"Twenty-two and Some Change" by Charlie Wongpisethkul (IDEA Grad 2026)
Meet second-year student, Charlie Wongpisethkul (IDEA Grad 2026)! Their self-portrait for IDES 133 - Visual Studio taught last year by Jay Bassan is shown above.
“My biggest fear before coming to IDEA School of Design was being unable to be creative enough with each project or running out of ideas. But sometime in the middle of the first year I looked back at my work and thought, “I can actually do this.””
Read Charlie’s story and check out some of their other work for a glimpse into student life at IDEA School of Design at Capilano University.
Self-portrait
Twenty-two and Some Change: My twenty-second birthday was around the time we got the self-portrait project. A few years prior, I had put 3 boxes of candles on my best friend's birthday cake (featured in the center of my mood board) and I liked the chaotic fun look of it. Originally, I was at a colorful playground surrounded by preschoolers, the tiny audience was really amused by the burning cake. This shot was actually one of the final shots at the end of someone else's shoot that I helped set up. There wasn't much to it besides lighting the cake in the life drawing room in front of a white sheet hung up by magnets.
Self-portrait mood board by Charlie Wongpisethkul (IDEA Grad 2026)
“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
I’m still learning how to properly manage my time and balance all my projects, but it’s been a good time. The sense of community in the cohort really allows us to learn with and from each other.
Featured Work
Illuminated David-kun
This project tasked us with designing the presentation of museum artifacts and the type of the paired description. My “artifact” is an illuminated manuscript of a meme copypasta known as David-kun. I tried to imitate the technique with a calligraphy pen, ink, paint, and gold leaf. There are some typos within the questionable text, but having rewritten it at least five times, I settled for what I had. The calligraphy was then photographed and imported into Photoshop and Illustrator to be described and displayed.
Cat Butler
Working with one of my favorite traditional mediums, watercolor, I also wanted to include my favorite subjects: food and OCS (original characters). My process with watercolor often starts with a refined digital sketch that gets printed and transferred to watercolor paper with the help of a lightbox. With the paper stretched and sketched, I dive straight in with watercolor. I prefer to have colored line art, so my line art is done with watercolor on the finest striping brush I own.
Let’s Keep Dreaming – mu
Mu is a beverage branding project, starting from creating a client brief, to designing the packaging, to creating advertising pitches. This project allowed me to explore the use of 3D modeling and rendering within package design. Mu is a made-up flavoured milk brand that plays with the child-like idea that chocolate milk comes from the brown cow, which 7% of American adults believe according to a survey conducted by the Innovation Center of U.S. Dairy. Through this fun fact, the slogan “sweet dreams are made from milk - let’s keep dreaming - mu” is a way to tell adults and children alike to stay creative and keep believing.
Why did you choose IDEA School of Design over other schools?
Most art schools get you to choose between illustration and graphic design – IDEA School of Design didn’t. I had a hard time choosing between the two majors, and finding the Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication at Capilano University that would refine my skills in both was just right for me.
“IDEA School of Design’s Bachelor Of Design in Visual Communication is a career-oriented program for the next generation of creative professionals with concentrations in branding, illustration and interactive design. IDEA School of Design’s Interaction Design Diploma is a two-year program with career outcomes in the field of digital product design and user experience.”
“The purpose of your portfolio is to demonstrate your creative potential. We assess portfolios on drawing skill, design and creativity.”
Advice for those considering applying to IDEA School of Design
There's a learning curve for programs and mediums, it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time. You’ll learn from your mistakes with the help of classmates and instructors. This also applies to managing your time and energy. It’s okay not to put 200% into every project, that gets tiring and hard to balance.
"Breakthrough Moments" at IDEA School of Design
My biggest fear before coming to IDEA School of Design was being unable to be creative enough with each project or running out of ideas. But sometime in the middle of the first year I looked back at my work and thought, “I can actually do this.”
Highlights from First Year at IDEA School of Design
Work-life balance is important, but it was always a good vibe to stay after school in the life drawing room working on assignments, and subtly suffering together.
Fall Highlights at IDEA School of Design
It was nice to see everyone in the program get together on Halloween for some festivities. My IDEA School of Design cohort also did a little in-class party with switch games, a potluck, and photoshoots around campus. Having our designated space is definitely an IDEA School of Design perk.
What's your favourite music video?
When it comes to music media, my interactions with it are primarily through audio alone. Also, a majority of my favorite songs don’t have music videos. Anyway, my favorite music video is Cody・Lee(李) - 我愛你, cause I like the little freeze frames and color story.
For more on Charlie
Insta: @won.arch
