TORONTO—Beavers, Mounties, and igloos, oh my.

Those are some things that likely come to mind when Americans think about their northern neighbour, and Bruce Mau Design (BMD) is aiming to change that.



BMD was approached by radio program Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen (produced by WNYC Radio and Public Radio International) in the U.S. to take part in its series called Redesigns.

At the suggestion of a listener in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Studio 360 put the focus on redesigning Canada. But the "design exercise" is not really about changing Canada, said Alexis Green, marketing and PR manager at BMD, as much as it's about changing America's view of Canada.


The "Know Canada" idea (and associated website) is backed by the assertion that "Canada doesn't need a redesign as much as America needs an education," said Green. Instead of beavers, Mounties, igloos, and maple syrup, BMD wants Americans to think Pamela Anderson, Ryan Gosling, and basketball.

Since BMD has offices in Toronto and New York, "we put four or five of our American designers on the project so it would be an unbiased, fresh perspective looking at Canada," she said. "Part of our research process was interviews with a few notable Canadians including (actor/comedian) Scott Thompson and Andrew Scott (of Canadian band Sloan)."



The campaign proposes several possibilities such as an iPhone app that takes photos with two red bars framing them (like a Canadian flag), images on electronic billboards, and even a wrap on a plane.

"We'd be willing to work with any public/private institutions to make the concepts a reality," said Green. "We think it's a really strong idea."

And so does much of the Twitterverse, apparently.

"With the good comes the bad, but in terms of social media traffic, we've seen people embrace this idea," she said.