View source for Bruce Mau

{{Short description|Polymath, designer, professor}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Brucie Mao Pow
| image              = Bruce-mau.jpg
| caption            = 
| occupation         = Designer
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1959|10|25}}
| birth_place        = [[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| known_for          = Massive Change Network<br />Bruce Mau Design<br />Massive Change<br />Institute Without Boundaries<br />Freeman Company
| notable_works      = The Incomplete Manifesto for Growth<br />MC24<br />The Nexus<br />Massive Change<br />Life Style<br />S,M,L,XL<br />Seattle Public Library<br />Zone Books
| partner            = Aiyemobisi “Bisi” Williams
| awards             = AIGA Gold Medal (2007)<br />Global Creative Leadership Award (2009) <br /> Cooper Hewitt National Design Award (2016)
| website            = https://www.massivechangenetwork.com/
}}

'''Bruce Mau''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|RCA|size=100%}} (born October 25, 1959) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] designer and educator. He began his career a graphic designer and has since applied his design methodology to architecture, art, museums, film, eco-environmental design, education, and conceptual philosophy.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2010/Bruce-Mau-From-Innovative-Graphic-Designer-to-World-Class-Conceptualist/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc|title = Bruce Mau: From Innovative Graphic Designer to World-Class Conceptualist|date = July 6, 2010|accessdate = June 4, 2014|website = Chicago Magazine|publisher = Chicago Tribune Media Group|last = Froelke Coburn|first = Marcia|archive-date = March 4, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092638/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2010/Bruce-Mau-From-Innovative-Graphic-Designer-to-World-Class-Conceptualist/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=BRUCE MAU'S MASSIVE CHANGE NETWORK|url=https://www.massivechangenetwork.com/bruce-mau|access-date=2020-08-31|website=MASSIVE CHANGE NETWORK|language=en-US}}</ref> Mau is the chief executive officer of Massive Change Network, a Chicago-based design consultancy he co-founded with his wife, Bisi Williams.<ref name=":4" /> In 2015, he became the Chief Design Officer at Freeman, a global provider of brand experiences.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Palmer|first1=Barbara|title=Design Thinking on Exhibit|url=http://www.pcmaconvene.org/design/design-thinking-on-exhibit/|accessdate=18 October 2016|website=PCMA Convene|date=20 January 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Oates|first1=Greg|title=CMOs Are Investing More in Live Events to Engage Distracted Audiences|url=https://skift.com/2016/06/08/cmos-are-investing-more-in-live-events-to-engage-distracted-audiences/|accessdate=18 October 2016|website=Skift.com|date=8 June 2016 |publisher=Skift}}</ref> Mau is also a professor and has taught at multiple institutions in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pratt.edu/faculty_and_staff/bio/?id=bmau|title=Campus Directory|website=Pratt Institute|language=en|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Bruce Mau: DESIGN INNOVATION - Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University|url=https://design.northwestern.edu/people/profiles/mau-bruce.html|access-date=2020-08-31|website=design.northwestern.edu|language=en}}</ref>

From 1985 to 2010, Mau was the creative director of Bruce Mau Design (BMD). In 2003, while still at BMD, he founded the Institute Without Boundaries in collaboration with the School of Design at George Brown College, Toronto.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jermyn|first1=Diane|title=Bruce Mau uses design to create positive change|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/bruce-mau-uses-design-to-create-positive-change/article4315015/|accessdate=18 October 2016|website=The Globe and Mail|date=15 April 2010 |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc.}}</ref> In 2010, Mau left the company and went on to co-found Massive Change Network in Chicago with his wife, Bisi Williams.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Robinson|first1=Joe|title=Innovation Gurus: Bruce Mau and John Kao|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219487|website=Entrepreneur|date=26 April 2011 |publisher=Entrepreneur Media|accessdate=18 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sisson|first1=Patrick|title=Bruce Mau leads design brainstorm by encouraging leaps in thought|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/chi-bruce-mau-design-innovation-bsi-story.html|website=Chicago Tribune|date=22 April 2015 |accessdate=18 October 2016}}</ref> Mau founded Bruce Mau Studio in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Timeline|url=http://brucemaustudio.com/timeline/|access-date=2020-08-31|website=Bruce Mau Studio|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Mau was born in [[Pembroke, Ontario|Pembroke]], [[Ontario]], on 25 October 1959 and spent his early years in [[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury, Ontario]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.aiga.org/medalist-brucemau|title=Bruce Mau|work=AIGA|access-date=2018-07-09|quote=Born 1959, Sudbury, Ontario|archive-date=2018-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710041532/https://www.aiga.org/medalist-brucemau|url-status=dead}}</ref> He attended [[Sudbury Secondary School]]. Mau chose to study art at the advice of the high school art teacher, Jack Smith, who mentored him in his early studies.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://laurentian.ca/assets/files/Alumni/Magazine/MagazineSummer07.pdf|title=Mau Made|date=Summer 2007|website=Laurentian Magazine|publisher=Laurentian University|pages=2, 14|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Visionary surprisingly down to earth|url=https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/visionary-surprisingly-down-to-earth-206908|access-date=2020-08-31|website=Sudbury.com|date=20 March 2006 |language=en}}</ref> He then studied at the [[Ontario College of Art & Design]] in Toronto, and he studied advertising under Terry Isles.<ref name=":1" /> However, before graduation, he left the school to join the [[Fifty Fingers]] design group in 1980.<ref name=":1" />

