First-year students (IDEA Grad 2025) offer their advice and experiences applying to IDEA School of Design
Early Applications for Fall 2022 at IDEA School of Design close January 26, 2022!
Entry to the Bachelor of Design is competitive, and applicants must submit a portfolio and other documents through the online portal SlideRoom.
First-year students (IDEA Grad 2025) offer their advice and experiences applying to the Bachelor of Design (BDes) program at Capilano University. We hope a first-hand student perspective will give you more insight and direction on the application process.
Shown above: “Depersonalization - Red” by Liza Borissova (IDEA Grad 2025) as part of her application to IDEA School of Design.
“The most important thing is to determine what your strengths are and show all your individuality and authenticity. You are your strength.”
“Cat in fairy tale” (11"x17") by Stacy Zhang (IDEA Grad 2025 Student Application)
This is a surreal cat portrait that represents me: it reflects my carefree personality and my desire to live in an idyllic castle. I used thick acrylic paint to show the fuzzy texture of the hat and the cat’s face. I tried to use more contrast on the cat figure to create some space between the character and the background.
“Try to include pieces you are passionate about to show you have a voice for the industry! Being different is a good thing!”
“Mendel's Peas planning” by Y. Loker (IDEA Grad 2025 Student Application)
Series: Small Thing, Big Impact.
For Austrian Scientist Gregor Mendel, small pea plants were fundamental in him discovering the large idea of how traits are inherited between parents and offspring. Revised different pea pod designs utilizing blue and red for the peas, as those colours are typically associated with DNA.
“The biggest piece of advice I would offer to students thinking of applying to the IDEA School of Design is to connect with current IDEA students or IDEA grads. When I was applying for the program I felt too intimidated to reach out to IDEA students. In hindsight, however, being able to ask students in the program about the interview and application process would have been so helpful! Also, have some conviction! If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? ”
“Chaos Dogs” by A. Thompson (IDEA Grad 2025 Student Application)
“Try not to overthink or overstress yourself over the portfolio too, too much. Get out as much as you can and draw your heart out! Become a regular at your local cafe, even if you’re not into life drawing. It is possible for it to be fun. As daunting as it may be, once you get yourself started it is easy to want to do more. Also, don’t forget to take breaks and don’t pressure yourself to draw 24/7. Include what inspires you and don’t forget to include pieces of things you love.”
“When You're Hot n You're Cold” by P. Verdon (IDEA Grad 2025 Student Application)
This is a fruit bowl study done using acrylic paint. I wanted to play around with colour theory, so I decided to contrast the warm fruits with cool background colours.
“My advice to prospective students is to attend the Portfolio Review, talk to students in IDEA School of Design, do your research on the school, and include work personalized to you. I attended both Portfolio Reviews to strengthen my portfolio, which also gave me the confidence to apply. As an applicant, I also reached out to students in the program for advice through Instagram. Google is your best friend and aided me tremendously in my decision to apply and prepare my application to IDEA School of Design. Also, the work I showcased were illustrations that spoke to me, so undoubtingly, it will translate to others as well!”
“Augmented Reality Figma Prototype” by Tolan Greyhaven (IDEA Grad 2025 Student Application)
This page is the opening page of the slide deck used to present my final project for Term 1 of the Interaction Design Class. A fully interactive prototype with Figma. A few of the screen mockups are seen on the page as well as my own personal branding logo "TG" in the bottom right.
Seen on the page is the Eye-Logo I designed for the Social Media platform. The link that is shown on the page and below in this description will open the interactive prototype in a browser.
“After attending the Portfolio Review I was able to address the feedback I received. It helped to highlight my strengths so that I could focus on the portions of my portfolio that needed more attention. I highly encourage anyone interested in IDEA School of Design to set aside the time for the Review session. It took me many years of building my skillset with the goal of a post-secondary design education in mind, and it was so beneficial to receive constructive criticism along the way.”
“Futura Poster” by Angela Aguilar (IDEA Grad 2025 Student Application)
A typographic poster made to inform the viewer of and to showcase Paul Renner's typeface, Futura. Complimentary colours and basic shapes with negative space were used to compliment the sans-serif geometric typeface and to accentuate the portrait of Paul Renner in the background.
“Making a portfolio may seem daunting, and there might be some ups and downs when you’re deciding what work to include; you are your worst critic, after all. But trust the process and be confident of your work. Include anything you’re proud of—remember that your portfolio is a reflection of yourself. Show off how your creative mind thinks and solves problems, express your individuality, and most importantly, your passion and strive!”
“Baileys bottle” by Riley Simmons (IDEA Grad 2025)
An acrylic painting of Baileys Irish Cream bottle.
“Include pieces in your portfolio that you enjoy talking about. Each piece does not need to be perfect, they just need to represent you as a person. Being able to talk about your work with confidence will help convey your personality.”
“Flower Shop Poster Design” by Shruti Karthikeyan (IDEA Grad 2025)
This is a flower shop poster that I designed by incorporating a variety of shapes and lines. I layered and changed the opacity of each shape, text, flower and leaves to produce a more three-dimensional effect.
“My advice would be to not get intimidated by the portfolio process and all the requirements. Just try your best and be confident in your work! Don’t compare yourself to others. Also, you may want to reach out to current IDEA School of Design students themselves to see if the program is suited for you. ”
Important Note: Candidates must first apply to Capilano University at capilanou.ca/admissions before applying to the Bachelor of Design.
See also:
For full details on how to apply, including what is expected in a portfolio, please visit our website at capilanou.ca/idea.
Early Admission: SlideRoom closes Wednesday, Jan 26, 2022.
Late Admission: SlideRoom opens Friday, January 28, 2022, and closes Wednesday, April 13, 2022. No submissions for Fall 2022 (IDEA Grad 2026) will be accepted after Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
Find more portfolio advice at capilanou.ca/idea.
