selected for Mobility and Vehicle Design.

This years ceed was my second attempt and I am glad that I got what I wanted the most. Previous years ceed was a trial version for me which made me realise where I lack and how I should improve. After my engineering a took one year break, sat home , started sketching and moulding myself for a better design approach which indeed payed of well for ceed2016. 

Preparation Days:

“Don’t prepare yourself just to crack the entrance and get a good rank, Prepare yourself to be a better designer”. My initial months where dedicated completely to sketching, as it’s a fundamental thing for a designer. As a vehicle designer sketching is the core, so I followed blogs, saw videos, read articles and portfolios, met designers and design aspirants, was criticized and appreciated for all the works.

I was a part of few groups of design aspirants. We use to assign tasks daily for ceed and nid especially PartB of ceed where we need to think creative and also have manage time which is a tough task.  It was a great experience, without them  I couldn’t have performed well. I suggest you to get a good group of fewer members or work alone. Also read blogs, Tea cup blog, stuff you look and Mansharma.net which will give you an insight about design and its approach. Meet people who are studying design, get to know more from them, meet professionals and  get inspired by their works, these all could boost your design approach. 

Portfolio, Studio Test and Interview:

My Nid results was a let down as I failed to clear it. One of my friend called me up and told me “ make portfolio for yourself, not for any interview panel” which was really inspiring. Ceed results were late due to Chennai flood and that’s the time when I worked on my folio. I already had ideas about my projects which I had noted down during my preparation time, all I had to do was present it well. Issuu, Behance, teacupblog, etc  helped me well for my portfolio presentation. I suggest you guys to note down all your ideas as u get it and work on portfolio soon after your entrance, do it for yourself!!

Studio test for mobility and vehicle design went really good. We were asked to sketch Renault Kwid from memory, I knew bits and pieces of the aesthetic shape of car and had confidence with lines and perspective so I did it pretty okay. We were also asked to make a cuboid of given dimension and also were asked to design a Seat for bullet train in India. My interview went really good too. Panel was cool with me, they appreciated my sketches a lot, had lot of friendly talks and they also will test our materials knowledge. Make sure you read and get to know about basic materials.

Studio test and material test for industrial design was bad for me. I was least interested and I realised which stream I belong to. Interview panel of Id asked me about my  preference , and I preferred mobility first. So that’s done.

Few tips for designers, especially for transportation design aspirants

• Sketch a lot of ellipses, circles, lines, cubes in perspectives everyday, every time before you  sketch something.( We need a lot of that in cars.)
• You don’t have to have perfect artistic skills nor you have to take any coaching. You can figure it all out yourself if you are passionate about your field. Make sure that your ideas are creative and its presented properly so that its appealing.
•  Have an insight about the field, go through portfolios, meet designers,get your works criticized.
• Be updated about everything related to your field
• Finally, “let the passion, dedication and hardwork drive you ahead, don’t worry about any consequences. Keep trying and be passionate about design always"

Some  pages from my portfolio: