#21 - Yes, this looks better to me.
#29 & 27 - These are great ideas! I would not use them for my logo. But I do want them for material that I present in the seminars. This carries a good strong image on a big projection screen. We will come back to this after the contest is over.
#25 - This is nice as well. A good balance of small squares and a contrast with the gold star.
#23, 24, and 26 - I think #25 does this better and the others.