It was after watching a Ted Talk — called Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed — that Darren Susin realized the Whitehorse city flag is doing everything wrong.

'It just sort of happened,' Darren Susin says of the city's flag. 'No one I found can explain to me why this is.' (Mike Rudyk/CBC) "The current flag breaks almost every rule for good flag design," Susin writes on his new website, part of hiscampaign for a new flag. "What it lacks in meaningful symbolism, it makes up for in useless lettering and blurry, overly complex images."

After doing a bit of research — in the Yukon Archives, and asking city employees — Susin couldn't find when the flag was adopted. "It just sort of happened," he says.

"No one I found can explain to me why this is."

Simple, distinct

A flag should be simple enough for a child to draw from memory, American broadcaster Roman Mars argues in the Ted Talk. It should have two or three primary colours, and it should be distinct. Flags should have symbolism that means something to citizens of a city.

Flags should not have the name of the city on them, and they shouldn't include the city seal.

Susin says local designers could do better. (Mike Rudyk/CBC) The Whitehorse flag is "actually, only the city seal," Susin says.

Susin's idea is that local designers would come up with a new flag, and put it to a public vote. "I don't know. Is that crazy?"

He's partial to the "Wilderness city" theme, Whitehorse's motto.

"You would want kind of wilderness-type colours with the greens and the blues."

The Yukon River could be incorporated with a symbol, he says.

"Even if someone could just design a good, simple white horse... that could be cool."

Mayor 'happy with the flag'

What Susin doesn't want is for the flag change to become "a huge thing and have a committee of 25 people involved and have it take three years."

Whitehorse Mayor Dan Curtis doesn't want to see the campaign in council, either. He says reaching consensus on a new flag design would be expensive and take up energy and resources.

"With a population of 28 455, I don't think we have to worry about having too many flags in people's windows. I think the Canadian flag really stirs everyone's heart, and we're quite proud of our Yukon flag as well."

Curtis also says he's seen the same Ted Talk about flags, and understands the idea behind symbolism and simplicity.

But he says he likes the flag as it is.

"Coming from a born-and-raised Yukoner, I'm happy with our flag, I'm proud of it.

"And I'd be concerned as a citizen, not the mayor, if it was to change, because I like it."