at the emily carr college of art and design (now the emily carr university of art and design) on granville island in vancouver, in coupland's words, "i ... had the best four years of my life. it's the one place i've felt truly, totally at home. it was a magic era between the hippies and the pc goon squads. everyone talked to everyone and you could ask anybody anything." coupland graduated from emily carr in 1984 with a focus on sculpture, and moved on to study at the european design institute in milan, italy and the hokkaido college of art & design in sapporo, japan. he also completed courses in business science, fine art, and industrial design in japan in 1986.