Bachelor of Design (B.Des) Degree: Admission 2025, Fees, Syllabus, Subjects, Top Colleges, and Career Scope

Introduction

Popularly known as BDes full form – Bachelor of Design, is an undergraduate design degree with many specializations including Product Design, Transportation Design, Interaction Design, Game Design, Visual Communication and Brand Identity, and Interior and Space Design. A BDes course is usually four years long and can be pursued at design colleges like Strate School of Design, National Institute of Design, Jain University, Alliance University, etc. Let us dissect the BDes program and all its details.

BDes Course Highlights

A Bachelor Design course lays the foundation for design basics in the first year of a student’s design college. It follows with specializations in the second, third, and fourth years. The course prepares students with technical skills and creativity for a design career. Here’s some of the highlights of a BDes course from any design college:

• BDes fuels the creative section of a designer’s mind. It encourages it and pushes every design aspirant to take up actions on their own.
• A BDes degree provides a great platform for every student to ‘learn by doing’. It leaves plenty of room for practical approach, and its many internships, workshops, and seminars, allow a student to learn about the industry functioning.
• In today’s day and world, a BDes course and its curriculum stays very close to industry approach. The full syllabus, faculty, and other learnings are very much oriented to serve any individual well into the design industry. Strate School of Design, Bangalore is a prime example for that.
• It includes various specializations like Product Design, Transportation Design, Interior and Space Design, Interaction Design, Game Design, Fashion Design, Brand Identity and Visual Communication, etc.
• It also includes learnings about sustainable design approach, something that has become an increasing need in the modern-day society.
• A Capstone project that finally allows every student to showcase their learnings and demonstrate their skills before graduating.

What is a BDes Degree?

A BDes or a Bachelor’s in Design degree is an undergraduate course that equips students with the technical skills, creative skills, and problem-solving in the field of design. It is typically a four-year course, where students learn about the basics of design in the first year. They learn the various specializations in the following years i.e. second, third, and fourth.

Fundamentals like design, color theory, and drawing skills, as well as user interfaces, product branding, and various design tools, are all covered in this course. A BDes degree can be pursued in streams like Product Design, Transportation Design, Game Design, Interior and Space Design, Interaction Design, etc.

Why Pursue a BDes course?

Design aspirants need to pursue a course design, preferably BDes in their bachelor’s degree. This will teach them about creative thinking, technical skills, design tools, design principles, and industry knowledge. A BDes student learns a fair bit about design and can be an expert in a specialization of their choice field i.e. Transportation, Product, Space, etc. Pursuing a BDes degree will help them build a strong design career, envisioning their passion into success.

Pursuing a BDes will also give any design aspirant complete clarity as to what is required of him/her in the design industry. They will learn about using various tools, develop practical skills like prototyping, and weave a strong network of designers.

Besides following their passion and living their dream, a BDes graduate also has a diverse career path ahead of them. They can choose from that path per their passion and want. The salary structure of a BDes graduate, subject to individual specialization, is somewhere around INR 3-8 LPA. It may also rise above INR 25 LPA.

Who Should Study B.Des Program?

Anyone who wants to pursue a career in design can opt for a B Design or Bachelors in Design (Bdes). It is a formal technical study of design, just like any other field of engineering or medicine. A candidate with a creative bent of mind who wants to design products/ user experiences should enrol on the course. It is a study for students who want to create, ideate, and build things to solve existing or latent needs.

BDes Admission Process 2025

The BDes program, across any stream or specialization, is a four-year course that is spread across eight semesters.

To be admitted into any design college for a BDes course, a student must pass Class 12 with a minimum of 50% marks across academics.

Following that, he/she needs to choose the college and fill out the application form after paying the application fee for admission. The student need to go through the selection process of the applied college. The general selection process include written exam followed by interview or portfolio review.

Bachelor of Design: Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to pursue a BDes course from any reputed college in India, one needs to pass Class 12 with 50% or more aggregate marks across academics. Students from any education stream or background, such as Arts, Science, or Commerce, in high school are welcome to pursue a BDes degree. However, some institutions might mandate studying science subjects like Physics, Biology, Mathematics, or Chemistry in their high school.

What are the Entrance Exams for Bachelor of Design?

Here are some of the entrance exams to get enrolled in a BDes course from any reputed design institution in India.

• UCEED
• NIFT Entrance Exam
• CUET
• NID DAT

Apart from above, most institutes conduct their own entrance examination and selection procedure.

What are the Types of BDes Specializations?

Here are some of the BDes Specializations that a student can pursue:

1. Product Design

Product Design involves a combination of ‘User Needs’ with ‘Business Goals’ to design and create a product or service that is both aesthetic and effective. It offers a solution to regular problems with a successful product.

2. Transportation Design

The Transportation Design course is about finding modern-day mobility issues, envisioning their solutions, and bringing them to life. It combines ‘User Comfort’ and ‘Aesthetics’ to prepare the final product. Transportation Design also includes design and engineering techniques.

3. Interaction Design

The Interaction Design course is all about improving and enhancing the relationship between people and their products and services. It aims to make this world a faster, easier, better, and brighter place.

4. Visual Communications and Brand Identity

Brand Identity and Visual Communications aim to make a product speak for itself by adding some form of value to it. In other words, it enhances the desirability of the brand using elements like color, form, line, symbols, typography, logos, and images.

5. Game Design

Game Design amalgamates art, technology, psychology, plot, and a storytelling narrative to create a gripping and engaging experience. It teaches students about video publishing, storytelling, level designing, game mechanics, character development, user experience, and scripting.

