Meet second-year student, Rachel Lam (IDEA Grad 2025)! Her self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught last year by Jay Bassan is shown above.

Read Rachel ’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

I love makeup and dressing up, so I thought to myself “Why not make this the theme of my project?” I was very inspired by Hirohiko Araki’s artworks and vogue magazine.

“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 favourite projects from first year definitely include oils expressionism with Jeff, the self-portrait project with Jay, and the B&W drawing with Shayne. They have allowed us a very vast amount of freedom in our work while clear guidance and instruction motivated me to work.

Featured Work

Master’s copy (DaVinci) by Rachel Lam (IDEA Grad 2025)

I chose one of the most challenging references for this piece to challenge myself, it was hard but very fun! It was one of DaVinci’s unfinished pieces, I wonder how it would look if he had completed it?

B&W drawing by Rachel Lam (IDEA Grad 2025)

I enjoyed the freedom of being able to express myself in this piece, I am heavily inspired by the Taiwanese game Devotion and the myth of the white tiger since it’s the year of the tiger. Perhaps you may be able to find some easter eggs I’ve hidden in this piece.

“Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell book cover by Rachel Lam (IDEA Grad 2025)

For this project, I chose one of my childhood favourites, “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell. This book is especially important in my childhood as it carries fond memories of my parent reading this to me before bed. This story successfully illustrates how a person’s choice of treatment can affect another’s outcome, easy enough for a child to understand.

I utilized the use of white space in this project, using only 3 colours to illustrate our beloved stallion and a rider, so as not to miss out on his iconic white star. I decided to use this font for this classic novel, preserving its aesthetic while helping it breathe a new life.

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

I initially was going to go into a sciences bachelor program, but I’ve decided I want to do what I love. My digital media teacher in high school introduced me to multiple schools, I chose Capilano University at the end as students here have on-the-ground experience in the field upon graduation which is very important for their careers. Not to mention the environment is very inviting and refreshing in contrast to schools in the urban concrete jungle.

Advice for those considering applying to IDEA School of Design

It’s definitely worth trying it out, whether you are hoping to be an indie creator, a small business owner, a freelancer, or work with a company, CapU’s got you covered. As long as you are passionate about your work, you will do great.

"Breakthrough Moments" at IDEA School of Design

Despite having troubles with the graphic design aspect of this course, Vida helped guide me through projects in a very clear and concise manner. After her class check-in for the book cover project, I could finally see a bad habit of mine reoccurring. I have since been more aware of it in my other works too.

What's your favourite music video?

Not exactly an MV. But “What A Life” by Scarlet Pleasure danced by Mads Mikkelsen in Druk, I absolutely loved it.