Design Courses After 12th: Commerce vs Science – What’s Better?

Before any student chooses to pursue design as their preferred career option, they usually have to go through the gruelling task of passing high school, that too with a minimum of 50%. It is a mandatory norm for all students. Now, the two most popular streams of study in high school in India are Science and Commerce.

Almost all students pursue either Science or Commerce, with a few opting for Arts. Statistically speaking, the majority of high school students pursue ‘Science,’ as it is considered the most noble educational field of all. As the trend continues, an increasing number of students pursue science every year. However, what do these students do after they pass high school, either in science or commerce? Which one, if any, is better for studying design in college? Let’s find out.

Design Course More Suited to Commerce Students

While it is true that most design courses welcome students from all backgrounds in high school, including science and commerce, there is still specificity reserved for each of those streams. Among those who want to pursue design, science students opt for certain specific specializations, and commerce students opt for others. These are the design fields more suitable for a student in Commerce:

1. UX/UI Design

This focuses on user experience and interface for digital products. It also aligns with business goals and consumer behavior.

2. Visual Communication & Branding

In yet another commerce-favorite design stream, creating brand identities, advertising, and marketing materials is part of this stream.

3. Fashion Design

The business side of fashion design, which includes fashion merchandising and management, is extremely appealing to commerce students.

4. Communication Design

Relevant for marketing and media, this is a broad field including graphic design.

Design Courses More Suited to Science Students

Just like Commerce students being attracted to study certain specific design specializations, there are a few design specializations that are more suited to science students. They are:

● Product Design – Designing physical objects that are functional and aesthetically pleasing allows science students to leverage their analytical skills.
● Interior and Space Design – Designing functional and aesthetic spaces, while blending architecture, is extremely appealing to science students.
● Animation & VFX – Designing technical aspects of visual effects and 3D modeling.
● Textile Design – Creating patterns for fabrics, applicable in fashion and home decor, is also a favorite of science students.

Skills Commerce Students Bring to Design

While the field of design demands a certain set of skills from everyone, students from specific backgrounds bring their own set of merits to the field. Similarly, commerce students bring a specific set of skills that are beneficial across design specializations. Here are some of them.

● Business and Finance Acumen – Budgeting, Costing, Market and Trend Analysis, Product Management, and Project Management.
● Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving – Critical Thinking, Brand and Consumer Psychology, and Strategic Planning.
● Analytical and Data Skills – Data Interpretation and Analytical Skills to quickly process information and generate results.
● Communication & Leadership – Effective Communication, Leadership, and Delegation inspire teams and manage workflows that are essential for project success.

Skills Commerce Students Bring to Design

As for science, they too bring their own set of skills across design fields, not unlike how commerce students do. Here are some of their well-known skills:

● Analytical & Critical Thinking – Analyzing information, evaluating evidence, and making informed judgments based on facts is part of analytical & critical thinking.
● Problem-Solving & Investigation – Both science and design rely heavily on observation, investigation, and invention to develop unique solutions.
● Research Skills – Be it gathering background information or searching for solutions, or fetching results from data, they are important and valuable skills to have in design. Science students possess all of these skills.
● Data Analysis & Interpretation – Science students learn how to collect, organize, interpret, and evaluate data sets. It is also important in design.
● Communication & Presentation – A very important skill is to communicate or convey findings and outcomes quite clearly and accurately to a diverse audience using media such as words, diagrams, and charts. Science students bring this skill to design.
● Objectivity & Resilience – It is a scientific process that helps students value external feedback and bring a change in their adaptation based on results.

Commerce vs Science – Key Differences for Design Careers

Aspect Science Students Commerce Students
Initial Advantage Technical Thinking and Logic Business Thinking and User Mindset
Problem-Solving Style System-based and Analytical Human-centered and Market Driven
Technology Savvy Usually Higher Medium, but learnable for the job.
Understanding User Psychology Medium Higher
Business & Branding Sense Low-Medium High
Client Communication Sense Medium High
Design Management Roles Less Common Strong Advantage

Entrance Exams For Design Courses After 12th

Some of the top national exams that select students for the design courses after 12th are as follows:

● UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design) – It is conducted by IIT Bombay for BDes admissions at IITs.
● NID DAT (National Institute of Design – Design Aptitude Test) – It is for BDes at NID.
● NIFT Entrace Exam (National Institute of Fashion Technology) – This is for BDes and BFTech offered by NIFT campuses.
● SEED (Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design) – This is for Symbiosis Institute of Design.

Some other key entrance exams are IIAD (Indian Institute of Art & Design), AIEED (All India Entrance Exam for Design), SMEAT (Srishti Manipal Entrance & Aptitude Test), etc.

What are the Career Opportunities After Design Courses?

Career opportunities that are not only existing but also thriving range across the spectrum. These are some of the best career options after pursuing design:

● UI/UX Designer
● Graphic designer
● Web Designer
● Illustrator
● Product Designer
● Industrial Designer
● Fashion Designer
● Interior Designer
● Game Designer
● Animator
● Production Designer
● Design Manager
● Design Consultant

How to Choose the Right Design Course After 12th?

Choosing the right design course is of utmost importance for any individual before beginning their college journey. It becomes the most important deciding factor for their career, whether they can achieve their dreams of becoming successful or waste another few years rectifying the choices they made after 12th.

Therefore, you must refer to articles such as these that provide you with the utmost clarity about what the best courses after 12th are for science and commerce students. You must also keep up the research work and find out as many details as possible about the said course.

How popular is it? Does it have a good quality faculty and infrastructure? Are more candidates pursuing that course? What future does the course hold? What sort of jobs would I get after pursuing the course? What are the best options I have after pursuing the course? These are just some of the many questions that you must research before settling on your preferred course.

Moreover, weighing in on the college you’re admitted to and the city it is based in is also important. Choosing the right city to pursue a particular course from helps you with getting better employment opportunities in that city itself. Very often, companies offer a job to a student after college placement right in the city where the college is located.

One other thing to consider before finally settling upon the course and college is the word of mouth. Listen to the alumni of that college, especially the ones who studied the same course you are about to choose.