6. Interior and Space Design

The Interior and Space Design course focuses on improving and enhancing the aesthetics and functionality of indoor spaces. Space Design, an additional wing to Interior Design, also takes the same concept and applies it to large spaces like parks, boulevards, public areas, etc.

BDes Course Syllabus

While the syllabus of BDes varies in accordance to each specialization i.e. Transportation, Product, Interaction, etc., here are some of the common subjects that are part of every BDes course:

• Design Skills and Concepts
• Design and Sensitization
• Design and Contextual Building
• Computer Skills
• Applied Science for Designers
• Evolution of Design
• Advances UI/UX Design
• Motion Graphics and Animation
• Portfolio Development

Many more subjects are taught across various specializations in different years of the program.

Course Comparison

1. BDes vs BFA: What is the Difference?

BFA, or Bachelor of Fine Arts, is a difference program to that of BDes or Bachelors of Design. BFA is more intrinsically inclined towards teaching more artistic courses traditionally. Things like painting, sculpture, and drawing, are some of the skills that a BFA course aims to enhance. Whereas, a BDes program focuses more on the practical design applications, one that fulfils both the aesthetics and the utility of a product or service.

Learning about user interface, technical skills, and problem-solving, are some of the core principles of a BDes program. On the other side, a BFA program focuses less on these aspects and more on the artistic capabilities.

2. BDes vs BArch: What is the Difference?

A BArch is degree in Bachelor of Architecture, as opposed to BDes, which is Bachelor of Design. A Bachelor on Architecture program is specifically carved towards designing buildings and physical spaces. It puts a heavy emphasis on structural integrity, building construction, and other technicalities, aspects of which are somewhat shared with Civil Engineering.

A BDes is a degree in design which offers specializations in many field. It focuses on solving a problem and designing a product to make it more usable and more appealing. It doesn’t include learning about building principles and structural integrity, unlike a BArch program.

The BDes in Interior and Space Design comes closest to a BArch program. However, it still involves designing the interior space of a room, whereas BArch is about designing and shaping how a building structurally will hold.

Also, a BDes program is usually four years long, whereas to complete a BArch program, it takes five years.

3. BDes vs BFTech: What is the Difference?

BFTech stands for Bachelor in Fashion Technology, which, although has a similarity to a BDes in Fashion program, are quite different.

A BDes in Fashion is a specialization course that mainly focuses on the creative side, aesthetics, drawings, and eventually garment production for brands and fashion designers. However, a BFTech program is far more heavily involved in the technical aspects of fashion design like machinery, manufacturing processes, quality control, fabric analysis, and far more minute details.

What are the Best BDes Colleges in India?

Here are some of the best BDes colleges in India (alongside their complete tuition fee of four years in INR):

• NID Ahmedabad – 16.84 Lakhs
• Strate School of Design – 26 Lakhs
• IMS Design and Innovation Academy – 16 Lakhs
• ITM Institute of Design and Media – 16.8 Lakhs
• MIT Institute of Design – 17 Lakhs

BDes Career Scope: Job Profiles, Salary and Top Recruiters

BDes is a growing field of study in India. There are around 470 BDes colleges in India that offer a Bachelor’s degree in a variety of specializations. There is a rise in demand for design jobs across industries in India. This will ensure more high school students pick up BDes as a course after passing Class 12.

Following your passion and choosing your specialization of likeness will also ensure a handsome package while joining the industry.

1. Job Profiles

Here are some of the entry level job profiles that are popular across BDes graduates (with their average salary in India). The salary increases with experience.

• Graphic Designers – INR 5-7 LPA
• Art Director – INR 4-6 LPA
• Industrial Designer – INR 8-10 LPA
• UI/UX Designer – INR 8-10 LPA
• Textile Designer – INR 5.5 – 7.5 LPA

Some of the other jobs are specialization-based such as Interior Designer, Car Designer, Game Designer, etc.

2. Salary

The average salary of a fresh BDes graduate can range somewhere around INR 4-8 LPA, subject to educational background, overall skillset, knowledge gained, company reputation, and college reputation, among other factors.

With work experience, the salary of a BDes passout can rise up to and above INR 25 LPA.

3. Top Recruiters

Here are some of top recruiters of BDes graduates across India:

• Flipkart
• Amazon
• HUL
• Decathalon
• Tanishq
• Boat
• Xiaomi
• Tata Motors
• Renault
• Harman

Frequently Asked Questions on BDes

1. What is the full form of BDes?

BDes stands for Bachelor of Design.

2. What to do after BDes?

A student can usually pursue a masters after graduating from BDes. This will help them further enhance their specialization skills, and become more closely connected to industry functioning, needs, and demands. Alternatively, they can join the industry to gain practical and hands on experience.

3. Which is the Best College in Bangalore for B. Des?

The Strate School of Design in Bangalore is the best college for a BDes program. Subsequently, you can also pursue a masters from the same college after graduating from BDes.

4. Which is Better – BDes or BFTech?

If you are looking to pursue a career in design, in your choice of specialization, then a BDes degree is the appropriate one for you. However, if you want to make a career in Fashion Technology, and learn about the various nitty-gritty and technicalities of Fashion, then BFTech is the right course for you.

5. Are Admissions Still Available for BDes at STRATE?

Yes. Admissions are still available for BDes at Strate. Just fill out the online application form, submit the completed application form along with a fee of INR 2000, appear for the admission test, and  appear for an interview or portfolio review. Once all these rounds are cleared, secure a seat by paying 10% of the first semester fees. Finally, submit the relevant documents and proofs, and you are set to go.

6. Is BDes a Good Course?

Yes. BDes is a good course to follow one’s passion, learn new innovative and technological trends in the design world, get hired for a lucrative and high-paying job, and work in the industry and field of your choice. It is a growing field in India.