-->

Foundation is a bridging program, aiding your transition from school to un-school. The journey of all undergraduate design students begins with one year of Foundation. This phase gives students a creative pathway, preparing them to enter the open-ended, exploratory and experimental design environment at IIAD

Course highlights

Students gradually evolve into confident, self-directed learners, ready for the future challenges of their chosen design discipline.

Course highlights

Course highlights

1 / 4

Adapt and Evolve

Culture of Curiosity

Bridging People & Building connections

Learning Adventure

The Foundation year enables your transition from a traditional teaching environment to a studio-based supportive learning space. Rather than tutor-led instruction, we focus on student-led approaches. The course induces the ethos of rigour and hard work, and the open-ended experimental methods empower you to become a self-directed learner.

This is an exploratory phase that opens your senses to observe, question, explore and discover. You learn to ask meaningful questions, and discover ways to get answers. Dipping into your own experiences, you embark further on a lifelong quest for knowledge.

A multidisciplinary learning environment ensures an integrated experience for students, aiding them to make connections and build bridges across disciplines. Faculty from diverse creative fields ensure that you begin your journey of design education by getting exposure to varied perspectives and schools of thought.

Foundation provides an experimental environment where you think with your hands and work with your minds. The emphasis is more on the process than the outcome, which gives you the freedom to think radically and creatively, as well as develop an ability for risk-taking. This cultivates a creative confidence in our students, making them ready for an adventurous journey ahead.

Human Expression
3D Transformation Project
Material Transformation Module
‘Flexibility and Monumentality
Publication
Student Work Geometric Abstraction

Graduate Show 2022 : Students of the Foundation in Design programme display their work “Understanding human expression” for the Capstone project

A 3D installation from the Transformation Project showing the numerous possibilities of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction.

Manipulation and display of different types of materials as part of the Material Transformation Module.

‘Flexibility and Monumentality’ - Transformation of two dimensional surfaces into multi-dimensional surfaces through Laser cutting.

‘A Book of Life’ - The culmination of the year's work. Where a student uses various methods, materials and visuals to depict her journey through life.

A geometric abstraction inspired by the form of the Red Semal Flower created by IIAD student.

"Faculty is so experienced, that they will look at your face and will know what is going on in your head."

"We are learning every minute, but we don’t even know it"

Srishti Deepranjan, Foundation
Arjun Yadav, Foundation

Kishore Chakraborty
Associate ProfessorFoundation in Design

course leader

Anshoo Rajvanshi
Associate Professor

Anshoo Rajvanshi with two decades of experience in the field of art and design has a fine arts and sociology background. She has conducted numerous workshops, solo and group shows in India, and has been a national scholar awarded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt of India. She was awarded a Fellow of Higher Education Academy, UK in 2018.

Read More
Josh P. S.
Associate Professor

Josh P. S is a young reputed contemporary artist. He secured a Bachelor’s Degree in Painting with distinction from College of Fine Arts Thiruvananthapuram, and a master’s degree from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He has also received a Scholarship

Read More
IIAD Faculty Pankaj Narain
Pankaj Narain
Associate Professor

Pankaj Narain is a Furniture Design Alumnus from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He holds a post graduate certification in teaching and learning in higher education from Kingston University, UK and has a teaching experience of over 14 years at various design institutes in the country. He has also completed a certification programme in Wood Seasoning from The Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Currently, he teaches at Indian Institute of Art and Design. In the past he has taught at Pearl Academy of Fashion, NID - Kurukshetra, IILM - Gurgaon etc. to name a few and has been an External Jury member for Product and Furniture Design at a number of renowned National Institutes.

Read More
IIAD Faculty Pranay Mangrati
Pranay Mangrati
Associate Professor

Pranay Mangrati graduated from National Institute of Fashion Technology, He is now an associate professor with the Indian Institute of Art & Design and even though he is essentially a product designer at the core, he prefers not being confined to one disciplinary box.

Read More
Hemanshi Sagar
Assistant Professor

Hemanshi’s strong passion for design stems from her days at her alma mater (NIFT). With a varied career experience spanning over 8 years, her knowledge in design expands in multiple domains like UI/UX, packaging, and branding. 

Read More
Shambwaditya Ghosh
Assistant Professor

Shambwaditya has accumulated six years of teaching experience, having served as an Assistant Professor at Pearl Academy. He has held diverse roles in various organizations, including Sahapedia, where he worked as a Project Coordinator, City Palace Museum, where he functioned as an Archivist, and the American Institute of Indian Studies, where he contributed as a Research Associate.

