The Global Newborn Society aims to help reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. Babies do not talk, or vote, and so, need help. This is a long page - we present our logo here in all its detail. The central themes of all the paragraphs below are listed, highlighted in red font.
 
Our infant
Illustration
Challenges
Environment
           Sky
           Boat
           Ocean
Emotions
Gratitude

The child art in this logo shows a lovable little infant exuding innocent, genuine happiness. Infancy is a high-risk, but still an exciting phase of life. The smile on the infant's face engages readers; evolutionary and psychological adaptations evoke positive emotions in caregivers. By showing this baby with no skin color, and knowing that facial features such as those curly hair, prominent eyes, that cute little nose, and the long eyelashes are not always specific for geographic origin, ethnicity, race, genetics, or gender, the artist has stressed that most health problems of these patients are more likely to be related to physiological immaturity than to other factors. The yellow background of the feeding bib reminds of the happiness, hope, and spontaneity of this age. However, during critical illness, the risk of mortality of infants begins to approach that of 60-year-old adults. The little globe on the bib reminds us of the need for well-coordinated, world-wide efforts - the Robinson/Equal Earth-like projection suggests that the East/West and North/South do not always need to be viewed separately. Babies need care all over the world. We need to work together. 

For our logo, we broke with tradition and designed a human-centered, conceptual/editorial illustration instead of a more conventional linear or geometric drawing. We believe that this graphic presents our philosophy in a rational, comprehensive fashion; access to computers has brought a paradigm shift - a "copy and paste" is now all it takes to reproduce a depiction. We claim no expertise in designing logos, but each element here was chosen after due thought. To some readers, this line of reasoning could still look like a self-justifying explanation for a simple-looking schema. So, to convince you, we have exhaustively hyperlinked (these underscored phrases) the content to external websites - we sang our hearts out without the need to repeat any of the known rhythmic rhymes. Links can also reduce linguistic barriers in communication. We then performed a pilot study to ascertain the best way to highlight these links - underscoring or with colors. Consistent with some existing data, underlines worked better. The reasons are not clear; we might differ in how we react to or perceive colors. Next, we removed most abbreviations as these were slowing us down, not helping us in scanning this site. All said and done, this narrative is still no archival aviary; it is very much a work in progress, as is often the case while a case is still being made. If you see errors here that we have missed, please let us know!

Infancy should ideally be a pleasant phase, but life can also bring challenges. We need to improve awareness, education, and possibly, develop mass-scale genetic screening programs. The first look at this logo baby evokes love and affection but a closer inspection may also trigger anxiety - do the external ears look 'simplified' without mature folds? Questions may keep arising - are the eyes too far apart? Upper eyelid retraction? Unusual eyelashes? A small nose? Is the upper lip too thin, or is the normal midline groove between the upper lip and the nostrils missing? Wide-open mouth? Congenital fusion of bones around elbow joints and in digits? Isolated 'minor' anomalies may not always be a reason for concern but if associated with multiple other birth defects, there may be a need for further evaluation. Globally, unusually-formed organ systems are one of 4 major causes of suffering in infants other than difficulties with the first breath, infections, and prematurity. In some regions, maternal use of illicit drugs with consequent neonatal abstinence syndrome is emerging as another cause of neonatal illness. Overall, timely diagnosis and management is needed to save these lives.

The environment can be difficult. The vulnerability of young infants can be seen in this logo in being alone in an open boat floating in an ocean. The lighter shades of blue in the sky look pleasant during good health. However, during periods of crisis, the same environment may appear lonely, featureless, and overwhelming. The world could then start looking indifferent. The sky is cloudless, the ocean is silent. It could well be a quiet zone, but what if it is not? Could this be the calm before, or the eye of, a storm? This is where we feel that we can make a difference by supporting the infant and the family. During illness, they struggle on multiple fronts.

The boat, at least for now, looks stable. The initialisms on the gunwale, the G, N, and S, are our pillars of strength: Global coordination, Newborn health, and Social organization. The black color of these letters reminds of iron and its strength. The cast metal shows some rough edges in the letters G and S, but not in N, indicating that it is the outside world that needs to shape up; it is the job of us adults to polish the cradle and ensure safety of newborn infants. The upper curveline of the letter G seems to end in a sharp, pointed end that could hurt the infant, yet another reminder of the need for coordinated efforts to protect infants. This was one thought-process. Others did not find these letters so metallic but saw strings of a safely-wrapped neonate in a bow-tie swaddle that provided protective support. In this same logo, another set of viewers saw the infant, who, despite all developmental limitations, was the guide, not a passive traveler. This driver was seen at the bow, not the star board, holding the handlebars of a personal watercraft. The right hand gripped the cross-bar connections in the letter G and the left held the lower offshoot from the spine of the letter S. The upper part of S, which points inwards, could be a site for panoramic, introspective oversight. We request your forgiveness for us having knowingly played with names of different parts of the letters G and S; these hyperlinks to distant topics were chosen to describe the thoughts of our fellow members. In addition to the above interpretations of this painting, there were more; one reader saw bonding; the infant was being carried on a parent's back as is frequently seen in many cultures. Another saw collaborative teamwork; the infant held her/his parent's spectacles to direct the field of vision. As in any other organization, there were minor differences in interpretations but at the end of the day, every single baby counts.

In the first look, most of us art novices did not find the ocean waves in this painting too deep or worrisome. Some experts saw a high-frequency oscillatory pattern in these ripples, the “ocean swells”, with a musical beauty in this motion. However, if these same waves were to collide in the deeper, dark blue oceanic waters, there could be dangerous turbulence. The good signs in our illustration were that even though there was no obvious surf, the mushy waves still pointed towards the shore. This all suggested that the coast could actually be closer than it seemed. We know about the ships and satellite systems that track ocean hydrodynamics. And this sequence looks analogous to healthcare interventions. Temporal oscillations in thinking have been seen both at individual and organizational levels. However, global coordination can provide important time- and region-specific insights. Scaling up is a proven way to reduce logistical costs - many large campaigns focused on vaccination, nutrition, and education have achieved laudable success. Working together can help find more, better solutions. And we must do so - integrated management is a recognized model for healthcare delivery. Implementation of the millenium development goals of the United Nations is an example; it provided a template for new programs to reduce perinatal mortality. A bold, transformative 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals was then adopted. Goal 3, to ensure and promote health for all at all ages, aims to end preventable deaths of newborns (#3.2.2) and children.

Finally, a word about emotions. In this composition, three dimensions of participatory ethics can be seen: the impact of the individual, the organization, and the system. For us individuals, the red-colored boat signifies our affection for the baby. The unpremeditated deep alizarin crimson shade shows the intensity of these sentiments. Thinking about the organization, no marine corrosion was noticeable anywhere on the boat. This reminds us that family-centered care, using lean management strategies to minimize wastage, can optimize health care processes. And last, the message "Every Baby Counts" just below the waterline showed the social philosophy of our system. We remain committed to philanthropy, and if needed, to altruism that does not always need to be visible. The shadow behind the picture reveals its firm support system, which is a wall built out of our adoption and commitment.  

This logo, a work of art, was a gift from Dr. Rachana Singh. She, and others who have tried to interpret it, have been inspirational. Quoting from Shakespeare (Sebastian, 12th Night, Act III, Scene 3), we can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks!