Janice Callangan was offered a full time design position from her 3rd year summer internship at Cossette and graduated with an Advanced Diploma
Students may graduate after third year with an Advanced Diploma
Our program’s reputation within the communication design industry has been built over many years, and is key to connecting our graduates to rewarding careers. Our curriculum is continually evolving to reflect current professional standards and practice, and to anticipate new trends and opportunities. The Bachelor of Design offers a flexible curriculum to meet students' specific goals, including opportunities to specialize in branding, illustration or interactive design. Students looking for a more direct pathway to industry may graduate after third year with an Advanced Diploma.
We asked Janice Callangan (IDEA Grad 2017) and Taeyeon Kim (IDEA Grad 2016) to share their early graduation stories.
by Janice Callangan
I came into IDEA School of Design at Capilano University straight out of highschool and was all on board to be part of the first degree/4-years-of-design-school batch from the program. I never planned to leave after 3 years. I heard of stories of people who have done it before between 2nd and 3rd year when the program was still a diploma but I never thought I would be ready to. I did a summer internship after the third year ended in April and started at Cossette the following week in the first week of May with the intention and plan to be back with my classmates in September for the last year.
From May to the end of July I was given my own briefs and worked with a copywriter, assisted designers in branding projects and learned a lot about the process of how an agency works and how a project rolls out from start to end. Within that internship I also experienced presenting my ideas to clients, illustrating, assisting in photo shoots and holding my own shoots.
By the last week of July my Creative Directors sat me down and asked if I would like to stay in the agency and not return to school. I was surprised, flattered and obviously excited! But part of me was also nervous and torn about which decision would be best for me. I kept worrying that I didn’t have a real portfolio yet, a website up and that I wouldn’t be part of grad show (all things you do in the last year of school). But my creative directors assured me that I could build my portfolio in the agency with real projects, clients and budgets and can gain the experience of working one full year prior to my own classmates. After convincing my parents that everything will be okay, I became a full employee in August of that year and have been at Cossette ever since.
My advice to those who are still in school is that yes, the third year exit is a possibility and in my case worked out but only because I had an offer. You shouldn’t go into summer internships thinking that because you received one you won’t have to go back to school. Some people after 3rd year might be confident enough in themselves to know that they can land a job without needing to finish fourth year. Others, like myself, use fourth year as a backup/safety blanket for if there is no offer. Whether you finish after 3 years or 4 years, having an education from IDEA School of Design is already a big leg up in the industry especially within this city because all the agencies know and pull employees from our program.
“Looking back, I’m glad that I opted for the 3rd year exit. Although IDEA School of Design at Capilano University offers a really great curriculum, I realized that there are things that you can only learn on the job. I was eager to get more industry experience, so when I was offered a job after my internship, I was ready to start my career. I also felt that the first three years at IDEA School of Design had equipped me well to take on the opportunity.”
IDEA School of Design really helped me develop a strong base understanding for ideation and conceptual brainstorming which is what really made me shine as an intern starting out in the industry. Even though my technical skills were still very junior my creative thinking was good enough to have my own briefs in the agency. IDEA also helped me be connected with people I have never met. The creative director that found me (I didn’t apply to Cossette myself) worked with a previous IDEA student the summer before and I was recommended by them to be an intern. When I started at Cossette there were previous IDEA alumni in the office who I’ve seen in previous grad show websites and shared mutual friends/classmates in the program with me that were my third years but their first years. The connections you make in school not only within your year but other years and even with instructors will be your future network that will help you in your career forever.
