Meet second-year student, Charis Catotocan (IDEA BDes Grad 2027)! Her first-year self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught by Jay Bassan is shown above.

“Admittedly, the first year felt like a sudden shove into the water... However, the more I worked with my peers and found comfort in the deep end, the more I realized we were all in the same position: anxious and afraid, but relentlessly pushing our way to the surface... Whether the tides are unforgiving or calm, I will continue pursuing the passion I love most, design,” writes Charis.

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

Caleb Tsai, a 2025 Bachelor of Design (BDes) graduate from IDEA School of Design, has achieved significant recognition in the design industry. He won the 2024 Applied Arts Student Award, was shortlisted for the 2024 ADCC Student Awards, and received an Honourable Mention in the 2024 RGD Award for Advertising Design. These accolades were awarded for his project titled “Good:Morning,” showcasing his talent and creativity in the field of design.

Good: Morning is a mentorship project with Alex Bakker (IDEA Grad 2014).

Check out this multiple award-winning student mentorship project!

Cassie Valenzuela Poon (IDEA BDes Grad 2025), a student from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University, has won an Honorable Mention at the prestigious Graphis New Talent Award 2024 for her Orbit Centre Logo Design.

Cassie is one of six IDEA School of Design students recognized at the 2024 Graphis New Talent Awards, which celebrate the innovative work of students and emerging creative leaders worldwide.

Check out this award-winning student project!

Natasha Lee, a 2024 graduate from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University, has won the prestigious 2024 Graphis New Talent Silver Award for her “Commit Offal Meats” branding and design project. This project targets adventurous carnivores interested in reducing their diet’s environmental impact by promoting offal consumption. The design combines bold copy with humorous illustrations, using a red and white colour scheme to balance the graphic nature of butchery with a sense of cleanliness.

Her project, which focuses on branding for offal meats, demonstrates her ability to tackle unique and challenging design briefs with creativity and skill. This accolade not only celebrates Natasha’s individual success but also brings recognition to the IDEA School of Design as an institution that nurtures top-tier design talent.

Check out this award-winning student project!

JJ Eng, a 2025 graduate from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University, has been awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2024 Graphis New Talent Awards for their typography and design project, “Decipher - Spoken Word Festival.” The project, which involved creating a brand identity for a music festival, included posters, social media posts with motion design, and an interactive augmented reality experience. Inspired by redacted and fridge magnet poetry, the design features a modular font and abstracted slam poetry scorecards, capturing the spirit of a young, discerning audience.

JJ is one of six IDEA School of Design students recognized at the 2024 Graphis New Talent Awards, which celebrate the innovative work of students and emerging creative leaders worldwide.

Check out this award-winning student project!

Congratulations to Neeka Yazdani (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “Escapism” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Cassie Valenzuela Poon (IDEA Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Burst Music Festival” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Cassie Valenzuela Poon (IDEA Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Burst Music Festival” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Andy Chau (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Eating Away at My Own Time” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to JJ Eng (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “Untitled (making Pride parades accessible)” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Ari Thompson (IDEA Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Loyal Defender of the Tundra Clan” (shown above). Ari is an illustrator and character designer with a love for dabbling in branding illustrations.

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 15 student contest for Illustration with “The Plague’s Fury” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Huge congratulations to Anais Bayle (IDEA BDes Grad 2024) for winning the RGD Award for Social Good Design, RGD Award for Colour, and RGD Student Award for Brand Design - Honourable Mention with “Creo Toys.”

Capilano University’s IDEA School of Design Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication students were represented in almost every category—well done!

Check out this award-winning student project!

Congratulations to Rayna Lai (IDEA BDes Grad 2026) for winning 1st Place in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Emma” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning the Top 10 in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “The Introspect” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Congratulations to Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA BDes Grad 2025) for winning 2nd Place in the CAPIC Rodeo 16 student contest for Illustration with “Sea’s Symphony” (shown above).

Many congratulations to Capilano University's IDEA School of Design students who continue to dominate the CAPIC student awards in illustration!

Check out this award-winning student illustration project!

Samantha Yeung (IDEA Grad 2025) had the opportunity to participate in nwHacks, Western Canada's largest 24-hour hackathon, last month. Her team (Robbie Laughlen, Franklin Ma and Alvicorn Tsang) won first place in the Community and Connection Track and Best Design Award of nwHacks 2024.

nwHacks is Western Canada’s Largest Hackathon held January 20 - 21, 2024 at UBC.

Samantha worked on the research, user experience and interface design, and presentation for yapyap. UI illustrations and some icons were created in Adobe Illustrator, and the wireframes and high-fidelity prototype were all done in Figma.

Check out this story!