Twice a year we invite the public to our Open Studio Day, for an overview of the entire program and to show what makes it distinctive from other schools. Plus, it’s a chance to see where the action happens, and meet both faculty and current students. Mark the date: Saturday, November 3rd, 1 – 4 p.m.

We begin at 1 p.m. with a Keynote presentation, followed by studio tours, friendly portfolio reviews, and a drawing session. Shown above: Illustration by Alice Zeng (IDEA18), Junior Designer at If Communications.

First year IDEA School of Design student, Joyce Chan is really grateful to be in such a comprehensive program where she gets to learn about creative thinking, photography and life drawing in her first year. Being a first year student in Capilano University’s Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication is both a reward and a challenge for her.

Joyce has always been interested in photo manipulation shown above in her self portrait inspired by a quote by author Mark Manson. Read her story.

Second-year students at IDEA School of Design, Capilano University's Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication degree program, design, illustrate, print and sell Valentine's Day cards each year as a fundraiser for their third-year class field trip next year. The sale starts Thursday, January 31, 2019 in the library and cafeteria at Capilano University.

When she got the assignment to do a self-portrait (shown above), Annika McFarlane (IDEA22) created herself out of some of her most iconic pieces of clothing, and surrounded herself with pieces of the places that she often finds herself in. It took her about 5 hours to collect all of the objects, arrange them and shoot the portrait.

In this story, Annika reflects on her first term at IDEA School of Design and shares some of her work. She could not be more stoked to be spending the next 4 years at IDEA. Early applications for Fall 2019 close on Wednesday, January 23, 2019.

Study art and design in Vancouver! Capilano University’s Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication is a career-oriented program for the next generation of creative professionals, with concentrations in branding, illustration and interactive design.

Applicants must submit a portfolio and other documents through the online portal SlideRoom. Shown above: Herald One illustration by 1st year student, Jonathan Pachkowsky.

2nd year IDEA student Alison Johnstone shares her story illustrating for student press publication, Capilano Courier. Illustration shown above for Naked and Not Afraid: Woman is a Word in the October 24, 2018 issue written by columnist Scarlett Vanderwoodsen.

Season’s Greetings from IDEA School of Design at Capilano University! Early Applications for the Fall 2019 Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication close on Wednesday, January 23, 2019. Illustrated and animated Elf Christmas card by Sarah Haglund (IDEA21).

For first year student, Alina Sandu, life at Capilano University’s IDEA School of Design is like living in the fast lane. Self-portrait (shown above). Read Alina’s story for a glimpse into a student’s life in art school.

Study design in Vancouver! Early Applications for Fall 2019 are now open. SlideRoom closes midnight, Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019 for Early Admission Applications to the Bachelor of Design at Capilano University.

Our beautiful commemorative poster for CapilanoU’s 50th birthday. Thank you for the lovely design @staples.and.ink. For details see: capu50.capilanou.ca.

The first big design project for 2nd Year this term produced some great work. The students created annual and community reports that really highlighted their conceptual thinking, design and illustration skills. Shown above: Haluka Yagi (IDEA21) Annual Report Design for Braille Literacy Canada. Check out some of our favourites by Anna Tsybulnyk, Haluka Yagi, Sophie Young and Valeriya Kim!

Congratulations to our 2018 GDC/BC Salazar Student Award winners: Alice Zeng (IDEA18), Winner and Finalist (Brand Identity) for City of Valencia Rebrand, Ata Ojani (IDEA20), Finalist (Brand Identity) for Qmunity Building Campaign, Pamella Pinard (IDEA18), Finalist (Print Design) for Rhyme & Reason Lyric Festival branding and posters and Heather Haughn (IDEA20), Honorable Mention (Print Design) for Martin Guitar Annual Report!

Each year at IDEA School of Design students dress up for Halloween and there’s a party. Though there’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of fun too. Sketch “A witchy crow wishes you a happy spooky season!” by first year IDEA22 student, Talia Rouck. Early Applications for Fall 2019 open this Friday, November 2, 2018 and Open Studio Day is this Saturday November 3, 2018!

Curious about going pro?

Twice a year we invite the public to our Open Studio Day, for an overview of the entire program and to show what makes it distinctive from other schools. Plus, it’s a chance to see where the action happens, and meet both faculty and current students. Mark the date: Saturday, November 3rd, 1 – 4 p.m.

We begin at 1 p.m. with a Keynote presentation, followed by studio tours, friendly portfolio reviews, and a drawing session. Shown above: Book cover illustration by Maxwell Littledale (IDEA18).

This project dates back to Cynthia’s first year in IDEA and still keeps its place as one of the most memorable yet “mildly traumatizing” projects for her. She wanted to get more familiar with Adobe Illustrator so this was her opportunity. She kept with a simple theme of animals, limited herself to basic shapes and a limited palette.

The students in IDES 237 Digital Illustration were asked to create a short looping animated gif that reflected their experience as graphic design students. Nicole Shewchuk's 404 Error animated gif is shown above. Check out some of our favourites!

On Sept. 22nd, Capilano University officially marked its fiftieth birthday with CapFest, a campus-wide celebration open to the general public. Part of the festivities involved the dedication of nine newly painted murals. Where does IDEA come in? Nine of the thirteen jury-selected artists hail from the IDEA School of Design, both as alumni and current students. Their varied and vivid contributions have transformed the North Vancouver campus. From left: Capilano University President Paul Dangerfield; Brynn Staples (IDEA Grad 2020); Vancouver Mural Society Executive Director David Vertesi; Emily Huynh, Courtney Lamb, Ata Ojani (all three, IDEA Grad 2020)

This week is Truth & Reconciliation week at Capilano University. Our second-year Indigenous focussed applied design project helps our students understand the complexities and opportunities that come with First Nations reconciliation in Canada.

“Everything is still sunshine and rainbows” for Alice Zeng (IDEA18). She gets to work on a lot of different types of projects spanning a variety of mediums including illustration projects in conjunction with design and branding. "For someone who was torn for the longest time whether to go into design or illustration, being able to have a balance like that was essentially my dream" she says. Her advice to other students: “Hang in there, I promise the workload gets easier in the real world.” Catch up with Alice and her paper flower making skills!

Jeff Burgess mentors four IDEA students in his studio one day a week over the summer which he's been doing for eight years now. The purpose is to create a body of small works that are then exhibited early in September where the students sell their pieces for reasonable prices. Check out the recent paintings by IDEA students Jominca J Engelbrecht, Nicole Shewchuk, Graeme Duckett (shown above), and Heather Haughn including photos from the show!

Drew Young (previous IDEA grad and current art director of Vancouver Mural Festival and Skookum) reached out to IDEA19 students, Cynthia Tran Vo and Ian Kaart for this smaller gig.