I have heard it said that a successful business never turns down work. I think that’s poppycock. For a graphic or web design firm to develop a solid portfolio they need to be selective about the clients they work with. Lately I have been working with a client who is not a terribly good fit for my business, and have been thinking about strategies for choosing projects that help my business to move forward.

Remember the Max Headroom pilot, in which hyper-fast subliminal advertisements called ‘blip-verts’ caused viewers’ heads to explode? Well, that’s how I feel after absorbing 5000 web 2.0 logos in 333 seconds. Anyone get the feeling the world might have enough web apps already?

There’s an interview with me over at designinterviews.com where I answer questions about my background, the challenges of freelancing, and my client work. The site also features interviews with luminaries like Andy Clarke and Mark Boulton, which are definitely worth reading.

Almost exactly a year ago I was musing about the possibility of dropping support for Internet Explorer 5 when testing websites. Time marches on, and now we are seeing calls to ditch support for IE6 too.

Like many web designers, Photoshop is my tool of preference when it comes to doing website mockups. As such, I spend a decent chunk of my time working with the program, and have picked up a number of techniques that speed up my workflow. I’m not talking about creating shiny image reflections, or beveled starbursts, but rather simple tricks that shave a few minutes off your working day so you can go home earlier.