== Career ==
Mau stayed at Fifty Fingers for two years, before crossing the ocean for a brief sojourn at [[Pentagram (design studio)|Pentagram]] in the UK. Returning to Toronto a year later, he became part of the founding triumvirate of [[Public Good Design and Communications]]. Soon after, the opportunity to  design [[Zone 1/2]] presented itself and he left to establish his own studio, Bruce Mau Design.

''Zone 1/2: The Contemporary City'', a complex compendium of critical thinking about urbanism from philosophers such as [[Gilles Deleuze]] and [[Paul Virilio]], architects [[Rem Koolhaas]] and [[Christopher Alexander]] remains one of his most notable works. The firm has produced work for the Andy Warhol Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Gagosian Gallery.<ref>Fast Company {{cite web |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/39/mau.html |title=Design Principal &#124; Fast Company |accessdate=2012-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426072431/http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/39/mau.html |archive-date=2012-04-26 }}</ref> Mau remained the design director of [[Zone Books]] until 2004, to which he  has added duties as co-editor of Swerve Editions, a Zone imprint. 

From 1991 to 1993, he also served as creative director of [[I.D. magazine]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bruce Mau to Speak at Design School |author= |date=2012-04-24 |website=Harvard Magazine |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2012/04/bruce-mau-is-gsd-class-day-speaker |access-date=2025-03-30}}</ref> Mau led the redesign of the magazine, which won five [[National Magazine Awards]], with Chee Pearlman as its editor-in-chief.<ref>{{cite news |title=Recalling I.D., a Beacon in Design |author=Penelope Green |date=2010-01-06 |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/garden/07seen.html |access-date=2025-03-30}}</ref>

He is a member of the [[Royal Canadian Academy of Arts]] and served on the [[Herman Miller Design Council]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wearedesignbureau.com/projects/massive-change-for-bruce-mau/|title=Massive Change for Bruce Mau|last1=Ryan|first1=Zoë|date=2011-03-07|work=Design Bureau|access-date=2018-07-09|last2=Freeman Rathbone|first2=Kathryn|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710041148/http://www.wearedesignbureau.com/projects/massive-change-for-bruce-mau/|url-status=dead}}</ref> from 2008 to 2012.

He has lectured widely across North America and Europe. He served on the International Advisory Committee of the [[Wexner Center]] in Columbus, Ohio.<ref>{{cite news |title=Parsons Dean Paul Goldberger in Conversation with Bruce Mau |author= |date=2005-11-28 |website=The New School for Design |url=https://www.newschool.edu/pressroom/pressreleases/2005/112805_parsons_mau.html |access-date=2025-03-30}}</ref>

In 1998, Mau produced a 43-point program called an "Incomplete Manifesto for Growth" that attempts to help designers and creative folks think about their design process; the manifesto has been widely circulated on the web.<ref>http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/39/maumanifesto.html Incomplete Manifesto for growth</ref>

