As of August 2022, there has been a new card design available to staff that embodies the vision of UFV. The design was created by Chantelle Trainor-Matties, a UFV graduate and local Indigineous artist. The update to the card features: blue herons, a hummingbird, and a sturgeon, with the incorporation of the classic swoop of UFV.
Sheila St. Laurent, UFV Campus Card Coordinator, mentioned, “I started in the Card Office in 2010, and the design that I inherited was what we previously had. It’s been around for about 15 years.” She noted that the employee campus card has been long overdue for an update, especially when considering that the student campus card was redesigned in 2015.
The project of redesigning the card has been a topic of discussion for several years, but finally came to the forefront in late 2021. As the cards are a branch of representation of UFV, the project was led by the UFV marketing team. Breanna Willock, the Marketing Manager, was quick to reach out to Trainor-Matties and start the design process. According to Willock, “Chantelle is incredibly talented and appreciates being a part of UFV’s efforts to Indigenize the institution.”
Trainor-Matties mentioned she was first reached out to in July of 2021 and was excited to be working with UFV once again. She said, “I remember being on holiday when I got the email in July 2021 and I actually started sketching ideas right away for fun.” Trainor-Matties said that she was “inspired by the UFV coat of arms and the UFV leaf logo,” and that her “idea was to combine the two, along with [her] contemporary Northwest Coast formline.”
A big part of designing the new card was figuring out how to show as much of the design as possible, and deciding on what tones of colour best suited the final card design. Though part of the design is covered in the final product, it still encompasses the vision of UFV. Trainor-Matties said, “I illustrated two blue herons, a hummingbird and a sturgeon. I knew one of the leaves was going to get covered, but that was okay because it was the second blue heron, so there was at least one of them visible.”
When asked if the student card would also go through a redesign, St. Laurent mentioned that updating the student card may be something that is looked into in the coming years, but for now it will be kept as is from the last revamp. The last update to the student campus card was in 2015 when the campus card office was moved to the Student Union Building. The current design is a representation of the relationship between UFV and the Student Union Society, as shown in the green and blue wave visual.
The new employee campus card was created with the intent of inspiring new and current employees while also spreading the value and goals of UFV to anyone who sees the cards. According to Willock, “Handing out an employee card with meaning is just one small personal component that new employees will be welcomed with.” She continues, “it’s more than just an employee card, it’s now something that is woven into our identity as an institution.”
Emmaline is working on her BA and ambitions to become an English teacher. They always say, those who cannot do, teach. She spends her free time buying, reading, and hoarding books with the hope that one day she will have no furniture and instead only have piles of books.
