5 Sites That Offer Flat Design Icons And Logos

Over the last decade, the application of flat designs has gained much ground in the design world. Much of this can be attributed to do the special effects and beautiful interface it creates while still being simple and readable to users. This is a much desired feature by designers and developers today as opposed to skeuomorphism which embraces the use of conventional 3D in design. Flat designs are gradually replacing the crude intricate designs associated with three-dimensional elements that were in use for a very long time. In fact, the current trend these days is Flat Design; skeuomorphism is gradually fading away.

Flat designs basically refer to design patterns and styles that combine flat shapes and icons to create brilliant design effects. Instead of using the normal 3D shapes, plane figures like rectangle, circles, square, semicircle, triangles and similar 2D flat shapes are used to create designs that are void of certain elements like gradients, feathered edges, shadows, and strokes common with 3D designs. It is a well-developed concept that works without embellishment. Apart from many other applications, these designs are particularly useful in creating numerous logos and icons that are not only stylish but well adapted for websites, businesses and other needs. As earlier indicated, the flat design concept represents a more desirable choice among designers and developers. Though without any special integration of elements, flat design icons and logos work very well on websites with a well defined arrangement of flat or 2D elements to create a better interface and experience for users. The uses of these graphic tools are increasingly gaining ground.

There is a considerable number of websites that offer flat designs and logos but not all of them are really good enough for all your design needs. If you are one of those that have been looking for sites that have very interesting and beneficial flat design icons and logs offers, then this article is especially for you. It does not matter whether you are a creative graphic designer, developer or just an ordinary person looking for various ways to add more importance and value to your website, business or maybe personal needs through the use of icons or logos. Below is a collection of carefully selected websites that offer not just flat design icons and logos but with the best offers you can find around. There selection is based on their creditability and professionalism in over the past few years in either producing highly effective and unique design icons and logos or providing a platform for creative graphic designers and developers. The design logos and icons that are offered on these 5 sites can be used for so many different applications, of which the common ones include: adding vibe and color to your social media images, making your business cards more eye catching, improving the experience of visitors to your website through pop ups and menus and so much more. The following 5 sites represent some of the best sources for finding outstanding icons and logos offers.

Sample icons

 

Flaticon

Flaticon is one of the most popular sites when it comes to flat designs. They provide users with lots of designs that are not common anywhere. Their achievement so far in producing professional graphics is commendable. With over a hundred designers, they employ vector tools that can be manipulated to achieve high quality logo and icon designs. There designs are suitable for both personal and commercial use. A special feature that can be found on this site is the use of both free and premium business model, making many of their designs and resources accessible to many users, most of which are without any cost. However, when using their free resources, you will have to attribute the illustration to the company, but the premium plan allows you to use all their illustrations without having to make any attribution to them. Another wonderful feature is that their designs are subject to modification based on your need. They also allow scaling to different sizes which is very useful for anyone hoping to personalize the designs. All these can be done without altering the crispness of the design logo or icon. There resources are also available in various formats such as SVG, PSD, EPS and CSH. Some of the popular companies that make use of their flat design icons and logos are Google, Adobe, Speckyboy, Sitepoint etc. Flaticon is a website that is definitely a top player in the design world.

Flaticons

Flaticons website offers royalty free flat icon designs that can be integrated on your web pages seamlessly. They are basically a free icon maker. They allow you to direct your creativity into making something unique. With more than two thousand icon shapes available, you are sure to create any kind of design icon or logo suitable for your need. There are several icon categories available that can be used for many applications, and these categories include: banking, brand identity, data, education, election, gadgets, landmark, food, medical, office people, science, signs, shapes, transport, wildlife, sports, technology, networking, mobile apps, emotion, data, and so much more. It seems the list is inexhaustible. Thus this makes the website very useful especially for creative designers and developers who are looking for the best offers at no cost.

