About Dor
Hello! I’m Dorsa,
a designer, illustrator, and visual storyteller with a love for colour, character, and a bit of controlled chaos.
I’ve been drawn to the arts for as long as I can remember — from playing piano since I was ten, to joining school theatre performances, to sketching stories that only made sense to me. Creating, expressing, and connecting through art has always been my way of making sense of the world.
It’s been quite a journey. I was born in Iran, raised with stories, colours, and curiosity. Later, I moved to Germany to study architecture — a world of grids, structure, and precision. I learned a lot, but something kept pulling me back to illustration, design, and the kind of storytelling you feel, not just see. So I followed that pull.
I packed my bags, crossed another continent, and landed in Vancouver — where I'm building a life full of bold visuals, big ideas, and lots of playful sketches.
My work is loud in colour and layered with emotion — textures, grain, and a little chaos are always invited. I pull inspiration from the quiet stuff: a line of poetry, a leaf on the sidewalk, a strange but lovely moment between strangers. And typography? That’s my playground. I love chunky letters, playful curves, and type that feels like it’s talking before you even read it.
Home might be miles away, but with illustration, I always find my way back to myself.
Education
2024–2025
Graphic Design & Communication
BCIT – British Columbia Institute of Technology
2019–2020
Architectural Storytelling & Conceptual Design
C.A.A.I. School of Architecture
2015–2018
Foundation in Architecture & Visual Thinking
FH Aachen – University of Applied Sciences
At BCIT, I brought together everything I had learned — structure from architecture, concept from C.A.A.I., and a growing love for visual storytelling. The program gave me a strong foundation in layout design, typography, colour theory, branding, and UI basics. Through hands-on, real-world projects, I built technical skills in Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and learned how to communicate clearly and creatively — whether in a zine, a logo, or a digital interface.
This one-year architecture program pushed me to explore the why behind design. I was challenged to look deeper into the stories and logic that shape spaces. My projects became more conceptual, expressive, and emotionally driven. This is where my passion for storytelling and design as communication really took root. I began to see how ideas, not just forms, create impact — and that stayed with me.
At FH Aachen, I studied architecture with a focus on landscape design, spatial planning, and creative concept development. It was my first step into the world of design — where I learned to think in systems, shapes, and environments. This is also where I opened Adobe Illustrator and InDesign for the first time, and something clicked. I became fascinated by the balance of structure and creativity, and started to fall in love with design beyond architecture.
