Meet second-year student, Brendan Hurt (IDEA Grad 2026)! His self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught last year by Jay Bassan is shown above.

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

Self-portrait

Being One with Art: For my self-portrait my goal was to capture my personality through form, pulling away from the traditional shoulders and head portrait to a full body representation of myself shot down up to exaggerate perspective. I love street art almost as much as traditional mediums and I thought no better setting for my portrait than in front ‘grungey’ walls of one of Vancouver’s best collections of graffiti murals.

“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 at IDEA School of Design

My experience so far at IDEA has been nothing short of amazing. I’ve learned more than I have in one year than I did in the last five throughout high school which tells me where my passions truly lie. Every day you push yourself to improve your work and round yourself as a designer.

Featured Work

Movie Poster: Django Unchained Movie Poster Redesign

For my movie poster, I wanted to represent one of my favourite films (Django Unchained) in a new light that captured the spirit of breaking away from Django’s previous oppression as he breaks out into his ‘unchained’ life as a free man. I had the illustration sit on a red background, not for the best contrast but to amplify the sense of pain and brutality throughout the film.

Famous Person Illustration: Steve Jobs meets Isaac Newton

For my unlikely celebrity encounter illustration I faced Steve Jobs and Isaac Newton, two geniuses in their own right schooling each other. I’m sure Steve would’ve liked nothing more than to show a 17th-century man the wonders of the iPhone while Newton reminds Jobs that gravity is a constant.

Book Cover: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Book Cover Redesign

For my book cover, I digitally illustrated One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. A book with tragic themes and harsh realities of the past, I took a more lighthearted approach while still capturing the reality of the madhouse hospital in which the patients’ lives took place in the story. Supplementing the classic cuckoo bird clock with the hospital it plays off the idea of the crazy cuckoo bird as well as the title.

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

While I am a little biased living in North Vancouver, besides the location I can say the IDEA School of Design Bachelor of Design program is the most well-rounded thorough course tailored to making us as students the most competent well-rounded designers we can be before entering the workforce.

Advice for those considering applying to IDEA School of Design

All I would say before applying is ask yourself if this is what you truly want for your career and put your best work forward. The material I used as my portfolio at the time was nowhere near the level I work at now and I was still thankfully able to make it in. While it is competitive it’s more than doable if you are really passionate.

"Breakthrough Moments" at IDEA School of Design

My biggest breakthrough moment at IDEA School of Design was that I could really paint! I had never seriously painted before traditionally and while some of my peers had years of experience over me I quickly learned the basics and have a newfound skill I can apply to my work as well as one of my now favourite hobbies.

Summer Highlights

My summer highlight this year definitely had to be being fortunate enough to take a cruise to Alaska. The furthest North I had ever gone where the sights are unlike anything else you can find down here in Vancouver.

What's your favourite music video?

Phone Numbers – Dominic Fike