Meet first-year student, Sophia Spanos McGill (IDEA Grad 2025)! Her self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught by Jay Bassan is shown above.

“I tried to channel the part of me that doesn’t like to be perceived into the portrait: It’s messy and chaotic, I layered many images of myself on top of each other, so that it’s hard to see the proper outlines of one or the other. I had so much fun putting this together!” writes Sophia.

Read Sophia’s story and check out some of her other work for a glimpse into first-year student life at IDEA School of Design at Capilano University.

Congratulations to Joyce Chan (IDEA Grad 2022) for gaining the 2021 RGD UX Design Award Honourable Mention with 'Cordia'.

“Cordia is a tablet app that keeps seniors with dementia happily engaged through rewarding and stress-free reminiscing activities. As an app intended to be used along with a caregiver, the product takes a unique approach to care giving similar to art therapy in hopes to improve the short-term and long-term mental state of seniors with dementia.” writes Joyce.

Check out this award-winning student User Experience Design project!

Congratulations to IDEA School of Design instructor, Dominique Walker!

In May 2021, Walker placed 2nd in the Peace and Trust exhibition at the FCA with her painting ‘Siblings’. In October, she placed 3rd in the Nature Trust of BC, Artist of the Year Exhibition with ‘Brady’s Beach Sea Stack’. This was followed by a 1st place win in the Federation’s 80th Anniversary Exhibition with ‘Nasturtiums’ and an honourable mention in the Artist’ Choice Exhibition this February for ‘Skaha Lake Trestle’ (shown above).

Check out this instructor spotlight!

Congratulations to Janelle Momotani (IDEA Grad 2022) for gaining 2021 RGD Student Advertising Design Honourable Mention with "Verified Experience".

“Teenagers and young adults who live online miss out on in-person experiences that technology just can’t replicate. Visiting New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (the MET) is one of life’s great experiences. The Verified Experience campaign plays on social media authentication to prompt Gen Z to visit the MET in person where they can enjoy a bigger-than-life experience and truly immerse in the art.” writes Janelle.

Check out this award-winning advertising design project!

Last week, the IDEA School of Design faculty met for its first-ever retreat at the CapU Lonsdale Campus in North Vancouver at the Shipyards for two days.

Enjoy these photos by Jay Bassan (Instructor)

Meet first-year student, Sol Yoon (IDEA Grad 2025)! Her self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught by Jay Bassan is shown above.

“When I was applying to the IDEA School of Design, the idea of forming a community with other artists at IDEA and exchanging feedback with them felt like a studio or company experience to me.” writes Sol.

Read Sol’s story and check out some of her other work for a glimpse into first-year student life at IDEA School of Design at Capilano University.

Congratulations to Marko Jones (IDEA Grad 2023) for winning the 2021 student RGD Design de Plume Award for Indigenous Design with “Moytel”, Indigenous Language Learning App. This project was part of Tom Duguid's IDES 244 Cross-Platform Design.

“Moytel was designed to reconnect Indigenous teens to their culture and languages. Eagle illustration by Todd Baker and frog illustration by Glen Rabena.” writes Marko.

Check out this award-winning student illustration and design project!

Looking for design, illustration, or interactive design education in Vancouver? Study at the IDEA School of Design!

The Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication at Capilano University in North Vancouver has a reputation for industry-ready graduates. Admission to the program is competitive, and applicants must submit a portfolio and other documents through the online portal SlideRoom.

Late Admission for the Fall 2022 Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication closes Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

Shown above: “You Are Loved” lettering design by Celina Zhong (IDEA Grad 2024).

Congratulations to Raha Namdari (IDEA Grad 2023) for winning 2021 ADCC Student Competition Bronze Award in Graphic Design with 'Naughty Hildegard' Illustration.

“This poster campaign was to promote the beer Naughty Hildegard. The goal was to play up the name of Naughty Hildegard in a funny way. The humour lies in bringing Hildegard to life as a character and putting her in cheeky situations.” writes Raha.

Check out this award-winning student illustration and design project!

We recently caught up with Charmaine Cheng (IDEA Grad 2019), for a grad spotlight as an Art Director at Rethink in Vancouver. As she moves up in her career and gets ready to mentor junior creatives, she figured a good place to start would be offering words of wisdom in a grad spotlight for the IDEA School of Design blog.

In Part 2, Charmaine shares advice for current IDEA School of Design students, her experience in the program, and how proactive networking helped launch her career as well as meet some of her design heroes.

