From canvas to convocation: The design journey of CapU student Natasha Lee

"Why does there need to be rulers on the canvas?"

"No one’s going to notice the extra millimeter in between these two letters."

As an illustrator, Natasha Lee found herself questioning the meticulous nature of the graphic design courses during her first year in the Bachelor of Visual Communication and Design degree in the IDEA School of Design.

Her perspective was quickly reshaped, and she learned to appreciate the importance of precision and attention to detail. As a visually-inclined high school student unsure about committing to a single field, Lee appreciated how the flexible structure of the program allowed her to explore various design disciplines. This freedom enabled her to discover new interests and skills beyond what a specialized illustration or fine arts school could offer.

“Harking back to my illustrative background, stories and messages will always be the inspiration for all my designs,” said Lee. “Now I’m also a big advertising and branding fan—any work that has a specific takeaway or witty punchline excites me the most.”

Lee’s proudest accomplishment during her time at CapU was her award-winning design project “Commit,” an offal brand that encourages meat-eaters to eat the whole animal. Originally set up to be a restaurant branding project, Lee took a different approach to the brief by turning the brand into a product line.

Inspired by her Asian heritage, where eating many parts of the animal is common practice, Lee set off to rebrand offal as a more exciting and ethical way to eat meat.

“This was one of my most comprehensive projects—creating designs for the packaging, cookbook, website, social media and promotional materials for the brand,” said Lee. “I’m very proud of how this project surprises and resonates with a lot of viewers.”

The packaging for Commit, Lee’s award-winning design project that encourages meat-eaters to eat the whole animal.

Lee will be crossing the stage this June at convocation with her degree and a laundry list of awards and honours in tow, most notably from the One Club for Creativity Young Ones and the Association of Registered Graphic Designers. She will be addressing her Faculty of Fine & Applied Arts cohort as the student speaker to culminate her journey at CapU.

“I completed my capstone project on the topic of public speaking and presented at the Student Research Symposium, which sparked the idea to apply to be a student speaker,” said Lee. “So it was thanks to my capstone project that I’m now speaking at convocation!”

While it may be a funny coincidence for Lee, it is no surprise that she was selected to represent and address her peers at convocation. 

“She is focused, bright, eloquent, and thoughtful with a huge generosity of spirit and quiet humility,” said Dominque Walker, faculty in the IDEA School of Design. “Even in her final year, when many students had a single-minded focus on their own work, she took time to help mentor first-, second- and third-year students. Natasha is so collaborative and her peers’ biggest champion.”

Post-graduation, Lee is thrilled to continue her design and artistic journey with her practicum host and advertising agency Rethink, where she will intern over the summer.

Originally published at capilanou.ca/about-capu/get-to-know-us