Freelance Design - Week SIX - 26.10.07

iStock image of the week - Under the stars

As you may have noticed this is very similar to last weeks image of the week (IOTW), but I wanted to post this as I have spent some time revising the illustration and believe that it now works far better. Tell me what you think here.

My full iStock portfolio can be viewed here

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Uploads. 153
Downloads. 543

What's new?

Usually I would write about my week but I would like to add a new feature 'Whats new' which will be a small comment on current trends, new brands or anything design related worth a comment. I shall begin with the new brand revisions of Next and HMV as seen below (new versions on the right). I recently had a debate with a friend of mine who has a real annoyance towards poor use of the English language. As you can see both these companies have chosen lower case typography, I really like the alterations and think they appear cleaner, simpler and even more iconic. On the other hand my friend argues that the absence of capitals shows poor use of language and cant except the general visual appeal of these designs. I would love to hear any ones opinions on this and any other examples.

This week

I spent the early part of this week finishing the African Flow Fm identity and the banner that will feature on the website. This was followed by a flurry of e-mails about new projects mostly illustratively based which I'm currently working on quotes for. I also created the preliminary business cards for the furniture shop Redbed, after the initial concept stages a final logo has been developed and I look forward to continuing this relationship.

The week was rounded off with a meeting today with a company interested in developing a new brand and packaging, I particularly enjoy these meetings because I get some good critical feedback on my portfolio which I eagerly take on board. It's where the real business element of being freelance comes in and can be quite nerve racking but great for developing the essential skills. Hopefully it went well.

Thanks for reading.