In 2004, the government of [[Guatemala]] hired Mau<ref>{{cite news |last=Crimmins |first=Peter |title=Philly Art Museum recognizes Bruce Mau, visionary designer — of ideas |url=https://whyy.org/articles/philly-art-museum-recognizes-bruce-mau-visionary-designer-of-ideas/ |work=[[WHYY-TV|WHYY]] |date=2015-11-20 |access-date=2025-03-30}}</ref> to develop a system of cultural optimism to help improve the country's outlook following 36 years of [[Guatemalan Civil War|civil war]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The world according to design guru Bruce Mau: We need massive change |author=Stephen Todd |date=2022-08-30 |website=Australian Financial Review |url=https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/design/the-world-according-to-design-guru-bruce-mau-we-need-massive-change-20220826-p5bcyk}}</ref> When introduced, he was described as someone who would "redesign Guatemala", reflecting the ambitious scale of his project. One of his key contributions was the creation of the slogan "Guate! Amala!" (meaning "Love Guate"), a play on words designed to promote national pride.  The campaign aimed to highlight positive developments in the country and showcase the efforts of those working to improve it. As part of the initiative, organizers sought to recruit 1,000 volunteers to spread the message, but 20,000 people signed up in the first weekend.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bruce Mau: the world-class designer whose work continues to endure |author=Matt Shaw |date=2022-05-12 |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/12/bruce-mau-the-world-class-designer-whose-work-continues-to-endure |access-date=2025-03-30}}</ref>

In 2006, he participated in the [[Stock Exchange of Visions]].

In 2010 Bruce Mau and Bisi Williams founded the Massive Change Network.<ref>{{cite web|title=Massive Change Network|url=http://www.massivechangenetwork.com|accessdate=21 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bruce Mau Exhibited and Honored By Philadelphia Museum of Art|url=http://gdusa.com/news/bruce-mau-exhibited-and-honored-by-philadelphia-museum-of-art|website=Graphic Design USA|date=12 November 2015 |accessdate=18 October 2016}}</ref>

In the 2010s, Bruce Mau Design was involved in the redevelopment and redesign of Ontario's [[ONroute]] service centres.<ref name="sun">[http://www.torontosun.com/2012/01/25/onroute-in-ontario "ONroute in Ontario"]. ''[[Toronto Sun]]'', January 31, 2012.</ref>

As of November 19, 2015, Bruce Mau is the Chief Design Officer for [[Freeman (company)|Freeman]], a brand experience company and service contractor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pressrelease.freemanco.com/freeman-brings-design-thinking-to-the-forefront-of-the-events-industry/ |title=Freeman Brings Design Thinking to the Forefront of the Events Industry « Freeman |access-date=2015-12-22 |archive-date=2015-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223020113/http://pressrelease.freemanco.com/freeman-brings-design-thinking-to-the-forefront-of-the-events-industry/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In September 2022, Bruce Mau and Bisi Williams undertook a collaboration with the University of New South Wales through the Massive Change Network (MCN). This was called 'Massive Action Sydney' and saw staff and students from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) form five 'Renaissance Teams' to collaborate on ways to create Massive Action across some of the most perplexing and wicked challenges of our time. The project and its outcomes are ongoing. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/engage-with-us/innovation-hub/massive-action-sydney | title=Massive Action Sydney &#124; Arts, Design & Architecture - UNSW Sydney }}</ref>

== Awards ==
He was awarded the [[Chrysler Award for Design Innovation]] in 1998, and the [[Toronto Arts Award]] for Architecture and Design in 1999. He is a Senior Fellow of the [[Design Futures Council]], since 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.di.net/articles/2006-design-futures-council-senior-fellows/|title=2006 Design Futures Council Senior Fellows - DesignIntelligence|work=DesignIntelligence|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710041544/https://www.di.net/articles/2006-design-futures-council-senior-fellows/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mau was awarded the [[American Institute of Graphic Arts|American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)]] Medal in 2007.<ref name=":1" /> In 2007, Mau was in residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in the Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Design Objects department.{{Citation needed|date = June 2014}}

