Bright geometric circles on Pennsylvania barns are NOT Amish. This is the most common misconception.
Whose
Pennsylvania Dutch — German immigrants (Lutherans, Reformed), NOT Amish. 'Dutch' = Deutsch (German), not Dutch. The Amish are part of Pennsylvania Dutch, but not all Pennsylvania Dutch are Amish.
What They Mean
Version 1: purely decorative. Bright colors = joy. Geometry = German tradition. Version 2: symbolic. Star = luck. Tulip = faith. Oak leaf = strength. Heart = love. Raindrops = fertility.
Why NOT Amish
Amish consider bright decoration vanity. Amish barns are gray or unpainted. No patterns, no colors. Simplicity = humility. A hex sign on an Amish barn = impossible.
Tourists
The confusion benefits the tourist industry. 'Amish hex signs' sell in every Lancaster County gift shop. The Amish don't make or use them. But stay silent — not their business to correct 'English' people.