After a competition put on by the Town of Irricana to update the design for the town’s banners was held, the winning design has been announced.
Irricana resident and graphic designer Caitlin Pierrard won the competition with a design that paid homage to the town’s rural roots, something she is proud of despite being a resident of the community for just a short time.
“We just bought our first home in Irricana in June,” she said. “We had been looking for about a year and a half.“
Pierrard said she saw the competition post on the Town's Facebook page, and not long afterward, a number of her new neighbours who knew of her graphic design background encouraged her to take part, with hopes she could design something the community could enjoy.
“There was a lot of support in town, for sure,” she said.
Only having a few days to think about and execute a design, Pierrard eventually landed on one she felt encompasses the area she has come to know and love in the last several months.
Her design depicts a few local prairie-themed and Irricana-focused elements, including Pioneer Acres Museum, two grain silos, a white picket fence, and a stock of grain.
“I also wanted to pay tribute to the grain museum, as well as Pioneer Acres,” she said. “I didn’t know what my odds would be. With us being new in town, I wanted to make the other residents proud of the design.”
She found out she won the competition recently while out for dinner with her boyfriend. She said the email gave them an even better reason to celebrate, as they were already out and enjoying themselves.
“Having that sense of community and being able to leave our stamp on the town is exciting,” she said. “It’s just a great feeling seeing anything that I’ve made out there.”
Barrie Hutchinson, the Town of Irricana’s chief administrative officer, said the competition was a great way to get the community involved in a local initiative, as the previous banners were ready to be replaced.
“We got some really great submissions and one incredible one,” he said.
There are eight poles in total around Irricana that will fly the 16 banners, and Hutchinson said they should be up and installed soon.
“We have now ordered them, and they should be here next week,” he said.
Pierrard runs her own design company called Keystone Designs, and she is open to a number of different project proposals. For more information about her work, visit keystonedesigns.ca
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @jaystrickz
