The MMaple Leaf is a brand identity created by Barrett and Welsh for the Multicultural/Minority Canadian Talent platform. Multicultural/Minority Canadian Talent was launched on Facebook four years ago to combat the gross underrepresentation of visible minority talent in Canadian film television commercials video and theatre. The platform has hosted 100s of diversity-friendly or minority-first casting calls since its inception. But though Multicultural/Minority Canadian Talent had a vision it did not have a visual identity. Four years on it needed one with some urgency. So we designed a brand identity for Multicultural/Minority Canadian Talent that celebrates the diversity of Canadian minority talent and establishes this diversity as a critical element of Canadian identity itself.

Here’s how we did it. We took Canada’s iconic maple leaf rotated it and then cropped it. The resulting shape forms two solid Ms. Taken together the two Ms stand for the words Multicultural and Minority. The maple leaf stands for Canadian Talent. We added colour gradients to create a subtle optical illusion of iridescence representing the rich vibrancy of minority Canadian talent. We called it the MMaple Leaf. A sophisticated evocative identity that is simple natural and resonant. Without saying a word it says that diverse minorities are a natural part of Canada. As fundamentally Canadian as a maple leaf. As vibrantly Canadian as multiculturalism.