Meet first-year student, Sarah Gee, IDEA Interaction Design Diploma Grad 2025! Her self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught last year by Jay Bassan in BDES is shown above.

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

Self-portrait: “Double Take”

I feel as though people often have inner emotions that they do not show on the surface, so my concept was to show the inner and outer emotions I felt at the same time. I usually present outwardly as calm and nice, but on the inside, I am fiery and intense. I took this at a local photography studio hosted by my good friend Jason Siu (IG: @whoisjasonsiu), a Vancouver Photographer/Creative. There are two different coloured light sources and I spliced two takes into each other in post with Adobe PS.

“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

I’ve loved it here. Especially how my classmates come together to collaborate on our assignments and even personal work as well. It’s such a tight-knit community that is irreplaceable to me. 

Featured Work

Graphite Sketch: “Winged Victory”

A 30+hr graphite drawing using a grid system. Based off the Winged Victory of Samothrace, located at the Louvre. This was in IDES 131 taught by Shayne Letain.

App Icons: “Translate the Sounds of Your Pets”

The task was to create App Icons based on a fictional app that one might use to translate the sounds that your pets make. 1 main App Icon, and 3 UI icons in active and inactive states. Done in Figma for IXD 103 taught by Paul Brokenshire.

Top 5 Website/Mobile: “Top 5 Typographers”

This assignment required desktop and mobile layouts of a “Top 5” category. I chose Typographers as I wanted to continue to explore different Typefaces in various settings. Created in Figma for IXD 104 taught by Tom Duguid. The David Carson and Jan Tschihold pieces are part of the top 5 typographers’ website/mobile design!

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

The reputation of the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University is quite amazing. I heard through the network that IDEA School of Design grads are very strong and this is the best design program in Western Canada, and it’s all true. I sound like an AD but there’s no other way to put it.

Advice for those considering applying to IDEA School of Design’s Interaction Design Diploma

Show your creativity, but also know that there is less of a focus on drawing requirements in this program vs the BDES. The strongest portfolios I’ve seen have case studies and focus on digital work in Figma and other products in the Adobe suite.

"Breakthrough Moments" at IDEA School of Design

Honestly, the BDES had the strongest visual arts classes I’ve ever taken and I’ve never felt better at sketching and oil painting. I wish I could’ve translated those skills into the Digital realm as I hear they do in the second year. But the IXD Diploma was a great fit for me, as I wanted to fully understand User Experience and get working on those skills, as I knew coming from a Visual Arts background, is what I lacked.

Highlights from First Year at IDEA School of Design’s BDES

Creating my first logo ever in Carol Aitken’s DSGN 121 class. That was when I learned how to refine my designs and not be afraid of endless iteration.

Fall Highlights at IDEA School of Design’s Interaction Design Diploma

We are currently creating our own Interaction Design Club called IDA (Interaction Design Alliance). We can’t wait to host speakers at the CapU Shipyards Campus to learn new knowledge about topics such as generative AI, VR, AR, and Mixed Reality, and of course, UX and UI best practices.

What's your favourite music video?

Currently, it is Meaningless by Charlotte Cardin.

For more on Charlie

Insta: @sarahstylez