Foundations in Design
You have the creativity and desire to become a designer, but with all the career possibilities out there it’s hard to pick just one discipline. We can help.
Find your focus in our Foundations in Design (FIND) program. This one-year full-time certificate will give your design career a solid foundation. You’ll learn design fundamentals, explore your career options, and discover where your true passion lies. Our graduates go on to successful careers in everything from graphic design to furniture design to sustainable design.
Interested in design but already enrolled in another program?
Depending on availability, you could take any of these FIND courses:
- FIND 1120 - Design Connections: Then and Now
- FIND 1130 - Design Explorations
- FIND 1140 - Colour Theories
- FIND 1150 - Designing for Humanity
- FIND 1220 - Design History: 19th Century Onward
Why Study Foundations in Design @ KPU?
- In just eight months, you’ll graduate with a portfolio that will open doors to the top design schools across Canada.
- Our faculty of experienced, working professionals bring industry knowledge to guide your learning experience. Our small class sizes ensure that our faculty can mentor each and every student and help them realize their own unique potential.
- The purpose-built building for the KPU Wilson School of Design allows for collaboration and community-building with designers in all of our disciplines.
- We actively nurture our community of alumni to form a reservoir of support, connections, and advice which will not only assist our new graduates.
Who Studies Foundations in Design?
Are you curious about how things work? Do you build and dismantle things to understand them? Wonder how rooms and public spaces best serve the people who use them? Like photography or drawing? Look at magazines to see how fonts, colours and shapes are used? Maybe you play with fabrics to create new looks?
If you can relate to any or all the above, the FIND program is for you. Students in the FIND program have the opportunity of exploring various areas of design.
This is Wilson
Applied Arts 2025 Student Awards
We are excited to showcase the winning work of 5 of our design students from the Applied Arts Magazine. Their work stood out from winning entries from across the globe, earning well-deserved recognition for their… Read More
Learning to FIND a visual narrative
Foundations in Design (FIND) students learned how to create a visual narrative through the art of comic making. FIND Instructor Monique Motut-Firth describes the project, “These small comic strips were created… Read More
Foundations in Design Alumni Spotlight: Rebekah Mercs
Meet Rebekah Mercs, a graduate of the Product Design and FIND program, as she shares the path she took after graduating from the Foundations in Design program here at the Wilson School of Design. Find your focus in… Read More
Admission Requirements
Once you have completed your application, you will receive instructions on how to submit your Entrance Package and other required documents through an online submission platform.
Your portfolio is your chance to show us your creative skills and interests. Our Admission Requirements section will help you submit the strongest portfolio possible.
To help you create the most effective portfolio possible, we offer workshops, feedback sessions and open houses. Visit our Events Calendar for more information on upcoming events.
Please visit How to Apply for more details about applying to KPU.