1. "Of course it sort of looks like a tube, made from "h-a-l" letters"
2. "But why should it have to look like a tube? It just needs to represent one. No?
Besides, there are tubes with that shape and proportion. I just don't use them in my products. "
dude, this is semantics. representing and looking like are so similar as to be the same.
i was just following up and making it look more like a tube. Like a 12au7, which you do use, not like a radio tube, which the first design resembles.
the original design is cramped. It is actually easier to make out the letters in my change and the tube representation is more discernable.
Elegance is always desirable in a logo, but not at the expense of being able to tell what it is.