He received the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art|Philadelphia Museum of Art's]] Collab Design Excellence Award in 2015, in conjunction with an exhibition of his designs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.design.upenn.edu/pennpraxis/work/designing-future-bruce-mau|title=Designing the Future with Bruce Mau|website=University of Pennsylvania|publisher=University of Pennsylvania School of Design|accessdate=18 October 2016}}</ref> Mau received the Cooper Hewitt 2016, [[National Design Awards|National Design Award]] for Design Mind, for his impact on design theory, design practice and/or public awareness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newschannel10.com/story/31900721/freemans-chief-design-officer-bruce-mau-recognized-with-cooper-hewitt-2016-national-design-award-design-mind|title=Freeman's Chief Design Officer Bruce Mau Recognized with Cooper Hewitt 2016 National Design Award: Design Mind|website=News Channel 10|publisher=Frankly Media and Raycom Media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530132633/http://www.newschannel10.com/story/31900721/freemans-chief-design-officer-bruce-mau-recognized-with-cooper-hewitt-2016-national-design-award-design-mind|archive-date=2016-05-30|url-status=dead|access-date=2016-05-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/05/style/national-design-awards-2016.html|title=National Design Awards Announced|last=Lasky|first=Julie|date=2016-05-05|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2016-05-05|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Honorary degrees ===
Mau has received many [[honorary degree]]s including honorary doctorates from [[Emily Carr University of Art and Design]] in 2001, [[School of the Art Institute of Chicago|School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)]] in 2006<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.saic.edu/academics/departments/aiado/14-saic-community-figures-featured-newcity%E2%80%99s-annual-design-50-issue|title=14 SAIC Community Figures Featured in Newcity's Annual Design 50 Issue|date=March 27, 2015|work=School of the Art Institute of Chicago|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en}}</ref> and [[Rhode Island School of Design]] (RISD) in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://issuu.com/risd/docs/risdxyz_spring2014_final_single_pag/50|title=Honorary Guests at Commencement|work=RISD XYZ Spring/Summer 2014|access-date=2018-07-09|publisher=Rhode Island School of Design|page=48|language=en|via=Issu}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Other honorary degree include an honorary fellow of the [[Ontario College of Art & Design]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.ocadu.ca/keyword/honorary-doctorate|title=honorary doctorate|date=May 22, 2018|website=OCAD UNIVERSITY|language=en|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref> In 2007, [[Laurentian University]] awarded him an honorary degree<ref name=":2" /> and the [[Columbia College Chicago]] awarded an honorary degree in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://about.colum.edu/archives/college-history/honorary-degrees.php|title=Honorary Degree Recipients - College Archives|website=Columbia College Chicago|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref>

== Teaching ==
From 1996 to 1999, Mau was the Associate Cullinan Professor at [[Rice University|Rice University's]] [[Rice University School of Architecture|School of Architecture]] in Houston, Texas.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://design.northwestern.edu/people/profiles/mau-bruce.html|title=Bruce Mau: DESIGN INNOVATION|website=Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University|language=en|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref> He has also been a thesis advisor at the [[University of Toronto]]'s [[Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design]].<ref name=":3" /> He was a William and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SIAC) in 2007–2008.<ref name=":3" />

=== Fellowships ===
Since 2009, Mau has served as a Distinguished Fellow of the [[Segal Design Institute]] at [[Northwestern University]].<ref name=":3" /> He served as an [[artist-in-residence]] at [[California Institute of the Arts]] and as a [[visiting scholar]] at the [[Getty Research Institute]] in [[Los Angeles]].<ref name=":3" />

==Personal life==
Mau is married to [[Aiyemobisi "Bisi" Williams]] and they have three daughters named Osunkemi, Omalola, and Adeshola (named in honor of Bisi Williams's Nigerian heritage).<ref name=":0" />

==Graphic design==
* ''[[S,M,L,XL]]'' with [[Rem Koolhaas]] (1995) {{ISBN|0-7148-3827-6}}
* ''Life Style'' (2000) {{ISBN|1-885254-01-6}}
* ''[[Massive Change]]'' (2004) {{ISBN|0-7148-4401-2}}
*[[Eye (magazine)|''Eye'']], [[List of Eye magazine issues|No. 15, Vol. 4, Winter 1994]].

==See also==
* [[List of AIGA medalists]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.massivechangenetwork.com/ Massive Change Network]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mau, Bruce}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:AIGA medalists]]
[[Category:Canadian graphic designers]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts]]
[[Category:Artists from Greater Sudbury]]
[[Category:Rice University faculty]]