Check out Part 2 of this grad spotlight!

Congratulations to Atrin Yazdani-Biuki (IDEA Grad 2022) for winning the 2021 Jim Rimmer Community Scholarship for Design Award with 'Days Without' campaign.

“Being homeless marks every part of daily life with losses that add up. Days Without... Campaign aims to bring home how living on the street looks and feels from the ground level. All photos taken in Downtown Vancouver.” writes Atrin.

Check out this award-winning student project!

Looking for design, illustration, or interactive design education in Vancouver? Study at the IDEA School of Design!

The Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication at Capilano University in North Vancouver has a reputation for industry-ready graduates. Admission to the program is competitive, and applicants must submit a portfolio and other documents through the online portal SlideRoom.

Shown above: “La Casa Gelato App” Figma design by Rayna Lai (IDEA Grad 2025) as part of her application to IDEA School of Design.

Find out how to apply and check out additional samples of pieces from IDEA Grad 2025 student application portfolios. RSVP for Portfolio Day on Saturday, February 12th, 2022!

Thank you to everyone who applied in our Early Admission period! Late Admission for the Fall 2022 Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication opens Friday, January 28, 2022, and closes Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Join us online Saturday, February 12th, 2022 for IDEA School of Design Virtual Portfolio Day!

Shown above: “Year of the Tiger” by Tiffany Zhong (IDEA Grad 2024). Check out some student illustrations celebrating Lunar New Year 2022!

Vida Jurcic RGD reflects on her favourite rebrands of 2021 that pay homage to simpler, gentler times combined with clean legibility and strong typographic personality.

This article was originally published on January 6, 2022 in the RGD Word by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD). Subscribe for more such inspiration articles, resource lists, latest news, events & other design industry related updates.

Congratulations to Raha N for gaining 2021 RGD Frontier Award for Editorial Design Honourable Mention with 'Tarantino Type Book'.

“The Tarantino Type book explores the typefaces used in Quentin Tarantino’s filmography and the typographers who created them. This book is for film buffs who will recognize how the strong sans-serif type and colour palette in the design emulates Tarantino’s notoriously bold style.” writes Raha.

Check out this award-winning typography project!

Join us online Saturday, February 12th, 2022 from 1:00-3:00 pm for a short portfolio prep talk and open Q&A. Using Zoom breakout rooms, digitally share your portfolio or sketchbook for some friendly 1-1 feedback from our faculty!

RSVP today! Zoom links will be emailed. We look forward to seeing your portfolio!

Congratulations to Coralie Mayer-Traynor (IDEA Grad 2022) for winning the 2021 RGD Trailblazer Award and 2021 GDC Salazar Award for Print Design with ‘Radio Radical Reform’ fictional seminar project.

“In the digital age, radio has become somewhat of a media has-been. Radio Radical Reform is a fictional seminar about bringing the medium of radio into the future. The information booklet’s design is based on audio device designs from the 1960s-70s. It incorporates digital monospace typefaces to give it a retro-modern feel.” writes Coralie.

Check out this award-winning student design project!

This illustration is a winter/seasonal pick-me-up of one of Kyle’s favourite winter cocktails, and a favourite in his family — along with the recipe.

Early Applications for the Fall 2022 Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication close January 26, 2022. Late Admission opens Friday, January 28, 2022, and closes Wednesday, April 13, 2022. No submissions for Fall 2022 (IDEA Grad 2026) will be accepted after Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

Mark your calendars! Our next Open Studio is Saturday, February 12, 2022!

We recently caught up with Charmaine Cheng (IDEA Grad 2019), for a grad spotlight as an Art Director at Rethink in Vancouver. As she moves up in her career and gets ready to mentor junior creatives, she figured a good place to start would be offering words of wisdom in a grad spotlight for the IDEA School of Design blog.

“When it came time to hire me full time, there simply wasn’t any room on the design team. So I was hired as an Art Director, which at the time, was terrifying because I had no idea what that meant. But 2 years later, I’ve learned a lot and gained much more confidence in my abilities.” she writes.

Check out Part 1 of this grad spotlight!

Here’s a holiday illustration by Anna Tsybulnyk (IDEA Grad 2021) with a brief update on life after graduation.

Early Applications for the Fall 2022 Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication close January 26, 2022. Late Admission opens Friday, January 28, 2022, and closes Wednesday, April 13, 2022. No submissions for Fall 2022 (IDEA Grad 2026) will be accepted after Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

Mark your calendars! Our next Open Studio is Saturday, February 12, 2022!