John McWade’s latest DesignTalk post on logo design, and it describes how one can emotionally approach the client’s desire to ‘create a new flag’:

The logo is not “just a graphic” any more than a flag is a piece of colored cloth. That’s why it’s so hard to design. You’re working on sacred soil. I’m exaggerating only a little, but I’m not kidding.

This describes the situation well. Personally, I’ve always felt the discomfort from the client knowing that this was very much the case; I tend to shy away from logos for this very reason. McWade’s post goes on to describe an approach to handling the client with courtesy and understanding.

Correlated thought: I’m not crazy :)