Established by our founder, SJC’s values guide the decisions we make and the actions we take in working with our colleagues, customers and community. Whether we work for one of our media brands, create content for one of our retail clients or operate one of our printing presses, our values are a constant across SJC.

To kick off 2022, we launched our refreshed values (same core principles; more action-oriented phrasing) along with our annual peer-recognition Chairman’s Award program. This marks one of our favourite times of the year. Why? It’s when we gather first-hand evidence of our values in action. Come March, the company will decide on a single recipient for each of our three divisions: SJC Content, SJC Media and SJC Print. Our values in action at their very best.

In sharing our refreshed values with our associates, we wanted to do so with a bit of creativity, colour and fun.

SJC associate Kathryn Boyd is also an artist. She has contributed to our employee art campaigns over the last couple of years, including her “Community” submission for our Healthcare Heroes “21 Words of Hope” and her “Grounded” submission for our “What does print mean to you” campaign last year.

We commissioned Kathryn to apply her unique style of art (watercolour and ink on card) to develop a custom piece representing each one of our five values. Here, we share our values, Kathryn’s custom work and her explanation of the inspiration behind each.

“Our customers sit in the heart of our company, so I placed them on top of our heart. To represent how we amaze our customers I thought that stars were a great symbol because they represent the great beyond, limitless possibilities, bright lights and beacons.”

“Curiosity starts with our childhood and I wanted to depict a child because we do our best work when we are curious, vulnerable and open. Children are open and vulnerable. A child’s imagination drives them to learn and grow. As an organization if we are always curious we will find ourselves always growing and adapting. I integrated the rainbow and stars as they represent magic and discovery.”

“I wanted to represent a diverse group of people with different thought bubbles as expressions. Rainbows as diversity and inclusion, stars as hope and optimism, hearts for compassion and kindness, an equal sign as a symbol of equality and a happy face because, let’s face it, being happy and friendly makes life a whole lot easier.”

“I integrated the lightbulb being powered by the brain (the brain of the company – filled with talent and skill), the airplane being fueled by the brainpower, the tree as a symbol of growth, apples as a symbol of harvest – reaping what we sow, the gears representing technology and the wrench symbolizing that even technology needs to constantly adapt and be re-jigged. I purposely included people waving and pointing in a celebrating way, marking our successes. I have a plug there as a symbol that all our hard work and constant reaching creates the power of the company. Throughout this I integrated the rainbow and stars as this again represents a full spectrum of diversity and success.”

“I wanted to represent the world with all types of people. If you look around the globe you’ll see people of all shapes, sizes and abilities. The globe is our community and the people represent all people. The stars encircling again are there to tie the whole values series together as a way of continued reach and limitless possibilities.”

Meet the associate and artist

Kathryn Boyd is a passionate customer experience leader who joined SJC in 2017 as the Director of Customer Experience for SJC Print. Since 2018, she has served as an Account Director for SJC Content, where she is the key client contact on multiple accounts.

Beyond her role at SJC, Kathryn is a Toronto-based multimedia artist, an avid reader, wellness enthusiast and a proud Mom to a son.

To Kathryn, art has always been there, like her breath, and expressing herself artistically was just something she did. Her grandmother was an avid art collector who inspired her to create and taught her that art was magic and that in each piece lives a soul. A vibration that when joined with the right person provides levity, strength and direction in one’s journey.

It is Kathryn’s hope that her artwork finds its people and acts as a talisman, providing lightness, understanding, love and courage to those who need it. Visit www.instagram.com/kathrynboydfinearts/ to see more of her work.