Living the Dream at CSE!
About a year ago, I embarked on a quest to learn about sports design. I pushed myself to learn new techniques and explore the space in a deeper way outside of school. I had one goal, which was to work with my hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, which had always been a childhood dream of mine. Throughout my coursework at UFV, I built a strong foundation of design skills which gave me the confidence to continue learning and developing my skills on my own outside of school. That growth, it really paid off, as I went through an Graphic Design Internship last summer with the WHL’s Victoria Royals, and proceeded to land my dream Graphic Design Internship with Canucks Sports & Entertainment during the fall. It felt surreal, and for me it was a full circle moment, and I was fortunate to continue that experience as my practicum here at UFV.
During my time at CSE, I worked as a graphic design intern across multiple brands including the Vancouver Canucks, Abbotsford Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, Rogers Arena, and the Sportsbar. I contributed towards a wide variety of projects such as social media graphics, game day posts, email assets, website assets, in-arena visuals, and print signage. Everything I worked on was used in a real-world setting, which made the experience both exciting and challenging, especially in such a fast-paced environment.
Starting the practicum was quite nerve-wracking, as I joined later than the other interns and felt like I had some catching up to do. However, my design team was extremely welcoming and supportive, which helped me adjust quickly. I had the opportunity to learn directly from senior designers and receive consistent feedback, which played a significant role in my development and helped me become more confident in my work.
Early on, one of the biggest lessons I learned was the importance of efficiency without the cost of quality. At the time, a lot of my work involved tasks such as creating player cutouts for social media overlays. While these projects felt repetitive at times, they helped me build speed, and improve my technical skills, which are essential in sports design. As I became more comfortable, I was able to take on more creative projects and contribute in different ways. One moment that stood out to me was when I created a social media graphic featuring Canucks star forward, Elias Pettersson. Looking back, it wasn’t my strongest work, but it was well received and gave me much needed confidence moving forward. It also helped me earn trust within the team, which led to more opportunities.
A major challenge throughout the practicum was navigating revisions and external changes. In sports, things can shift quickly due to injuries, trades, or marketing updates, and that often meant adjusting or reworking designs on short notice. At times, this was frustrating, but it taught me how to deal with feedback, stay flexible, think ahead, and approach design solutions more strategically in ways that consider external variables. I began to understand that design in a professional setting goes beyond visuals as it often involves communication, adaptability and problem-solving.
There were also moments where I felt unsure about my growth, especially when work became repetitive or when I was not seeing immediate improvement. Through conversations with my mentors, I realized that progress is not always obvious in fast-paced environments. Taking a step back and looking at all that I had accomplished helped me recognize how much I actually learned and grew both as a designer and a person.
One of the most valuable aspects of this experience was the variety of work. Each week brought something different, whether it was working on game day graphics, event promotions, concert visuals, or youth program campaigns. Designing across different formats helped me become more well-rounded as a designer. In addition to that, working during busy periods such as the trade deadline, pushed me to manage my time effectively and prepare for things in-advance.
Not every week was easy, in-fact, a lot of weeks were quite difficult, and I often wondered how I was going to get through the mountain of work that awaits me. There was many moments where I felt tired, overwhelmed, or just not performing at my best, but those moments taught me the importance of resilience, especially during tough times. I learned to stay consistent, manage my workload, and continue improving even when things were challenging, but in all honesty, I don’t think I’d be able to do it if it wasn’t for the support of my amazing team. Having a supportive team around me made a significant difference and reinforced how important having a strong work environment is for growth.
As my practicum came to an end, I was fortunate to be offered a full-time role by my creative director to continue with Canucks Sports & Entertainment. I am now working as full-time Graphic Designer, primarily focused on the Abbotsford Canucks, where I have been given the responsibility of managing and evolving the brand on a day-to-day basis while still receiving support from the broader team when needed.
Now I won’t lie, the transition into this role has been quite challenging, as there’s been a lot of last-minute projects, tighter deadlines, and moments where I’ve had to really push myself beyond what I’m already used to. However, over the past few weeks, things have really started to come together, and I have been able to see the direct impact of my work beyond just the design itself.
So far, I’ve had the opportunity to create milestone graphics highlighting player achievements that were featured on social media and the in-arena jumbotron, as well as game day and promotional graphics for theme nights built from scratch using original concepts. Some of these campaigns were even posted on billboards outside of Rogers Forum, which was really cool to see. I’ve also seen the numbers and have had direct meetings about how my designs have impacted ticket sale initiatives. Being able to see how design can influence not only visuals but also community engagement and business outcomes has been really rewarding to see so far.
Although I’m still early in this role, I am proud of the progress that I’ve made so far, and grateful for the trust that has been placed in me. I know that I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I’m excited to continue growing, improving, and evolving as a designer within this organization.
Overall, this practicum experience has been incredibly valuable, and has definitely been a true highlight in my life. It allowed me to apply what I have learned in school, continue developing independently, and step into a professional setting that consistently challenges daily. Most importantly, it reinforced my passion for sports and design, and confirmed that at least for now, this is the path I want to continue pursuing.
Also, for anyone who actually got to the end of this, if you could take one thing away from this, just follow your dreams, it’s genuinely worth it, and you never know how far you can take them!
Harnoor is a 2nd-year GDD Diploma student majoring in Graphic Design.
Placement: Canucks Sports & Entertainment
Position: Graphic Designer
GD497 Winter 2026
