A day in this work
You design how apps and products work and feel: research with users, sketches, prototypes and testing until it is easy to use.
Ways in
- B.Des (4 years) at NID, IIT design schools, NIFT or private design colleges
- Any degree plus a strong portfolio and internships
- M.Des after engineering or architecture
After Class 10
Any stream
Entrance exams to know
- UCEED
- NID DAT
- NIFT entrance
- CEED (for M.Des)
Years, cost and pay
- Years of study
- 4
- Whole-course cost, government or aided
- ₹2 to 8 lakh
- Whole-course cost, private
- ₹8 to 25 lakh
- Typical starting pay
- ₹6 to 12 lakh a year
Indicative bands from the pilot dataset (0.1 (pilot), 19 September 2026). Real fees and pay vary a lot by college, city and year. Check the official sites below.
No college, coaching institute, lender or study-abroad agent pays to appear on these pages. Pathways takes no money from them.
Outlook, and how AI is changing this work
Outlook: Growing. AI is changing much of the daily work.
AI generates screens in seconds. Knowing what to build and why, by understanding people, is the designer's lasting value.
Try this week
Watch a grandparent use a phone app, note where they get stuck and sketch a better screen on paper.
Check the facts yourself
These are official sites. Exam names, dates, fees and rules change every year, so confirm them there. Each link opens in a new tab.
Careers close to this one
See how well this fits you
Discovery in the app takes about eight minutes and gives each of these 52 careers a fit score from your own answers. It is free during the pilot, and nobody is asked for an email address or a phone number. Students under 18 need a parent or guardian to agree first, and children under 13 cannot join yet.