Graphic Design

Department-wide guidance

Video requirements (all years)

• Format: Landscape (horizontal), minimum 1080p (Full HD), MP4.
• Title card: The first 5 seconds must show: case title, your name(s), year, and Dezyne E’cole College.
• Voice-over: English or Hindi, clear and confident. You may appear on camera, but your work must be the main focus.
• Screen recordings: For Figma work, record the prototype being clicked through live — not still screenshots only.
• Music: Royalty-free only, kept low under your voice.
• Length: Stay within the time limit for your year. Videos longer than the limit lose marks.
• File name: GD1_ / GD2_ / GD3_ then your name(s) then case title — e.g. GD2_GeetaSharma_FixTheEveryday.mp4

Rules (all years)

• Original work only: All visuals, screens, icons and layouts must be your own. You may study existing work, but never copy it.
• Images: Use your own photographs, or free licensed stock (Unsplash, Pexels) with credit.
• Use of AI: AI tools may be used for research and mood boards only. Final artwork, screens and logos must be made by you. Declare any AI use in your PDF.
• Respect: Photograph spaces and objects, not people. Ask permission before photographing or interviewing anyone. Be respectful of all communities and faiths.
• Field conduct: Carry your college ID and the college fieldwork letter. Go in daylight and preferably with a classmate. Follow all rules of station, bus stand and shop staff.
• Deadline: Late submissions will not be accepted.

Figma Guidelines — 2nd and 3rd Year

Judges will open your Figma file. A clean, well-organised file is part of your score, just as it would be in a real design studio.

Set-up

• Account: A free Figma account is enough. Students can apply for Figma’s free education plan with their college email.
• File name: GD2_ or GD3_ + your name(s) + case title.
• Pages, in this order: 00 Cover · 01 Research · 02 Flows · 03 Wireframes · 04 Design System / UI Kit · 05 Screens · 06 Prototype (3rd Year adds 07 Website · 08 Brand & Packaging).
• Frames: Mobile 390 × 844 or 360 × 800. Desktop 1440.

Build it properly

• Grid: 8-point spacing and a layout grid on every frame (4 columns mobile, 12 desktop).
• Styles: Every colour and text style saved as a style. No loose, un-named colours. (3rd Year: colour variables for light and dark mode.)
• Auto Layout: For buttons, cards, lists and screens.
• Components: Buttons, inputs, cards, navigation and icons built once and reused. (3rd Year: with variants for states.)
• Naming: Name every frame and layer clearly (e.g. “Home / Default”, “Button / Primary”) — no “Frame 237”.

Accessibility — non-negotiable

• Contrast: Text must pass 4.5 : 1 against its background.
• Touch targets: At least 44 × 44 px.
• Text size: Body text at least 14–16 px on mobile.
• Not colour alone: Errors and status need an icon or label too.

Sharing

• Submit a view-only Figma file link AND a prototype link. Open both in a private browser window before submitting to make sure they work.

First Semester

Ajmer, Without Words / Ajmer in Symbols

Case 1 ·

First Semester — Ajmer, Without Words or Ajmer in Symbols

Every great tourist city speaks a visual language. In Switzerland, the same colours, clean type and simple symbols guide you from the airport to the train to the mountain top. You never feel lost. That is graphic design at work.

Ajmer welcomes lakhs of visitors every year — pilgrims, families, tourists and travellers going on to Pushkar. Many speak neither Hindi nor English, and some cannot read at all. Yet when they step out at Ajmer Junction, there are very few clear signs.

The rule of the case: your pictures must speak — words only where absolutely needed.

Step 1 · Observe (fieldwork)

Visit Ajmer Junction railway station and the city bus stand.

• Photograph 10 existing signs. Write one line for each: does it work or not, and why?
• Photograph 10 colours you see in Ajmer — walls, fabrics, flowers, food, stone, sky.
• Sketch 5 shapes or details you notice — arches, jaalis, domes, patterns.
• Note 3 places where a visitor looked confused or had to ask someone for help.