Icons8

Icons8 is a resourceful site very popular among developers and designers all over the world. The website offers both free and premium business plans. The special thing about this website is that unlike many websites offering flat design logos and icons that publish designs from numerous sources, they boost of offering icons that are exclusively designed and developed by a team of four designers and five developers, thus making their designs uncommon and unique as well. That is why the company does not give away every format available, even though this has attracted some criticisms. However, they are still one of the best sources you can find that offers flat designs for your icon and logo need.

Logobee

Branded as a company that cares because of their careful attention to detail, Logobee is a website that is particularly useful for meeting your logo needs. Apart from design logos, they also offer flat designs in areas such as websites design, printing design and brochure design. The company boost of a team of resourceful project coordinators that are very attentive to your design needs and specifications. A good thing about them is that their designs are not generated from template; they are all generated online on the website by a team of professional designers and developers, thereby making them a good choice especially when you desire something unique. Over the years, they have produced many professional flat logo designs much evident of their array of creative designers and artists. They currently do not offer any free business plan or model but the prices they charge are relatively fair enough compared to the creative designs that they produce.

Pixeden

Pixeden is a great performer in the design industry. Apart from quality flat design icons and logos offered, the website also offers very useful tools relevant to any modern day designer. They also have both premium and free packages available for users. The premium services can be assessed with just $6 a month which is very attractive. However, you will have to register as a member to gain access to various support services that can be used to modify any logo or icon design of your choice. The website is also known for its simplicity and is definitely one of the major players leading in digital graphic designs and trends.

Sample logo

Finally, it is no longer a news that flat design logo and icons have almost completely replaced their 3D counterparts, much of this being attributed to its simplicity and usability. Flat design works (especially in creating logos and icons) not only add artistic and better effects, but also come with several technical advantages. Once it comes to design logos and icons, so many trends and styles have been used and dumped due to several inconsistencies but with the introduction of flat designs. In the design world, the future of graphic design can never be better especially in their application in creating better and more effective logos and icons. The only challenge encountered most times by either ordinary users or creative designers has always been that of finding websites that offer flat design logos and icons and also provide enough resources and services to users. This is because of the growing importance and relevance of flat designs and as a result, almost everyone is bracing up to the trend and ultimately embracing the concept in meeting their design needs and sometimes that of others. In order to meet these challenges, a proper idea and understanding of various sites and the kind of flat designs they offer is necessary. The above mentioned 5 websites, for sure, will always remain a good place to start when it comes to creative works with flat design trends.

How To Make Money With Your Photoshop Editing Skills

Photoshop is a highly sought after skill that numerous companies depend on since it has a crucial role to play in digital manipulation and editing of photographs and images.

The software in itself is quite expensive, so obviously it would be great for it to basically pay for itself.

To help you out on your way to success, we have compiled a collection of advice that you can try so you can start making money by using Photoshop.

Photoshop is an image editing software created by Adobe Systems Inc. which is considered to be one of the leading software programs for editing photographs, images and other graphics. Photoshop allows the user to manipulate, resize, crop, change colours and edit digital images and it is a very popular software with professional photographers and graphic designers.

The licensed software suite is quite expensive, especially for the Pro version, costing upwards of $10 per month. Up until 2013 users had the possibility of purchasing the licensed software indefinitely, however Adobe changed this policy.

But more importantly, the true cost of Photoshop is not in the software in itself, but in the time it takes to learn to use it and perfect your skills until it is in fact a marketable skill. Learning the ins and outs of Photoshop can take months, and even years until you have a finely tuned skill set.

But let’s fast forward from that.

Congratulations, you are now an expert Photoshop user! You’ve invested time and money to use this highly sought after and marketable skill; however you are a little bit stuck as far as actually making money with this skill is concerned. After all, the whole point was to make money with your skills, but don’t worry, we’re here to help.

First you need to decide what you would prefer to do. Do you want to be engaged by someone or a company on a permanent basis? Or do you prefer working with multiple different clients across a number of different fields?

Once you have answered these two questions you can then try your hand at working in the following fields

Get A Job At A Fashion Magazine/Newspaper/Tabloid

This is possibly the hardest one to get, but with a bit of perseveration it can be done.

