Happy Halloween from IDEA School of Design at Capilano University!

Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. We’re thrilled to feature some of the work from IDEA School of Design first-year students! Shown above: “Shriek” by Ethan Woronko (IDEA Grad 2024) (fountain pen and an ink wash).

Check out work from IDEA Grad 2024!

Are you interested in a creative career as a graphic designer, art director, illustrator, concept artist, or interactive designer? Join us for our traditional Open Studio Day - Online! During the Explore CapU Open House.

* Registration required to access the event.

Congratulations to Mia Canderan (IDEA Grad 2023) for winning 2020 ADCC Student Competition Finalist in Editorial and Book Design with ‘Moby Dick’ (shown above).

Check out this award-winning book design project!

As part of an exercise to understand the "grunge" movement, which started with music in Seattle in the mid 1980s, and soon encompassed culture and design right into the 90s, the students created a moodboard or album cover to reflect the spirit and aesthetic of the genre.

“Isolation” by Amanda Wong (shown above) is a reflection of the times.

Check out some of the highlights of this design project by IDEA Grad 2023!

Study design in North Vancouver at IDEA School of Design!

Entry to the Bachelor of Design program at Capilano University is competitive, and applicants must submit a portfolio and other documents through the online portal SlideRoom.

Shown above: "Blood Bricks" by Alison Koo (IDEA Grad 2024), a poster tackling the growing issues of modern child slavery. Find out how to apply and check out additional samples of pieces from a typical student application portfolio.

Congratulations to Noah Kawamura (IDEA Grad 2020) for winning the RGD SoGood Student Award with his 'XChange Campaign'.

Young Canadians have a low voter turnout. XChange needed a brand and campaign that connected voting with young people’s lives. Connecting issues to ballots. This digital-focused brand and campaign imposes your X directly onto the issues that matter.

Check out his award-winning project!

Many congratulations to Rachel Wong (IDEA Grad 2021) for gaining the 2020 GDC Foundation Ray Hrynkow Scholarship Honourable Mention with ‘Hoppers Cricket Dog Treats’ brand identity.

Check out her award-winning branding project!

Jocelyn Wong (IDEA Grad 2015) paints under Something Yellow Studio, a passion project. An Art Director by day, illustrator/letterer by night, Jocelyn overcame a bumpy start to bring a message of love and community to Marpole with her mural ‘Love ALL Your Neighbours’.

The mural was part of the 5th Annual Vancouver Mural Festival showcasing 60+ murals in nine neighborhoods over three weeks. The Lead Curator this year was Drew Young, also an IDEA School of Design graduate.

Check out the story and photos!

Many congratulations to Annika McFarlane (IDEA Grad 2022) for gaining the 2020 GDC Foundation Ray Hrynkow Scholarship Honourable Mention for “Wild Ones” brand identity.

“Wild Ones is a small-batch ice creamery that focuses on using wild foraged ingredients. Their brand essence is ‘delighted by nature’ and everything in their branding was created with this idea at its core.”

Annika learned that it is much much easier to get things right in camera. Check out Annika's branding project!

Congratulations to Emma Sun (IDEA Grad 2021) for winning the 2020 GDC Foundation UX Design Scholarship with ‘TimeWise’.

Congratulations to Geraldine Y. (IDEA Grad 2022) for winning 1st place in the CAPIC Rodeo 12 student contest for Illustration with "Subtle Annoyance" (shown above).

Congratulations to Kathrin Teh (IDEA Grad 2023) for winning Applied Arts 2020 Student Award with 'Kyoto' Shopping Bag Design (shown above).

Congratulations to Aidan Zecchel (IDEA Grad 2021) for winning 2nd place in the CAPIC Rodeo 12 student contest for Illustration with "Fragments" (shown above).

Congratulations to Tina T. (IDEA Grad 2022) for winning 1st place in the CAPIC Rodeo 12 student contest for Illustration with "Contentment" (shown above).

We recently caught up with Megan Barry (IDEA Grad 2023) about her experiences and best work in first year at IDEA School of Design along with some projects she took on over the summer. Megan and the rest of her cohort begin their second year at IDEA this week!

Check out some of her work!

IDEA School of Design Grad 2019 learned a lot during their 4 years at @capuidea. Here are some words of wisdom to our first year selves.

In Part 2 of our interview with Mustaali Raj (IDEA Grad 2014), find out about his life after graduating from IDEA School of Design at Capilano University including buying a one-way ticket to Thailand with his wife, joining the GDC BC Board as Communications Director, his latest projects and advice for our students.

Hint: Play around with the Adobe Suite (or other software) on your own, even before you apply to IDEA School of Design. Don’t wait till the grad show to get your work online.

Mustaali Raj (IDEA Grad 2014), born in India, spent his early childhood in the Middle East and grew up in Calgary, where he got a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary. He eventually changed course, moved to Vancouver and went to the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University. With some agency work under his belt and a 9-month trip overseas, he has been freelancing in Vancouver since 2017.

Check out Part 1 of his journey into graphic design!

Aleks Jones, IDEA School of Design student (Grad 2023), loves photography and recently got into analog photography. He edited the colours of his self-portrait photos (shown above) to resemble the “film look” for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught by Jay Bassan.

Read Aleks’ story and check out some of his other photography, design, painting and illustration work for a glimpse into first-year student life at IDEA School of Design at Capilano University.

Emily Pedriks (IDEA Grad 2014) met the Brandever team at the IDEA Grad Show and knew immediately it was going to be a good fit. She hounded them until they eventually caved and hired her. She started as a junior designer and is now acting Creative Director.

On her memories of being a student at IDEA School of Design, Emily Pedriks looks back fondly on the chaos and delight of a room full of sleep-deprived designers-to-be. Catch up with Emily!