Step 2 · Create

• Colour palette: 5 colours chosen from your Ajmer photographs. Give each a name and a meaning.
• Pictograms: 12 pictograms drawn on the same grid with the same line thickness and style. Required: ticket counter, platform, exit, toilet, drinking water, waiting area, auto/taxi, bus, food, first aid, help desk — plus 1 of your own.
• Two signs: One direction sign (“this way to…”) and one “You are here” information sign, placed onto your own photos of the station or bus stand.
• Visit Ajmer postcards: 3 postcards showing three sides of Ajmer, using your colours, shapes and style. One line of text allowed per postcard.

Step 3 · The Stranger Test

Show 5 of your pictograms to 3 people who have never seen them (a shopkeeper, an auto driver, a family member). Do not explain. Ask: “What does this mean?” Record the answers. Improve any pictogram that people did not understand, and show the before and after.

Step 4 · Process book

An 8–10 page process book (hand-made and scanned, or digital) showing your photos, sketches, palette, pictogram grid, final pictograms, signs, postcards and Stranger Test results.

Scope: Individual vs Team of Two

Video Structure (4–5 minutes)

Video Rules

MP4, 1080p, landscape, English voice-over or captions.

Every team member must be heard or seen.

Each screen must stay on screen for at least 4 seconds and be readable.

File name: GD1_TeamName_City.mp4

Upload to the college website by the deadline.

Second Year

Fix the Everyday

Case 2 · Second Year — “Fix the Everyday”

Every day, millions of Indians struggle with apps and websites that are confusing, slow or stressful — booking a train ticket, getting a hospital appointment, checking exam results, paying a bill. Good UX designers do not just make screens look nice; they make life easier.

This is a pure UX/UI case. You are not creating a brand or a logo. You are solving a user’s problem. Your design will be judged on how easy it is to use, not on how decorative it is.

Choose ONE service

• Train ticket booking and checking PNR / train status.
• Booking a hospital OPD appointment and knowing your queue number.
• A university exam form, admit card and results portal.
• City bus ticket, route and live bus timing.
• Paying an electricity or water bill and raising a complaint.

You may propose another everyday service with your mentor’s approval. Your redesign is a concept — do not use any organisation’s official logo or branding. Use a simple, neutral visual style of your own.

Step 1 · Research

• Use the current service yourself and screen-record the whole journey.
• UX audit: Check it against Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics. List the 10 biggest problems with screenshots.
• User interviews: Talk to 5 people who use the service (try to include one older person). What frustrates them? Where do they give up?
• Persona: Create 1 user persona.
• Journey map: Draw the current journey, marking the pain points.
• Problem statement: “[User] needs a way to [need] because [insight].”

Step 2 · Design (in Figma)

• Information architecture: A site map of your new app.
• User flow: The main journey (e.g. search train → choose seat → pay → get ticket), with fewer steps than the original.
• Wireframes: Low-fidelity, greyscale wireframes for every screen.
• UI kit: Colour styles, text styles, buttons, input fields, cards, navigation bar, icons — built as reusable components with Auto Layout.
• High-fidelity screens: Minimum 10 screens for the full journey, including an error state (e.g. payment failed) and a success state.
• Your smart feature: One original idea that removes a real pain point (e.g. a “simple mode” for older users, voice search in Hindi, live queue tracking).
• Clickable prototype: The full journey, with at least 2 Smart Animate micro-interactions.

Step 3 · Test

Give your prototype to 5 users. Ask them to complete the main task. Time them and note where they hesitate. Compare: how many steps and how much time did the old service take vs your design? Improve at least 2 screens and show the before and after.

Step 4 · Case study

A 10–14 page case study PDF, designed in Figma: problem, audit, interviews, persona, journey map, flows, wireframes, UI kit, final screens, test results (before vs after), and what you learnt.