Fashion magazines are in constant need of photo editing because realistically the main reason why they are so successful is because people buy them not just because they want to stay up to speed with the latest fashions and trends, but also because the images look good, are very attractive and eye-catching.

Similarly, newspapers as well as other types of magazines, and even tabloids need photo editing as well, albeit not nearly as much as a fashion magazine but it is still a safe bet.

Plenty of magazines and publishing houses use in-house people to digitally edit the images they will then be printing in their various publications.

The difficulty with getting a job like this is the fact that the magazines and printed press that don’t have an in-house graphic image editor will outsource to a professional freelancer or a graphic design company, which brings us to next suggestion.

Get A Job In A Graphic Design Company

All businesses, be they fashion shops, law firms, private medical clinics, security companies, restaurants (you name it) need graphic design.

Realistically, while people have great ideas for businesses, more often than not they simply do not have the skill set to put them in practice when designing the logo for their new business, the business cards, the advertising, etc.

Every single business out there will sooner or later need graphic design, whether they’re a brand new company that’s just opening its doors and needs everything from a logo to a website to promotional materials and advertising tools, to an established business that is either rebranding itself or making changes to its existing image.

However, if you decide that you don’t actually like having a boss, you can always be brave enough to be your own boss, which leads me to next point.

Start Your Own Graphic Design Company

There are plenty of people who do not enjoy being told what to do and who prefer to do things their own way and at their own pace.

There are also plenty of people whose lifestyles simply do not allow them to have a regular job during regular office hours. And, of course, there are always those who started out in an already established graphic design business but decide they want to set something up for themselves.

Regardless of the reason, if you are willing to make the change and at the same time make the necessary investments to open your own business, you always have the option of setting up your own business.

This obviously comes with costs (the cost of setting up the business it itself and registering it, the taxes, the registration fees, the advertising, etc.) however since you are already a graphic designer and already know exactly what you want, you can do all your necessary graphic design work yourself which allows you to have exactly what you were looking for without having to hire someone else.

Now that we have pretty much covered everything that we can cover by way of graphic design, we can now move on to the next suggestions, which have more to do with independent work and various types of freelancer work.

Join Freelancing Websites

More and more people prefer to either work from home or simply prefer instead of having to do the same thing every day to have as many diverse and challenging projects as possible.

If you are one of these people, or simply want to get more gigs on top of your day to day job because you’re trying to earn a bit of extra cash on the side, you can try signing up on a number of freelancing websites.

Some are free, and some have a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription fee but more often than not the fees themselves are not very expensive and you usually get a 30-day free trial period to help you decide if you want to stay on that website or not.

There are a huge number of websites to choose from and a simple internet search will give you the results you are looking for. Once you pick one or two (or more) freelancer websites you want to sign up for, all you have to do is create a profile, advertise your skills and start getting gigs.

Another alternative to this, if you decide you do not want to join a freelancer website and pay a fee, is to create profiles and pages and then advertise your services through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other forms of social media. You can do this free of cost, however we do recommend you do some paid advertising as well as they are relatively inexpensive (Facebook ads, Instagram sponsored posts, etc.) and they give you great exposure, which in turn gets you business.

Create And Sell Stock Photos

There are countless websites where you can get stock photos, either for free or for a fee.

However, we are talking about getting jobs and therefore making income, so we are just going to focus on stock photo websites where you have to buy the images from.

This type of job is an added bonus if you also happen to have a passion for photography, however even if you don’t and you just have a decent camera, you can take your own stock photography and retouch the images as you see fit, since you also just happen to be a Photoshop pro!

With the great technology we have available to us at our fingertips nowadays, however, you will easily find that more often than not even a good smartphone camera can do the trick so you might be surprised to find that every single one of the photographs in your phone can be retouched and digitally manipulated into a great stock photo.

There are lots of stock photo sites out there, such as iStock or Getty Images that you can then sell your photos to. All you need to do is to sign up and pass a quality test.

Online Shops Photo Editing

With the great advances of technology and the rise in people’s trust of the internet, in recent times there has been a steady increase in the number of online shops, selling everything from fashion to cosmetics, to food to electronics. No matter the type of stock that they’re selling and regardless of the platform they’re doing it on, all online shops have one thing in common.

