Appropriateness of flags to represent languages and the history of the HE Translations logo

In the past, a flag-based logo was used on the HE Translations website and on HE Translations business cards. For old times’ sake, here is an image of the original business card:

HE Translations, original business card

An illuminating blog post by James Offer under the heading “Why flags do not represent languages” prompted the abandonment of the flags. In essence, the blog states:

Flags are unique to a country or nation: but languages are often spoken across national borders. By using a flag for a language, you may confuse or even offend users.

In addition, there are plenty of related Google hits.

The next HE Translations logo “subtly” contained the colours of the British and German flags. In case you are wondering, the green T stood for “green” translations, reflecting our focus on renewable energy, environment and sustainable development.

Previous HE Translations logo

The latest HE Translations logo, this time not “home-made” but professionally designed by Duncan Shea-Simonds, is shown below. Note the continuation of the »green T« theme from the previous logo, as a symbol for “green” translations.

Current HE Translations logo