A bright sign of the times for the Conservatives

SIR – Walking under a ladder is supposed to bring bad luck. That in itself should rule out the ladder as a Conservative Party logo (report, September 23).

Where is the party headed? For the sunlit uplands, we hope. So what about the sun as the party logo? Bright, cheerful, positive and instantly recognisable. Diccon Swan

London SW2

SIR – The Conservative Party’s current logo purports to be a tree, but to me it looks more like a pecking hen. Keith Chadbourn

Over Compton, Dorset

SIR – Denis Kearney (Letters, October 24) states that “successful logos are simple, recognisable and unchanging”.

While I agree with the first two qualities, the last is – sadly – not the case. For decades the Royal Festival Hall had a lyre as its logo, which remained even after the principal name was changed to South Bank Concert Halls in the early Seventies. Similarly, the Barbican Centre at its inception had a very recognisable logo consisting of four Bs.

Both organisations now sport simpler names (Southbank Centre and Barbican), and they seem to have dispensed with a logo altogether. As for the National Exhibition Centre’s famous fluttering blue-and-red flag, it did not disappear completely from signposting on the surrounding motorways until some years after it had been dispensed with.

Having worked at all three of these venues, the distinctive logos of my day are now just fond memories. Logos do change, and they are a reflection of the times in which they were designed. Christopher Sharp

Kenilworth, Warwickshire