If anybody was wondering how 150 years of Canada could be summarized into one clear and powerful image, they must have been sorely disappointed by the sesquicentennial options offered up last week.
With Canada turning 150 in 2017, the government is getting an early start on preparing for the celebration. Five potential logos were presented to focus groups, but the options were embarrassingly uninspired and amateurish. The concepts probably should never have been designed past the cocktail napkin stage, and the test groups couldn't even come to a consensus on which design was the least offensive.
I don't blame them for not selecting a clear frontrunner. There is no frontrunner among that bunch. If you haven't seen the options, one was much too simplistic and old-fashioned without being retro, one was a childish and generic leaf below a halo of fireworks and another was a hilariously much too serious military shield.
It's not all bad, because there is still lots of time to find something the country can be proud of.
They were all downright ugly, and I can't imagine why given that there is so much about the Great White North that can inspire strong imagery. Our government has in the past commissioned some great design work. Just look to our money, which looks really good and has even won us an award in international money design. There is an award for that.
There's no reason we should settle for anything as poor as what has been presented here.
Each logo worked around the maple leaf to some degree, which is fine. The maple leaf is a great starting point in the design of our identity, but after that there needs to be a big jump away from the most bland and trivial things that represent Canada, namely hockey and humility.
We tend to consider ourselves humble folk, at least I do, but if we're going to celebrate all things Canada - our history, our sense of progress and perseverance - there's no time to hide timid behind a boring logo just so we don't appear too showy. After 150 years, it's time to get in everybody's faces a little to say we're great, we have things to contribute to the world and we want everyone to know why Canada is important to the rest of the globe.
We don't need to be shy about it, but the logos that have been presented give the impression Canada is still an infantile presence on this planet, not to be taken seriously or paid any attention to.
Maybe the designers see the country that way, and maybe the government does, too, but I can't imagine that's the case.
Canada is vast and sprawling, a country full of ideas and a desire to change the world. If we want to represent 150 years of that passion we need an image that captures the minds and imaginations of the nation. We need something that gives a slight nod to the past with a focused eye on an optimistic future.
Rather than a logo that looks to the bygone years as something we should attempt to once again attain, our 150th anniversary image should pay homage to those early years by showcasing Canada's keen interest in forever moving forward. We blaze our own trail through this world as a nation that refuses to say no to progress.
If that's something we feel is important to celebrate, we need something to better represent it than what has been put forward.