They all have pictures of the products they’re selling.

Humans believe what they see and make a lot of decisions based on what catches their eye or what they find visually appealing so naturally one of the most important aspects that make any online shop work is having great looking images.

There are online shops popping up every day, and you yourself probably know at least one person who either has or wants to have an online shop so give it a go.

5 Powerful Laws to Achieve Anything You Want Faster

 

An individual’s speed at learning can determine the kind of life s/he lives. Anyone has a goal, have you imagine yourself achieving that goal you have longed wanted in just a matter of months instead of years. The key in achieving this is to learn how to do it and how to do it fast. There are countless researchers and experts have shown the public that it is possible to learn anything at an average and expected time. It is just a matter of following your framework; just make sure that it is a right and correct framework. I am not promising you that when you perfect this powerful law, a miracle will set in. There is no hard and fast rule in achieving something, especially in a fast pace. You always need to put in your effort, sweat, and work. Apply the learning process each and every day of your life.

Prime Your Mind

 

In learning, it is always best to start with your mind. It’s just like you have to warm up before your intense workout. You can do physical workout. Studies show that a 15 minute session everyday can help improve cognitive and memory functions in your brain. Since time immemorial, you always have to complement your exercise with a lot of water intake. Once you perform an intense exercise, drinking a lot of water is really recommended in order to increase your reaction time, overall mental function, and responsiveness.

 

You can also try meditation. Since it helps the mind rejuvenate, refreshes, as well as, clear the thinking process of your brain, it will allow you to reduce anxiety, sharpen your mind to learn fast, and even become more creative.

 

Model From The Top

 

No matter how successful you are there will always be someone who has achieved what you want despite of what you now have. Look for mentors or coaches who can help you learn more and fast. There are dozens of them; you just have to look for the right one.

 

Put In The Work

 

After you have properly prim your mind and found the best mentor or coach, putting in the work is the next step. This is a crucial part on how to achieve anything you want. Your determination will not matter nor will it bring you near in attaining your goals if you don’t put in the work. Nothing is easy nowadays. If ever you got or attained something the easy way, I’m sure that sooner or later, it will all fade away if you don’t put in the work. Just see to it that you are doing your best in order to attain your goal.

 

Experiment

 

You can also try on experimenting new ideas so that you will be able to know whether or not there is still out there that can help you improve more. There will come a time that certain acts or events will go against what you believe in. It is important to know whether it will do you any good or not.

 

Persistence

 

This is also one of the powerful laws in order to achieve anything. As what was said before, if you got something the easy way, without any persistence to work your ass off, sooner or later it will just disappear. Just bear in mind that quitting, procrastinating, and worrying will do you NO good.

 

 

 

 

5 Best Free PC Tools to Protect User Data

The majority of people seems to be aware of the fact that a lot of things that they have posted online, including their personal information and data, can be discovered by companies and online service providers. This is a big dilemma for everyone that has online social media or even shopping accounts where they are required to input their full name, address, telephone number, birthday and many more in order to use the services that are provided by the aforesaid site. On one hand, they have to provide their data in order to access the service but on the other, they may not want to disclose their personal information to unknown parties.

Furthermore, companies are able to do so much more than just obtaining your personal data and information. Twitter has been found guilty of uploading their clients’ address books to their server, and apparently a lot of other companies follow every single one of your online activities to gain insights about your browsing habits and preferences. But worry no longer, because there are tools that you can use to protect your data from unwanted visitors and here are some of them:

Avast

One of the most prominent antivirus programs ever created, Avast provides so much more than just the regular virus protection. It can also be used to protect passwords as well as protecting integrated data parts. The anti virus protection that Avast provides is very important to protect your data since viruses and malwares can be used for stealing your address book contacts, your social networking sites as well as your vital personal data. Even though hackers can also hack directly to your online accounts or computer, they can also lure you into opening up a malware to provide access to your system. This way, they will get access to the names and numbers of your address book contacts, your social network logins, your credit card number, your bank account information, and many more. Installing an anti virus will also help to fix the damages made by an already opened malware in your computer, and hence it provides not only prevention but also cure that are important for your data protection.

