Tricia Tang’s Illustration “Bed of Roses” Wins Top Ten in CAPIC Rodeo 17 Student Competition
Tricia Tang’s illustration Bed of Roses — recognized as a Top Ten Winner in the CAPIC Rodeo 17 Student Competition.
We are proud to spotlight Tricia Tang, whose stunning illustration, “Bed of Roses,” has been honoured as one of the top winners in the prestigious Canadian CAPIC Rodeo 17 national student competition.
“Before starting on this actual illustration, I first sketched out what the characters would look like. This makes it easier for me to reference as I draw. Because I wanted the overall piece to look like something out of a play, I wanted to dramatize everything by painting the piece in bold, baroque-like lighting. Contrast is very important to me when I illustrate, to make the characters stand out from the environment.”
Behind the Scenes: Early Sketches and Creative Process for Bed of Roses
A Historic Sweep for IDEA School of Design at Capilano University
We are thrilled to share some incredible news—students from the IDEA School of Design have achieved an unprecedented victory at CAPIC’s prestigious Rodeo 17 student competition. Our students claimed all ten of the top illustration awards, a clean sweep that speaks volumes about the creativity, dedication, and skill that define the IDEA experience.
This achievement isn’t just about winning; it reflects the strength of our program, the passion of our students, and the exceptional mentorship provided by our faculty. Claiming all top spots is a feat that places our program and our students in a league of their own, solidifying our reputation as the definitive incubator for Canada’s next generation of illustrators.
We couldn’t be prouder of our rising stars. Explore their award-winning work in CAPIC’s online gallery—and see why the future of Canadian illustration is being shaped right here at IDEA.
Many congratulations to all the winners
Anya Ali Mulzet – Daydreamer
Tin Raganit – Protected
Rayna Lai – Sulk
Andy Poystila – Goblin Shark Character Sheet
Tricia Tang – Bed of Roses
Rayna Lai – Daydreaming
Jordan Richert – Regret
Sol Yoon – Teacher, it’s too cold outside
Phoebe Verdon – The Otherworldly Reveal
Lily Jones – Verso Amie
Join us in congratulating Tricia Tang on this outstanding achievement! This award is a testament to Tricia’s incredible talent and hard work.
Bonus: Experimenting with a New Composition and Colour Options for the Puppet Illustration
“As a bonus, I recently reimagined this piece for my portfolio with an entirely new composition. I redrew it as a fresh illustration, focusing more on the overall layout than the technical details, and experimented with colours to explore different possibilities for these two puppets.”
Caleb Tsai, a 2025 Bachelor of Design (BDes) graduate from IDEA School of Design, has achieved significant recognition in the design industry. He won the 2024 Applied Arts Student Award, was shortlisted for the 2024 ADCC Student Awards, and received an Honourable Mention in the 2024 RGD Award for Advertising Design. These accolades were awarded for his project titled “Good:Morning,” showcasing his talent and creativity in the field of design.
Good: Morning is a mentorship project with Alex Bakker (IDEA Grad 2014).
Check out this multiple award-winning student mentorship project!
Cassie Valenzuela Poon (IDEA BDes Grad 2025), a student from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University, has won an Honorable Mention at the prestigious Graphis New Talent Award 2024 for her Orbit Centre Logo Design.
Cassie is one of six IDEA School of Design students recognized at the 2024 Graphis New Talent Awards, which celebrate the innovative work of students and emerging creative leaders worldwide.
Check out this award-winning student project!
Natasha Lee, a 2024 graduate from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University, has won the prestigious 2024 Graphis New Talent Silver Award for her “Commit Offal Meats” branding and design project. This project targets adventurous carnivores interested in reducing their diet’s environmental impact by promoting offal consumption. The design combines bold copy with humorous illustrations, using a red and white colour scheme to balance the graphic nature of butchery with a sense of cleanliness.
