Apoorv (IxD at IDC-IITB)

Hello all, my name is Apoorv Anurag. I secured AIR 4 (open) in CEED 2021 and got admission at IDC, IIT Bombay in Interaction design discipline.

While I am writing this article, I am currently in my concluding days of B.Tech. Civil engg. Like most people getting into engineering due to societal pressure, I also had no clue what I will do after my bachelors. By the third year, I started preparing for GATE in a coaching institute. But I did not feel any motivation while preparing for it. When the lockdown happened, I got some time to introspect things. I realized I had always had a connection with creative things and I have always enjoyed working together on a creative project. Also meanwhile, I had been putting up my works on my social media handles and challenging my creative skills.

Through  Ms. Kashish Panjwani ma'am, one of my seniors in the Fine Arts club of my college (and now a senior at IDC too :) ), I got to know about the design field as a career option. She really mentored me in the entire process of preparation. I researched about this field and found it really interesting and fulfilling.  I did some NPTEL courses on design that cleared some of the basics of this field. 

Initially, I juggled between my GATE and design exam prep, but it did not work out. But at the end of September, I started preparing solely for CEED. I got to know about 'Teacup blog' by Mr. Prasanna Gadkari sir and 'Stuff You Look' blog. Got in a whatsapp CEED resource group by Mr. Josh Koikkara sir. These resources guided me a lot. 

I studied previous year question papers deeply. These question papers can be easily found on CEED website. For part A, I opted for the strategy of taking one question at a time and reading about it as a topic- Means assuming it as a topic and studying and making notes for everything related to it. Eg. For a question regarding classical dance, I went through how many classical dances there are, their costumes, any famous personality associated with that dance form etc.  It also helps in identifying any weak topic and getting familiarised by time management too. 

For part B, drawing something daily is the tip that can help you a lot. I practiced warm up exercises for my hands every time before sketching. I feel it's very necessary and one can clearly see the difference when you do it vs when you do not. You should start from basic shapes, then 3d forms (like cube, cones), then try with different products, human/ animal figures, vehicles etc. In short, try drawing everything that you see around and also try memorising the way you have drawn it. Try outlining figures in a newspaper to get used to different poses and proportions of figures and objects. Your everyday sketches can be critiqued by any fellow aspirants for the exam, if you know one. While solving drawing section questions, you can follow a similar strategy of getting critiques.  

If you are on Instagram, you can also take on some drawing challenges like sketching human figures in different poses, 100 products in 100 days, logo design challenge and maybe Inktober too. Posting them regularly will help you in staying motivated in your prep.

Follow Youtube, Insta, FB pages providing guidance for CEED. You will find plenty of them, suggesting you more helpful tips. Also please listen to the Styrofoam podcast on the CEED website.

In the last few weeks, I also gave around a dozen online mock tests from different coachings to get used to the time limit and get acquainted with important topics and time limits. Sometimes their answer keys are wrong so I won't suggest relying entirely on them too.

For time management in part B you get 2hrs to attempt 5 questions. So try to think like you have got only 1.5 hrs to attempt 5 questions. Hence you got only : 1.5hrs ÷ 5ques =18 mins for each question. Keep the last half hour for finishing up only. Keep yourself aware of the time in the whole exam. 

I used 4H pencil for initial drawing and then 2B for final finishing with darker strokes. I took only a small colour pencil set, a pair of ruler(1long and 1 small), a non dust eraser, a kneadable eraser, a few fineliner pens, a sharpener and a white gel pen. Don't carry huge art sets to the exam centre as you will not have the time to waste in choosing the tool. 

Post CEED : -

I had my CEED exam on 17th Jan,2021 and it's results were declared on 8th March,2021. I was very happy and overwhelmed by my result as I didn't expect to achieve AIR 4 in the exam :D .

Later on, the application form for IIT Bombay got released on 1st April,2021 and we had to fill it along with three tasks per chosen discipline, by 8th April. 

I applied in two disciplines: Communication and Interaction, so a total of six tasks had to be done. The tasks included designing a poster, reviewing a few articles and  critiquing a bad design. They were quite hectic, so I will suggest you to start them immediately as you receive them.

On 26th April, based on my CEED score and tasks, I got shortlisted for interview rounds 

The date of portfolio submission was between 8-14th May and then my interviews were done on 18th May. 

For a portfolio, you have to basically submit your best works and projects. Mine had only 4 projects including 1 ui/ux, 2 graphic related and 1 comic character related. I also added my sketching-painting works which I had done as a hobby or while in the Fine Arts club in the college. I got most of the projects done and compiled in the four months gap that I got between CEED and portfolio submission date. I submitted the same portfolio for both the disciplines.

In the interviews, the questions were mainly based on my portfolio, tasks, reason for choosing the particular discipline, and what I wish to aim for (coming from Civil engineering background). In the Interaction interview they also asked for softwares that I know.

After a lot of patience and nervousness, I received my result on 14th June,2021. I was jumping around with excitement and joy as I saw that I got into 'IDC School of Design, IIT BOMBAY'!

My family, friends, peers, mentors all had my back while I was preparing. It wouldn't have been possible without their support. 

In your preparation too, if you can't figure out a few things, don't exhaust yourself and let negative thoughts step upon you. Just take some rest, have a chit-chat with your people or listen to your favourite song. Be relaxed! Everything will fall in place if you have put genuine effort into it! 

All the best guys for your design journey!