KeePass

KeePass is a free and open source application that can help you manage all the passwords that you have stored in their database. This is important because you may have numerous online accounts in different websites and social platforms, and to increase security you may give each of them different passwords. Furthermore, your password database will be protected because it can be locked with a key file or master key, and hence you will only need to remember one password that matches the key file or master key.

McAfee

Even though McAfee is also known for its antivirus software in the past, it also offers data loss prevention app which protects the system data as well as different parts of data in your network from threats. It optimizes security management by way of analytics as well as real time visibility, where it also ensures compliance and anti malware functions to further provide protection for your data.

VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is a plate encryption programming that can protect your frameworks to become insusceptible to new advancements. It works in all types of operating systems such as Windows, Mac and Linux and it addresses numerous vulnerabilities and framework security issues as well as bugs and mistakes that can be solved with its assistance. In other words, it enhanced your system’s security by way of playing with your system’s algorithms and encryption partitions to create an immunity against new developments in brute-force attacks.

Wondershare

Most people nowadays tend to own a large volume of data files, where a lot of them can be considered as very important inventories even though they are not business or financial in nature. Wondershare helps securing these data by way of their video and music tools, data recovery tool, mobile utility tool as well as PDF tools. It can help you to for example recover deleted files which will provide a safeguard for your personal data as well as for your iPhone, Android phone, flash drive, and computer system.

 

When Splurging for a Balcony Room on Cruises Is Worth the Money

Spending a holiday on a cruise ship is comparable to staying in a resort. You can go to the spa, gamble your night away, or watch live music shows without having to travel a great distance just like on land. With numerous of fun activities to do, people usually ponder upon spending the extra money on getting a room with a balcony. Even though it essentially depends on the price, the reason why you are going and the person that you are going with amongst other factors, here are several things that you may want to consider to determine whether paying for a balcony room on a cruise will worth the money:

Time Spent In the Room

The extra money spent on a balcony will be worth it if you put it to a good use, or in other words, spend a lot of time admiring it in the room. There are a lot of reasons why you may spend a lot of time in your room instead of going out and about. You probably are on your honeymoon, thus you would want to spend most of your time with your loved one (in which you may get a free upgrade for it). You may be an introvert and for this reason, you may dislike crowded, loud and noisy lounges. As a result, you will probably end up spending most of your time enjoying the scenery while reading your favorite book on the balcony. Whatever the reason may be, if you know for sure that you will spend a lot of time in the room instead of going out, paying for a balcony room on the cruise is probably worth the extra money.

Balcony Room Placement

Balcony room placement on the ship is also an important factor to be included in your consideration of getting a balcony room despite its considerably more expensive price. To get the best views of the panorama, the balcony room should ideally be placed on higher decks. Moreover, rooms which are located in the very back of the ship usually have the largest balconies with the nicest views of the ship’s wake. Nevertheless, getting a room up high also has its downside, especially when it comes to seasickness. If you or the people that you are traveling with are prone to seasickness, choose rooms that are located on the most stable middle decks because the motions can be significantly felt more on the upper decks.

Furthermore, also pay attention to the shared lounges and facilities. If you prefer a very quiet and serene atmosphere, stay away from the disco and lounge, the basketball court, the deck as well as stairwells or elevators because a lot of people will definitely gather around these places. Picking a room with balcony also comes with the tasks of knowing where the lifeboats or hanging things are located, because you do not want your views and lounging space to be obstructed by these mandatory things.

Need for Extra Space

A balcony indeed will make the room to seemingly be bigger, and that is a reason why balcony rooms remain popular despite of their expensive price. If you are a claustrophobic or if you simply do not like to be crammed up in a really small cabin, choosing the balcony may be the best option that you can take. Furthermore, the balcony provides a space for you to relax and enjoy the view without having to compete with other travelers in the shared deck. You can enjoy the breeze in your own private space, especially if you choose a balcony that is big enough to accommodate a sofa or a pair of chairs to sit on.