Scope: Individual vs Team of Two

Video Structure (6–8 minutes)

Video Rules

MP4, 1080p, landscape, English voice-over or captions.

Every team member must be heard or seen.

Each screen must stay on screen for at least 4 seconds and be readable.

File name: GD2_TeamName_CaseTitle.mp4

Upload to the college website by the deadline.

Third Year

New Leaf

Case 3 ·

Third Year — New Leaf

India is the world’s second-largest tea producer, and tea is part of every Indian day. Yet when young people think of a stylish place to sit, meet or order on an app, they think of coffee chains. Brands like Chaayos and Chai Point have begun to change this in India, while T2 (Australia) and Kusmi Tea (France) have shown the world how desirable tea can look.

Your brand must make tea feel as exciting to a 22-year-old as any coffee chain — and it must feel the same in the cup, on the shelf, in the tea house and on the phone.

Your brand must be original: a new name, story and identity. Single-estate teas (Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri), masala chai, herbal blends, iced teas — the menu and the personality are yours to decide.

Step 1 · Strategy first

• Market scan: Audit 6 tea brands — 3 Indian and 3 internationals. Note positioning, audience, colours, type, packaging and app experience.
• Audience research: Interview 5 young tea drinkers (18–30) about their habits, favourite places and ordering apps.
• Personas: Create 2 personas.
• Positioning: “For [audience] who [need], [brand] is the [category] that [promise], because [reason].”
• Brand platform: Name (with 3 rejected options and why), brand story, values, personality in 5 words, tone of voice.

Step 2 · Brand identity

• Logo system: Primary logo, symbol and app icon.
• Colour, type and pattern: Palette (HEX/RGB/CMYK), type system for print and screen, and a brand pattern or illustration style.
• Icons and photography: A small icon set and a photography mood board.

Step 3 · Physical touchpoints (mock-ups)

• Cups: Hot cup, iced-tea cup and sleeve (or kulhad-inspired design).
• Retail packaging: A take-home range of 3 tea products (tin, pouch, gift box) that works as one system.
• Tea house: Storefront/façade with signage, and the in-store menu board.

Step 4 · The App — the heart of this case (Figma)

• User flows: 2 complete journeys — “order my usual and pick it up” and “discover a new tea and buy a pack for home”.
• Wireframes: Low-fidelity, for every screen.
• Design system: Colour and text styles, variables for light/dark mode, and components with variants (buttons, inputs, cards, navigation, icons).
• High-fidelity screens (minimum 12): Splash & onboarding · Home · Menu · Tea detail with customisation (size, milk, sugar, strength) · Cart & checkout · Order tracking/pickup · Rewards · Shop for home packs · Store locator · Profile.
• Your own feature: One original idea (e.g. a mood-based tea finder, a brew-at-home guide, gift-a-cup, a tea-tasting streak).
• Prototype & test: Clickable prototype with Smart Animate micro-interactions; tested with 5 users, with before/after of 3 improved screens.

Step 5 · Launch

• Website: One landing page in Figma, desktop (1440) and mobile (390).
• Social media: 6 launch posts and 2 stories.
• Quick-commerce listing: How your tea pack looks as a product thumbnail on a quick-commerce app. Will it stand out at that size?

Step 6 · Brand book

A 16–24 page brand guidelines book, designed in Figma and exported as PDF: strategy, logo use, colour, type, pattern, icons, photography, tone of voice, app/UI rules, packaging system and applications.

Scope: Individual vs Team

15-Day Roadmap

Video Structure (8–10 minutes)

Pitch your brand as if to an investor who could open 100 tea houses.

Video Rules

MP4, 1080p, landscape, English voice-over or captions.

Every team member must be heard or seen.

Each screen must stay on screen for at least 4 seconds and be readable.

File name: GD3_TeamName_CaseTitle.mp4

Upload to the college website by the deadline.