Read More
Aaina Chakotra
Lecturer

Aaina Chakotra is a product designer. She has been actively involved with the upcycling of materials and products for sustainability. She completed her bachelor’s in Craft Design from Indian Institute of Crafts and Design (IICD). She has experience in understanding clientele, designing products, and visual merchandising for renowned brands like Adidas, Studio Kassa & The House Of Things. Aaina has also been involved with NGOs like Swechha and MESH, teaching hands-on skills to the needy to support their livelihood. She appreciates the grand history of handmade things in India. After five years in this field, she specialises in materials like wood, metal, and stone. Crafts associated with clay, leather and paper have also been her area of interest.

Read More
Anurag Dasgupta
Lecturer

Anurag Dasgupta is a multi-skilled filmmaker who specialized in visual communication and film from Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology in 2011. He has worked on various award-winning and socially conscious films while simultaneously developing and executing his own projects.

Read More
Anurag Vishwakarma
Lecturer

Anurag is an experienced Designer with a history of working in the design industry. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design from IILM School of Design, Gurgaon. He is keen on being involved in creating a “better future'' by educating young students and harnessing their enthusiasm. Anurag comes with 8+ years of rich experience in the industry working with companies like The Beehive Studio, Azuri India, Wayfareroworld Advent, National Film Development Corporation, Bharatiya Digital Services, and Perfect K Solutions. He has also been a visiting faculty for Doon University & UPES University. In his words, “I believe through observing our surroundings and getting inspired by them, only then one can find creative solutions to problems and experience life as a designer to its fullest.”

Read More
Ishanee Mukherjee
Lecturer

Ishanee is a Delhi-based textile designer. She has completed her Bachelor of Art (B.A) in Textile Design from Pearl Academy, New Delhi. She has worked with craft clusters around the country and explored indigenous craft forms in an effort to make them more relevant.

Read More
Rajnish Chhanesh
Lecturer

Rajnish is an emerging artist with a Bachelor’s degree in painting from Jamia Millia Islamia University (2007). He won first prize in Master’s degree in painting from College of Arts, Delhi in 2009. He has an overall experience of 13 years as an Artist (Painter) in the field of visual arts. He is the winner of the Lalit Kala Academy National Scholarship, 2011-12 and also received H.K Kejriwal’s young artist award in 2010 by Mahua Art Gallery.

Read More
Lovelish Thakur
Technical Lecturer

Lovelish Thakur is a 2D/3D-illustration artist and animator with more than 12 years of work experience in Visual Communication and Graphic Design, 3D Architectural Visualisation. He is well versed in a wide range of animation styles, techniques and software programs. He worked as a designer and a teacher with various creative agencies and educational institutions like Design Ocean, C-Tech, Arena Animation, CADD Centre and IIFT. His work has been displayed in animation contests like creative minds and 24FPS. At IIAD, lovelish helps students and managerial teams enhance their creative skill-set to the highest levels technologically. He is committed to establish an innovative and stimulating learning environment, and he brings to the table a unique blend of industrial understanding and academic competence. He concentrates on broadening the learner's views and always guiding them toward new heights.

Read More
Ravish Pandey
Technical Lecturer

Ravish holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Animation & Visual effects from Arunachal University as well as Diploma in Animation & Web Publishing from Arena Multimedia & Diploma in Post Production & VFX from Reliance Big Animation.

Read More
Kirti Bhan
Adjunct Faculty

Kirti Bhan is a multifaceted creative professional with a passion for both craft product design and film art direction. She has dedicated her career to two distinct but equally captivating worlds.

Read More
Suvajit Mondal
Adjunct Faculty

Suvajit Mondal had a natural inclination towards creative expression since childhood. He pursued his passion and completed his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Govt. College of Art & Craft, Kolkata in 2013, where he honed his skills in various art forms.

Read More
Teaching & Learning at IIAD
Peer to peer learning
Students working in the Material Lab
Developing Design Thinking
IIAD Graduate Show 2019
IIAD Students working with hands

Students have the opportunity to learn from and work with practicing design professionals.

Peer discussion and collaborative work form an integal part of the pedagogical practices at IIAD

Students working with various tools in the Material Construction Lab at the IIAD campus as part of their projects.

Developing critical design thinking - students presenting, discussing, debating and defending through their ideas.

Student showcasing her work at the first IIAD graduate show 2019.

Student showcasing her work at the first IIAD graduate show 2019.

apply now