Trip Route and Length

Last but not least, trip route and length also can help you determine whether or not getting a balcony room is worth the money. If you sail through scenic destinations such as the Mediterranean or even Alaska, the view will definitely worth the extra money especially if you like to just stare at the sunset while sipping up a cup of hot tea. However, the trip also needs to be considerably lengthy in order for you to be able to relax and enjoy in your own outdoor space.

 

 

What Are Your Biggest Red Flags When You Start Dating Someone?

First dates are always crucial. It is a major milestone in the journey of love, and it plays a very important role in the making or breaking of a budding relationship. We pay attention to every single thing that they do which will add up to an overall conclusion about the possibility of a second date. We notice their gestures, the way they talk and comment about things, or the way they thank the waiter gently. These small but meaningful acts will cause the butterflies in our stomach to appear. On the other hand, there are also some things which will immediately let you know that it will not ever work out if carried out in a longer term.

The biggest red flags of your first date may include:

Annoying Ex Talk

The conversations in a first date should ideally revolve around the most basic information. You probably will talk about your job, your hometown, your hobby, your favorite artist or the most memorable movie that you have ever watched. More often than not, things can get a little bit personal once the mood gets a bit more comfortable and embracing. Nevertheless, if the conversation slowly turns into the topic of their last relationship and their ex, there may be some unresolved feelings which still linger. Whether he talks about it in a reflective, angry or comparative way, his ex is definitely still on his mind. There are still a lot of other things which can be discussed in a first date, so talking about an ex is clearly a signal for you to run away.

Brag and Boast

You may choose to meet with this person due to the fact that he has got some potentials to be your lover. You probably have done your research online, and you may be falling head over heels after seeing their adventurous summer vacations or their admirable achievements aside from his full time job. However, if your date appears to be talking over and over again about how he spent his last summer swimming with the sharks in Indonesia or how he has shared a chopper ride with Obama, do realize that he may be overcompensating for something else. Regardless of whatever he may be overcompensating, constant bragging and boasting about himself on a first date may also mean that he is a totally self-centered individual.

Extremely Controlling

He can be good looking with a neatly ironed shirt and a shiny flawless leather shoes, but you probably should not proceed if he turns out to be a control-freak. His crazy controlling habit can be observed even from the earliest moments, for example if he decides to order your foods and beverages, making pretty much every single decision for you regardless of the fact that you two have not known each other that much yet. Extreme controlling behavior is definitely a warning sign. If he tries to conquer the dinner session now, chances are he will be controlling your whole life once you have let him do so.

Straight Up “Something More”

If you are looking for a potential long term partner, watch out for the signs that he may be looking for “something more”. This can be judged by the way he can be too touchy without respecting your boundaries whether it is spoken or as a gesture. You can also immediately tell that he wants something quick and easy if he says word like “I’m not really the boyfriend (or husband or relationship) kind of guy. On the other hand, you may also want to watch out for those melodramatic guys who utter utter the words “I Love You” very very early during the first date.

 

 

Use Backwards Planning to Make Sure Your Projects Are Done On Time

One of the most important elements when it comes to having a successful project would be planning it well. Even the smallest projects should be carefully considered and its milestones should be carefully listed down, because planning a project actually has various benefits that you would not want to miss. Planning a project can help in organizing your work as well as determining which things that need to be focused on more with regards to the project’s objective. It also helps improving communication with clients because you are really clear and well-informed about the things that you are going to do in making the project a success, whereas as an added bonus it also provides you with the transparency of your upcoming tasks.

Planning a project is usually done by listing down the things that need to be down in the beginning down to the end, and not the other way around. In various situations, planning sometimes also occur continuously throughout the whole project. One reason why this happens is due to mismanagement of time, because a lot of time the early steps are done too slowly, leaving more and more things to be done near the deadline and this can be a really exhausting process. As an alternative to this, planning your project backward can actually help you to finish your projects on time with a greater quality, because it allows a more realistic work structure as well as freedom in doing the tasks.

