The odd thing is, they don't all really say the same thing. Most of them say come up with a concept so that must be good advice ... except that it really seems almost the same as come up with a character. So, I'll help you out a little bit by talking about some actual methods by which characters are created.
The number of stars on the flag is fixed at 12, and is not related to the number of member states of the EU (although the EU did have 12 member states from 1986 to 1994). This is because it originally was the flag of the Council of Europe.
Flag of the United States of America. national flag consisting of white stars (50 since July 4, 1960) on a blue canton with a field of 13 alternating stripes, 7 red and 6 white. The 50 stars stand for the 50 states of the union, and the 13 stripes stand for the original 13 states. The flagâs width-to-length ratio is 10 to 19.