BDes
Instructor, IDEA School of Design
IDEA School of Design
604.990.7820 ext. 7820
Arbutus Building, room AR206
markstokoe@capilanou.ca
Education
BDes, Communication Design, Emily Carr University of Art & Design, 2009.
Foundation Visual Arts Certificate, New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, 2005.
Bio
Mark André Stokoe (BDes, Emily Carr University of Art & Design, 2009) has worked and studied in various parts of the creative field for the last 20 years or so, initially in the fine arts as the director and founding member for a local artist collective, then moving on to photography and metalsmithing.
After studying at NBCCD and NSCAD, Stokoe relocated to Vancouver to complete a design degree at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Since graduating, he has worked as a designer, art director and creative director for agencies, freelance and in-house with companies on both coasts and in-between. Along the way, he has managed to pick up a few different skills, and some awards to go with them.
Stokoe spends the majority of time leading the brand and creative team for Visier, a Vancouver-based tech company. His work focuses primarily on brand strategy and visual design across marketing, guiding the work of the internal team, and herding a small army of agencies and freelancers.
When not in the office, Stokoe can usually be found covered in sawdust in his woodworking shop, building LEGO or tromping around the watershed doing scent-tracking practice with his giant (and adorable) German Shepherd.
I believe in seeking a strong balance between hands-on and more academic learning when it comes to design.
When providing guidance and feedback, I often try to approach critiques from unexpected angles to provoke students to consider all of the many aspects of their work.
Perhaps due to my Maritime origins, I tend to be frank and quite direct with feedback, and think that most people are better served when they are not having their hands held.
Last but not least, I believe that design is a truly holistic practice, and requires attention to skills like communication and negotiation, as well as working knowledge of writing, coding, printing, etc. to really be able to form meaningful partnerships with people in other areas of the creative process.