Laying down his roots in ECU's Bachelor of Design program, alumnus Pierce Jordan switched gears midway and graduated with a BFA from the Faculty of Visual Art and Material Practice in 2013. An artist and a designer, he creates branding campaigns, bespoke lighting fixtures for commercial/residential applications, as well as unique site-specific installations.

7 Questions with Pierce Jordan:

Why did you choose to study at Emily Carr?

It was an easy choice and I've always lived in Vancouver, and both my sister and my dad went there for photography. It's affordable, is in a good location, and a funky building. Small class sizes were a plus.

Can you tell us the best thing about your time here?
The resources. I was deep in the communication design program - my third year - when I decided to switch into the fine arts program which also afforded me the opportunity to utilize the different shops and machines that were available. I ended up retaking a year of classes that didn't transfer over, and it was so worth it to be able to get my hands messy.

How has your practice changed since graduation?
Things are more expensive that's for sure, and cramped. Finding suitable studio space for my many endeavours has been difficult and I've changed career goals more than once. Through a long trial and error process I've settled on lighting design as a suitable career path. It encompasses my love for design, graphic product and packaging, as well flexing my artistic muscles to create new eye-catching pieces.

Do you have any memorable responses to your work that you’d care to share?
I was really happy with my grad piece, a sound reactive light installation made out of intricately cut out wooden shapes. Doing both art and design sides at the school, I ended up graduating with knowledge of a bit of everything and putting what I learned to use towards my grad piece. It was my first taste of the fruits that installation art can bring, and I was hooked.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? Which artist(s) or designer(s) do you most identify with or admire?
Vancouver's lighting design sector is a small one, I'm always looking to Omer Arbel of Bocci here in Vancouver to see what's whats new, also Lindsey Adelman and Richard Clarkson's studios out of NYC - they're all pushing in some interesting directions.

Can you name one thing you couldn’t do without in your practice?
As long as I have the drive to create and strive to do better in every project, I don't really need anything else. Objects of materiality will always come and go.

What’s up next for you?
I'll be displaying some work at MOV in the beginning of November then heading to Germany at the end of the month to visit studios and meet with designers that are doing more of what I want to do. With every project I take on, I try and think of something that seems really difficult and then I try and do it.

You can catch up with Pierce in person at the Museum of Vancouver's Why I Design event, Friday, November 4.