DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE AND FASHION

Exhibition and Experience Designer

Designs stalls, museum displays, stage sets and event spaces that people walk through.

Any Class 12 stream; drawing and making things help After Class 12 Private sector

Facts checked 29/10/2026

Is this for me?

People in this work enjoy

Seeing an idea turn into a real space that people use and remember
Working with your hands on models, mock-ups and set-builds
Solving problems of crowd flow, light and story in one go

It may not suit you if you dislike

Deadlines and late nights before an event or fair opens
Long years of study, and fees that can be high at top design schools
Projects that end quickly, so work can come in uneven bursts

Class 11–12 subjects: Class 12 in any stream, with a minimum aggregate (reported as 45%) for NID B.Des. Your sketching, model-making and sense of space count for more than any one subject. Architecture-style routes need Physics and Maths.
First degree: B.Des in Exhibition (Spatial) Design, 4 years, at NID Ahmedabad and some other design schools. Or B.Arch, 5 years, then an M.Des in Exhibition Design (about 2.5 years, reported).
Entrance exams: NID DAT (Design Aptitude Test) for NID B.Des and M.Des: a written Prelims, then a Mains studio test and interview (reported). Other design schools may run their own tests. B.Arch routes use NATA or JEE Main Paper 2.
Licence or registration: None needed to start working.

Open to every streamAny Class 12 stream; drawing and making things help.Check your subjects against every career

What the work is like

Planning how visitors move through a space, then turning ideas into layouts, drawings, 3D models and working displays. Working with fabricators, lighting people, clients and project managers. Often on tight deadlines, with on-site setup and dismantling.

A day in the work
A typical day might start with a site visit to check a stall or gallery that is being built, measuring walls and checking how the lighting falls. Back at the studio, you may redraw a floor plan after a client asks for more space at the entrance, and then build a quick cardboard model to test the idea. You would spend the afternoon on a call with a fabricator about materials and cost, and end the day by updating the schedule so the team knows what is due before the event opens.

The path, step by step

Step 1 · Class 9–12Draw, sketch and make small models of rooms and displays. Visit museums, trade fairs and science centres and note how people move through them. A portfolio of this work helps in design admissions.
Step 2 · Class 12Apply through the NID DAT for B.Des. The first stage is a written paper; the second is a studio test and interview. Dates for the 2027 cycle are reported as September to December 2026 for registration, with Prelims in late December 2026 (reported; check the official notice).
Step 3 · 4 yearsB.Des in Exhibition (Spatial) Design at NID Ahmedabad, or a similar design school. Expect studio projects, model-making, material testing and a final project. (reported — check with the official body)
Step 4 · Alternative: 5 yearsB.Arch at a Council of Architecture-approved college if you prefer architecture. Admission is through NATA or JEE Main Paper 2. (reported — check with the official body)
Step 5 · Optional, after graduationM.Des in Exhibition Design or a related field. NID's M.Des needs a graduation degree with a minimum aggregate (reported as 50%) and the NID DAT. (reported — check with the official body)
Step 6 · After studyBuild a portfolio through internships with exhibition agencies, museums, event firms or design studios. Work usually comes project by project.

Ways in

Design route
Architecture route

Time and money

Stage	Time	Government college or body	Private college	Help available
Class 11–12 (school)	2 years	Your school's fees	Your school's fees	—
NID DAT entrance exam (design route, Class 12)	1 day exam	NID DAT application fee ₹3,000 (General/OBC/EWS); ₹2,000 female; ₹1,500 SC/ST; ₹500 PwD (NID B.Des 2026-27 handbook)	—	Fee is non-refundable and excludes bank charges. Check the notice for 2027 dates.
B.Des in Exhibition (Spatial) Design, NID Ahmedabad or similar school	4 years	Check the institute's fee page; reported total about ₹11 lakh to ₹18 lakh over four years (reported)	Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune: ₹2,50,000 academic fee per annum, 2026-27, plus ₹20,000 refundable deposit	Graphic Era B.Des: scholarships ₹35,000–₹75,000 per semester (intake 2026). No NID-specific scholarship found.
Alternative: B.Arch then M.Des in Exhibition Design	5 years B.Arch, then about 2.5 years M.Des (reported)	Check the college's fee page	Check the college's fee page	Ask the college about scholarships or fee support.
Internship and portfolio building after study	Ongoing, project by project	Unpaid or paid internships: check with each agency	—	No paid government training or stipend found on the page.

Total timeAbout 4 years after Class 12 for the B.Des route (5 years for B.Arch), plus about 2.5 years if you take an M.Des

Total costDepends mostly on the college you choose — compare fee pages.

Good to knowNo government fee or stipend was found on the page; the figures shown are tuition and admission costs the student pays, and the 2027 NID dates are unconfirmed.

Fees from: NID official website (reported; not opened directly) · NID B.Des Admissions Handbook 2026-27 (application fees) · Symbiosis Institute of Design Pune fee structure 2026-27 · Graphic Era (Deemed to be University) B.Des Interior and Spatial Experience Design fees, intake 2026. Fees change every year — check the college's own fee page before you pay.

What people earn

Earnings vary a lot: entry-level designers often earn modest pay while they build a portfolio, while experienced designers with large clients, senior roles or their own studios can earn much more, and big cities usually pay more than smaller ones.

Myth and fact

Myth: ~~Exhibition design is just decorating stalls with banners and lights.~~

Fact: Much of the work is planning how people move, what they see first and how long they stay. It also involves budgets, materials, safety rules and building the displays on time.

Try it now

Class 7–9Choose a room at home or school. Sketch its plan, then make a cardboard model that shows where a visitor would walk first.
Class 10–12Browse the free Diksha platform for art, design or architecture content and follow one short course for a week.Open link ↗
College or afterLook at a free online course on design thinking or drawing from SWAYAM and finish one module as a mini-project for your portfolio.Open link ↗

Good to know

NID's B.Des route is an entrance-test route. Your design portfolio and studio test matter, not only marks.
Fees differ by source and year. Check the institute's own fee page before deciding.
The 2027 dates are not confirmed in any official notice that I could open. Check the official NID admissions site for the notice and handbook.

Sources: NID official website (www.nid.edu), not opened directly; listed as the official reference (reported) · NID DAT 2027 information page, third-party summary of the official notice (reported)