I have worked on both Waterstones and HMV accounts. I did the previous Waterstones Card and have done cards and posters for HMV.

Here are some brief thoughts on the new Waterstones logo.

1. Old logo - looks good and most importantly if you didn't know what it was it says 'reading' with use of the serif.

2. New logo - Is this HMV all over again (they are part of the same company I think). I think it looks ok, nice and clean, like the font but the serif on the old logo really pushes the notion it's about books to me. Which is lost in this cleaner, more modern one.

3. HMV Logo - does this look similar?

4. HMW - morphed. Upside down 'm' - sorry but what is going on?

Conclusion - I have no idea what they are trying to do - be one company? Seems like it. They should have kept the old one as feels much more about 'reading'.

I also noticed that many of the guidelines that HMV use are similar to what Waterstones are doing - based on what I have seen so far. I wonder if they should just become 'one' and redo all their shops.

Maybe that's the idea after all?

Ultimately I think it all looks good, use of photography and typography - but it has left me confused and as much as I think the HMV brand works, I am not so sure it works for Waterstones - by pushing it to the 21st Century it has lost something. It's character or put bluntly - the serif.

I am sure all will become clear. HMWaterstones anyone?

This caught my eye today. Brilliant typography and a bit different than the usual title sequences you see these days. Makes me want a fag - oh I've given up tho!

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

I stumbled upon this today. Well a friend sent me it. Animated movie involving many well known brands done in a Pulp Fiction, Blockbuster, Action Movie style. Not for kids! It's superb, very very well done.

I've known Holly for a while now but have never plugged her work. Feel so guilty. Sorry Holly! It's brilliant. Fantastically simple but dynamic and vibrant illustrations. I strongly suggest you go and have a look at her website www.hollylloyd.net

Well firstly I want one. I have been thinking about a laptop for when I have meetings with clients, but I would probably not use it much to do anything else. I have my proper Mac for that. So to show my portfolio, talk clients through things, read books, watch movies etc. Great. It does everything I need. But 2 things stick out for me where it fails at present.

Firstly there is no multi-tasking. Rather annoying. But I presume this will be sorted for the next OS release.

And secondly, still no Flash Player! This is a nightmare for obvious reasons. I have had a look about the web too and see no indiction that it will be supported further down the line.

So based on this I am now considering a macbook. Purely for Flash.
So come on Apple, another great product but please, please sort the Flash out! And then I will buy one.

Weta Digital is the company behind ground breaking special effects for movies such as Avatar, King Kong and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Seems they have taken over from Industrial Light and Magic who were responsible for Star Wars. Weta are based in New Zealand. Have a look at their website wetafx.co.nz

So why doesn't a logo cost the same as a night out? First and foremost a logo is the first impression you give any potential client.

It's your image.

The logo should inspire trust and admiration for your company. It's my job as a designer to produce you a logo that conveys this to your clients. If not I am not doing my job properly.

If it's poorly thought about and knocked together in a day it will not do you or your company any favours. A great logo has been thought about and developed. The best ones work because they are simple. These are the ones that take ages to perfect, but they last a lifetime.

Think Nike. Others such as BBC and Adidas. These are great, they have longevity.

I really wanted to put examples up of bad ones, but felt it was wrong.

I follow this basic process to do a logo:

1. A design brief
2. Brainstorming
3. Sketching and looking at typefaces
4. Rendering
5. Send to client
6. Revise and finish

This should take a bare minimum of 2 days, and that's very short.

I can do a logo in a couple of days given all the information I need. But It can also take months.

It should take as long as it takes!

Sue Lunt has a degree as Master of Design, and was for many years a curator of decorative art at National Museums Liverpool. Her wide knowledge of twentieth century architecture and design is the basis which inspires the jewellery she creates. She admires the boldness in the use of colour and form which she sees in the best of twentieth century design, whether it is the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright or the work of the Art Deco designers in France. Her jewellery shows the same unashamed delight in bold shapes and singing colour harmonies, and reflects her own enthusiasm for life’s pleasures.

Sue lives in the northwest and her work can be seen in the Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool; the Ropewalk Gallery, Barton upon Humber and Gallery SCA, Shrewsbury.

The jewellery is made from materials that include coral, glass, moonstone glass, crystal, millefiori, cinnabar laquer and silver fittings.

If you can't plug your mother then who can you plug? She also has had an article written about her in the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post on Thursday 12th November 2009. Read it here

Have a look at www.suelunt.co.uk

A full website be coming soon. Thanks to Tommo for doing such a great job on the photographs.