Quote Originally Posted by seamus
oh, and i'm sorry, but i think using the olympic colors in a tartan would be HEINOUS. sorry. i know what you're getting at, but seriously - blue, black, yellow, red, and green? again, good concept, but it would not be pleasing to the eye (imho). ooh! idea. why not do the colors of the UN flag - light blue and white. *that* would make a pretty tartan, and it represents unity and all that good stuff. how about it?
As it happens, the tartan I designed for my own family, the Traills, has the Olympic colours! I never realised it before. You can see it at http://www.tartansauthority.com/web/...r=By+Tartan+No. (The blue is not quite right in the image, however.) I always get loads of compliments on this tartan, so I don't think it's generally regarded as being hideous!

Truthfully, almost any combination of colours can be made attractive by a good tartan designer. I made one for a company in Scotland using their corporate colours of red, orange, purple, green, mustard, and black. The tartan they selected from the choices I gave them is a bit garish, for my taste, but they get compliments on it, too! (See it at http://www.tartansauthority.com/web/...rtan=By+Tartan) Again, the colours are a little off -- the orange should contrast more with the red.

Another tartan I designed using colours from a flag (plus a couple of shades of blue) is the Maryland State Tartan. See it at http://www.tartansauthority.com/web/...rtan=By+Tartan. I have also used the colours from coats of arms as inspiration for the design of a tartan.