NID's R&D Campus at Bangalore was set up as a joint initiative of and funding from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India and was inaugurated in March 2006. R&D Campus commenced two research intensive PG Programmes namely Design for Retail Experience and Design for Digital Experience, from the academic year 2007-2008. From the academic year 2008-2009, the Campus has also commenced one more research intensive PG Programme, namely Information and Interface Design.

NID's Research & Development Campus addresses the immediate need for an exclusive Design Research centre in the country, by fostering the creative design spirit and sighting new opportunities and frontiers through NID's design acumen nurtured over the four decades of intense teaching-learning process.