Taught by Christina Lee Kim Koon and Elyssa Schmid, the Digital Music Festival project invites students to create and promote a bespoke music festival through a consistent design system that makes noise!

Check out this story!

Design Fundamentals first year class took a field trip to Porchlight Press on October 3, 2024. Check out this story!

Zoë Evamy and Jesse Schilperoort had the privilege of chaperoning twenty one students from the IDEA School of Design at Capilano University on their Field Trip to NYC. It’s an annual trip and part of the 3rd year curricular course in ‘Design Thinking and Research’. Students are required to complete a visual essay. The week-long field trip gives students an opportunity to experience travel abroad and exposure to some of the major Art Museums, collections, exhibitions and cultural establishments in the world. Check out this story!

Check out some student illustrations for Valentine’s Day. Shown above: Valentine’s Day illustrations by Yohahnah Loker and Alisa Nguyen (IDEA Grad 2025).

Capilano University’s IDEA School of Design offers a 4-year Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication degree and a 2-year Interaction Design diploma. Our curriculum is rigorous and industry-focused — that’s why we are known for the quality and industry-readiness of our graduates.

Late Admission runs Feb 1, 2024 - April 2, 2024. The IDEA Grad Show is April 8/9, 2024.

Happy Year of the Dragon from IDEA School of Design! Shown above “To Celebrate the Lunar Year” illustration by Charlie Wongpisethkul (IDEA Grad 2026).

IDEA School of Design’s Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication (Grad 2026) students at Capilano University were tasked with designing compelling annual reports or community reports using either illustration, photography or interesting graphic treatments and typography. It was an opportunity for them to learn how to do research, use grids and consider appropriate art direction for their chosen company or organization.

Check out some of the best projects from Vida Jurcic’s 2nd Year IDES 243 Design Studio I course. Shown above: ShareGrocer Annual Report by Siobhan Barry.

The Beverage Packaging & Promotional Campaign Project gave students a chance to sink their teeth into some beverage branding, or to re-think an existing brand of beverage, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic. It gave illustrators a chance to showcase their talents in application. The accompanying promotional campaign also gave students the opportunity to consider how marketing strategy works in developing a creative approach that will connect with their target audience.

Check out some of the best projects from Vida Jurcic’s 2nd Year Design Studio I class. Shown above: Alpenglow Winter Ale packaging by Mena McGill.

Arsheya Seraji (IDEA Grad 2024) took the lead on this anthology comic which began as an assignment. It collects 3-page stories from each artist in the IDEA Grad 2024 cohort and covers a broad range of genres including comedy, adventure, horror, auto-bio, and slice-of-life. It is dedicated to retired illustration instructor, Jeff Burgess.

Check out some of the spreads in this comic and see some samples from Arsheya Seraji’s self-published comic series, FOURTH DIMENSIONAL!

IDEA School of Design (Grad 2024) students Ethan Woronko, Anaïs Bayle and Celina Zhong each designed a font in a recent workshop and have made them available for free download.

Download Sludge Pit, Bricks and Vision for your next design project!

Check out the new cohort’s yearbook spreads that they made to introduce themselves.

Course: IDES 141 Survey and Principles of Design I
Instructor: Paul Brokenshire

Both IDEA Grad 2025 cohorts coded their landing page design with HTML and CSS on Glitch — the friendly place where everyone builds the web — in IDES 252 Digital Media II with Christina Lee Kim Koon. The goal was to build a responsive landing page with clean and organized code.

Check out some fun hand-coded landing page design projects from both IDEA Grad 2025 cohorts!

IDEA Talks is a tradition to close out first year, before we set students loose for summer. Students are asked to bring an original or colour printout of their favourite 2 projects from this past year from any class, and be prepared to share 3 personal highlights from the past year, too. As IDEA Talks is part of IDES 132 Survey and Principles of Illustration II, attendance is anticipated and expected. Classroom critiques in a creative community are a highlight for IDEA School of Design students. Shown above: Self Portrait in Oil by Siobhan Barry.

Here are some favourite projects and highlights from IDEA Grad 2026!

“Oystercatcher” by Ethan Woronko (IDEA Grad 2024) is a top packaging and menu design project in IDEA School of Design’s IDES 362 Visual Communication Studio I: Branding Concentration with Dominique Walker.

Check out this top student packaging and menu design project from our branding concentration!

“Soya” by Celina Zhong (IDEA Grad 2024) is a top packaging and menu design project created in IDEA School of Design’s IDES 362 Visual Communication Studio I: Branding Concentration with Dominique Walker.

“Welcome to the Li family household. From our culinary practices, to the way we set the table, we bridge the future of sustainability with Chinese tradition, rooted from our unique emigration story right here in Vancouver,” writes Celina.

Check out this top student packaging and menu design project from our branding concentration!

“Cactus Flower” by Alison Koo (IDEA Grad 2024) is a top packaging and menu design project in IDEA School of Design’s IDES 362 Visual Communication Studio I: Branding Concentration with Dominique Walker.

Check out this top student packaging and menu design project from our branding concentration!

“Hue” by Anais Bayle (IDEA Grad 2024) is a top packaging and menu design project in IDEA School of Design’s IDES 362 Visual Communication Studio I: Branding Concentration with Dominique Walker.

Check out this top student packaging and menu design project from our branding concentration!

Looking for design, illustration, or interactive design education in Vancouver? Study at the IDEA School of Design!

The Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication at Capilano University in North Vancouver has a reputation for industry-ready graduates. Admission to the program is competitive, and applicants must submit a portfolio and other documents through the online portal SlideRoom.

Early Applications for The Bachelor Of Design In Visual Communication September 2023 are now closed. Late Applications close on April 10, 2023. Applications for The Interaction Design Diploma September 2023 will close on June 6, 2023.

Shown above: “Extra ripe pair of pears” animated illustration by JJ Eng (IDEA Grad 2025).

2nd-year students (IDEA Grad 2025) created a fun poster project in Tom Duguid’s typography class. Students were to utilize the theme of either the past or the future, and apply typography to a quote or saying that implied either the past or the future. Shown above: “The Woman I Shall Become” (George Sand) typography poster by Ava Shahres

“I wanted to depict the two sides of a woman, from her youth to her elderly age. Within this silhouette, I did hand lettering to evoke a scattered feel. Much like memories, there is no rhyme or reason, but they come together to create a bigger picture. The ‘I’,” writes Ava Shahres (Instagram: @bastanipop)

Check out some of Tom’s favourites from this project!

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.

“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,” writes Rachel.

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.

Second-year students (IDEA Grad 2025) explored the process of Risograph printing with Erica Wilk of Moniker Press in IDES 247 Survey and Principles of Typography.

For this typography project, they created postcards featuring an illustrated drop cap. Historically used to indicate a new block of text within passages of copy, these letterforms’ potential for decoration and flourishes have crossed over into artwork in their own right.

“Q is for Quail” by Kyle Rask is shown above. Check out some recent student work from IDEA Grad 2025!