The Star Army's Hinomaru
In light of Wes making his newer Type 35 uniforms, I wanted to broach this.
With respect to Wes, because I know he did it himself some time ago... well, I'll be plain: I don't like the Hinomaru. I never really did. I just hate the thought of knowing that once I finish the ships I'm currently designing that I'll have to slap it on them.
While the site evolved visually, it hasn't aged well. I find the red rather tacky. The rendition of the Mindy is old enough to look crude today and I never identified much to its meaning. Not that I mean to offend, but I consider it an eyesore.
If Wes plans on investing more money in artwork, I'd propose that some serious thought be brought upon this element - the symbol of the Star Army - which sees such wide usage on other media.
Perhaps this would be worth discussing? I myself always liked the Yamataian 'Lily' better than the Star Army's 'Mindy on red sun'. Perhaps by the turn of YE 35 the Star Army could go towards something more elegant to symbolize its shift in ideology?
Symbology with judicious attention to detail while aiming for simplicity sounds like it might be a good direction to go; for example, I've always admired the
Lotus Fleet logo that created the Lotus flower with clever shapes and then made it look futuristic.
For that matter, a friend of mine is amazing at making logos and could perhaps be called upon to design something nice. You can find examples of his past work on the
each faction page of the previous forum RPG I was involved with.