Her project, which focuses on branding for offal meats, demonstrates her ability to tackle unique and challenging design briefs with creativity and skill. This accolade not only celebrates Natasha’s individual success but also brings recognition to the IDEA School of Design as an institution that nurtures top-tier design talent.
Check out this award-winning student project!
JJ Eng, a 2025 graduate from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University, has been awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2024 Graphis New Talent Awards for their typography and design project, “Decipher - Spoken Word Festival.” The project, which involved creating a brand identity for a music festival, included posters, social media posts with motion design, and an interactive augmented reality experience. Inspired by redacted and fridge magnet poetry, the design features a modular font and abstracted slam poetry scorecards, capturing the spirit of a young, discerning audience.
JJ is one of six IDEA School of Design students recognized at the 2024 Graphis New Talent Awards, which celebrate the innovative work of students and emerging creative leaders worldwide.
Check out this award-winning student project!
Congratulations to Neeka Yazdani (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “Escapism” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to Cassie Valenzuela Poon (IDEA Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Burst Music Festival” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to Cassie Valenzuela Poon (IDEA Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Burst Music Festival” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to Andy Chau (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Eating Away at My Own Time” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to JJ Eng (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “Untitled (making Pride parades accessible)” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to Ari Thompson (IDEA Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Loyal Defender of the Tundra Clan” (shown above). Ari is an illustrator and character designer with a love for dabbling in branding illustrations.
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
HUGE Congratulations to Rayna Lai (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) one of nine RGDs across Canada awarded a cash scholarship to attend DesignThinkers in Toronto, November 7-8, 2024!!!
Student RGDs and Associate RGDs were invited to submit a short video expressing why they wished to attend the Toronto conference. Rayna was selected as a winner and sponsored by Pound & Grain.
Check out Rayna’s video!
Congratulations to Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “The Plague’s Fury” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Huge congratulations to Anais Bayle (IDEA BDes Grad 2024) for winning the RGD Award for Social Good Design, RGD Award for Colour, and RGD Student Award for Brand Design - Honourable Mention with “Creo Toys.”
Capilano University’s IDEA School of Design Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication students were represented in almost every category—well done!
Check out this award-winning student project!
Congratulations to Rayna Lai (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) for winning 1st Place in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Emma” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “The Introspect” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Congratulations to Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning 2nd Place in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Sea’s Symphony” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
Samantha Yeung (IDEA Grad 2025) had the opportunity to participate in nwHacks, Western Canada's largest 24-hour hackathon, last month. Her team (Robbie Laughlen, Franklin Ma and Alvicorn Tsang) won first place in the Community and Connection Track and Best Design Award of nwHacks 2024.
nwHacks is Western Canada’s Largest Hackathon held January 20 - 21, 2024 at UBC.
Samantha worked on the research, user experience and interface design, and presentation for yapyap. UI illustrations and some icons were created in Adobe Illustrator, and the wireframes and high-fidelity prototype were all done in Figma.
Check out this story!
Congratulations to Kyle Rask (IDEA BDES Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “The Holy Trinity” (shown above).
Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!
Check out this award-winning student illustration project!
James Neufeld
James has over 20 years of experience in the web/interactive design and development, Internet marketing and social media industries, working primarily as a freelancer, consultant and instructor, but also as a subcontractor to small agencies. He has experience with a variety of clients in small business, government, institutional and not-for-profit sectors. James is an instructor, lab supervisor and blog/social media coordinator at Capilano University's IDEA School of Design and also teaches a CodeCore College. His specialty is HTML & CSS for designers.
Meet second-year student, Charis Catotocan (IDEA BDes Grad 2027)! Her first-year self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught by Jay Bassan is shown above.
“Admittedly, the first year felt like a sudden shove into the water... However, the more I worked with my peers and found comfort in the deep end, the more I realized we were all in the same position: anxious and afraid, but relentlessly pushing our way to the surface... Whether the tides are unforgiving or calm, I will continue pursuing the passion I love most, design,” writes Charis.
Read Charis’ story and check out some of her other work for a glimpse into student life at IDEA School of Design at Capilano University.