Meet first-year student, Nguyen Quoc Huy Anh (IDEA Grad 2024)! His self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught by Jay Bassan is shown above.

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

Self Portrait by Nguyen Quoc Huy Anh (IDEA Grad 2024)

First of all, I want to say that Jay is a great teacher because he has helped me bring out what is best in me. This self-portrait project does not reflect my personal brand, it only shows one of my interests in art and photography. I have always been a fan of conceptual photography as well as illustration. Because of that, I thought the project was a perfect opportunity to try out something that I had never done before with photography.

“The Assignment” by Jay Bassan, Instructor

Create a mood board visualizing your Passion, Super Power, Values, Purpose and differentiation (students can use any medium for this).

“The Goal” by Jay Bassan, Instructor

To have students think clearly about how to imagine themselves as a brand and use their final self-portrait as an expression of that. This becomes one of the more interesting projects since it happens near the end of class and students are now comfortable enough with the camera.

I remind students that similar to sketching, where you decide where to put the pencil, pen, or mouse to compose your drawing, where do you put the camera to capture a moment or tell a story?

I get some interesting work.

Experience so far in first term at IDEA School of Design

IDEA School of Design is better than I thought. Personally, I love how the Bachelor of Design program has been set up for students to develop and learn as thoroughly as possible. I also love how the instructors always try their best to push students, to motivate us to think outside the box. Moreover, there are many great people in my class and they all excel at different areas of art and design. Overall, I don’t have a lot to say for the first term because I haven’t experienced enough but I do believe the rest of the school years are going to be great.

Featured Work

Album Cover (Second Term) by Nguyen Quoc Huy Anh (IDEA Grad 2024)

Here is a recent project from my second term. This is an album cover redesign project for IDES 142 Survey and Principles of Design II where I had to incorporate psychedelic style. I chose Queen as my band and used conceptual photography as the main graphic element for the album cover.

Cubist Still Life (First Term) by Nguyen Quoc Huy Anh (IDEA Grad 2024)

I have always found interest in cubism and abstract art; therefore, to have an opportunity to paint something like this in IDES 131 Survey and Principles of Illustration I and get good marks for it was just unbelievable.

Why did you choose IDEA School of Design over other schools?

I chose IDEA School of Design at Capilano University because of its compact class size as well as the reputation of the school. I believe studying design with a small class will increase the efficiency between students and the instructors. Although IDEA was not my first choice, I believe it will give me the fundamentals that I need as a Bachelor of Design student.

What advice would you give to those considering applying?

There is only one thing I would advise those considering applying: Don’t stress out about the Bachelor of Design program and its reputation. It is design after all. Design is fun so you should have fun. Be well prepared and you will get accepted.

"Breakthrough Moments" at IDEA School of Design

I haven’t had any breakthrough moments yet.

What’s one of your favourite music videos?

Uhm maybe Hollie Stephenson - Sunday Morning. 😊 Not a very creative one but I like it.

For more on Huy follow him on Instagram @huyanh.jpeg (photography) and @nguyenquochuyanh.exe (design).