When applying to a prestigious design program, prospective students will often be asked to present a portfolio as part of the admissions process.

Therefore, prospective students applying to NID should begin working on their Portfolio shortly after taking the Design Aptitude Test (DAT). The obvious first inquiry is, “what is a Porfolio?”

A candidate’s portfolio is just a selection of their finest and, in many cases, most recent works of art, designs, and projects. The primary reason students at the nation’s top design schools (NID, IIT, IISc, etc.) are asked to show a portfolio is so that admissions officers may get a sense of the applicant’s creative spirit and whether or not they have a genuine interest in the field. Images, sketches, renders, graphics prints, and other visual media are all fair game for this work.

After talking to a few different design students, we were able to assemble this list of helpful hints for putting up a portfolio:

1) Include Your Best Work

It’s important to keep in mind from the outset that the goal of any portfolio is to display your abilities. Be careful to submit all artwork that best displays your abilities as an artist rather than what you consider a decent finished product. Consequently, the work you present in your portfolio accurately portrays your passions, ideas, expertise, and skills in design. And remember to highlight the projects that set you apart from the crowd and offer you the upper hand the panel is hoping to see when they examine your portfolio.

Be well-versed in all of the works you present in your portfolio since the interview panel is likely to pick apart even the smallest details to determine whether or not you are qualified for the position.

2) Limit Your Samples

You must know that the portfolio display is not about how much work you have done but how well you can demonstrate your creative abilities. We advise keeping your portfolio to no more than 10–15 pages, each of which should showcase a single completed job. This would aid in elucidating the situation and drawing focus to the current effort.

Ensure that your portfolio only showcases your very finest work by giving it a second look. Photos in your portfolio should reflect your hobbies. Work that demonstrates the artist’s familiarity with color, subject, and design—the most fundamental components of any design—is also acceptable. A portfolio’s value increases if it conveys the impression that the student is proficient in various software, design methods, and media formats.

3) Work On The Presentation

Having a descriptive name for your portfolio is a must. If you’ve included this work in a portfolio, you should introduce it. You should limit your introduction to a single sentence. In this case, you should offer the panel a quick overview of the next product without using too many words and then allow the images to do the rest of the talking.

In addition, you can add descriptive labels to your images to help anybody perusing your portfolio understand your thinking process and the practicality of the design at hand.

4) Printed vs. Web-Based Portfolio

Indeed, technology is what this century needs. However, we recommend submitting your work in hard copy to make a stronger impression on the panel. Today, there are several websites where you may submit your work. Still, we advise you to refrain from doing so since you may need access to the internet at the test center, which would render your portfolio presenting procedure useless.

Nowadays, a laptop presentation is the method of choice for many students wishing to demonstrate their abilities. If they want to show their portfolio on a laptop, we tell them to keep it straightforward and easy to follow rather than trying to wow with fancy animations and transitions. Those adept at doodling should also submit a drawing from their sketchbook or draw out some of their ideas on a sheet of A4 or A3 paper to demonstrate their thinking process. A hand-drawn drawing might be an asset in a design test.

5) Include All The Portfolio Must-Haves

Reviewers have come to expect a certain flow to portfolios along with certain must-haves. Hence, you should ensure that your portfolio includes the following:

• Table of Contents 

Provide a page-by-page listing of the whole portfolio’s contents.

• Career Summary and Goals

Incorporate a brief explanation of yourself and your goals for the next five years.

• Resume

Include details about your academic credentials, professional experience, and accomplishments.

• Work Samples

Include examples of your greatest work, including pamphlets, presentations, designs, projects, articles, and studies.

• Awards and Honours

Include any diplomas, honors, prizes, or scholarships you have earned. You may also attach newspaper clippings of stories or photographs that highlight your accomplishments.

• Workshops and Conferences

List the lectures, conferences, and design workshops wherein you enrolled or volunteered.

• Testimonials

Include favorable feedback from academics, clients, customers, coworkers, previous employers, and others.

Conclusion

Any difficult problem may be overcome with careful planning, patience, and hard effort. You can easily breeze through the NID exam if you put in the time and effort to prepare, get expert guidance, and use high-quality study resources. So, to ace the NID exam, speak to our experts today!