Backwards planning, or also sometimes known as backwards design or backwards goal-setting, is done by listing down things from your deadline down to the beginning. It is commonly used by teachers and educators, but it turns out to be as effective when it comes to planning projects. The detailed process would be as follows:

Write Down the Ultimate Goal

First and foremost, you need to write down the ultimate goal that becomes the central focus of your project. Your ultimate goal should perhaps be the end product, with every description of how you want the product to be finished. This should not be hastily done, because being very specific and detailed will help you to complete the next process better. You need to also take into account that you are setting up a realistic goal, because expecting too high without any possibility of making it happen will only waste your time. Once the objective has been clearly written down, you need to decide the due date for such objective to be achieved. For example, if your end product would be a website then you need to write down all its features as well as other things that are attached to it as your ultimate goal. This may entail its domain, writing down all its contents as well as perhaps getting the required photos or videos from your client.

Make a To-Do List

The next thing to do once you have determined and written down the ultimate goal, you will need to list down things that need to be done in order to accomplish the ultimate goal. This will include specifying in details the step by step procedures that you would need to do prior to the deadline, but you should do so in a reverse timeline. List down things that need to be done a day before the deadline, two days, a week, two weeks and so on. Even though planning is not equal to the project timeline, but a timeline is also an important element of the planning itself.

Change When Necessary

Last but not least, you are also allowed to make changes to your planning whenever something does not work within the specified to do list timeline. Once you realize that the deadline for something is just not possible or far from being reasonable, you will have to adjust it. The good thing about planning something backwards is that you will not realize that you are running out of time at the beginning, because you will be able to adjust things while the work is still on progress. Backwards planning ensure that you will have enough time to accomplish whatever goal it is that you set from the beginning since you have a clearer picture in mind of how much things you will need to finish in a certain time period.

 

 

 

Upgrade Your Mornings With This Philips Wake-Up Light, Now Cheaper Than Ever

 

Everyone knows that the hardest part of a morning routine is waking up, having an alarm clock is quite stressful, waking up and banging that snooze button repeatedly again is really just damn annoying, the least stressful way to start off your mornings, so hear me out here and consider this a special announcement: A light-up alarm totally changed my mornings, and well I think it can help yours, too my friend.

Zeal Howen here and now I’m going to introduce you to the beauties of the light alarm concept. As we know Humans have been waking up in the midst of the sun for countless years, and trying out innovative tactics to harness the timed illumination since the early 18th century. But now with the advancement of human technology there are now quite a few reproductions on the market (that doesn’t include flint-locks and candles ), when I first heard of this I was skeptical. I couldn’t believe the fact that one of these devices—particularly this Philips HF3500/60 Wake-Up Light—would be in the least be more useful than my smart phone or my alarm clock.

 

Here’s a little secret that I want to share with you all, I’m actually a, really deep and heavy sleeper especially when it comes to cold mornings where you just want to roll on your bed and never mind waking up. May it be a 15 minute nap or a strait eight hours at night; I would never sleep unless I have my alarm going. I know this is completely outlandish; but once I flow into that river of dreams, I’m out COLD. Mornings for most of us are, naturally, the worst.

 

For the inexperienced, here’s how Philips wake-up light works: First, you set the time when you want to wake up, that’s when the Wake-Up light begins beeping at that specific time—gently at first, but then it gets louder after a minute and a half if you don’t respond to it. Nothing really special at first, it functions like all standard Digital Clock. BUT! Here’s the catch! A half-hour before that gentle beeping sound, a replicated sunrise has already in progress, transforming from a faint glow to a 200 lux at maximum brightness. By the moment the sound plays in, and there it is: Your room is all brightened up like its early on afternoon. It felt amusing the first time I used it, In fact I was so amazed that I forgot that I had an alarm clock and a smart phone. The wildest thing that happened was that when the time came, that I didn’t need any alarm at all. It was still dark outside my room but the light kept me awake as my eyes just gradually opened and I just laid there in my bed and I was like: “AMAZING.”, Because that experience has never before happened to me.

 

For a few months now I’ve been using it non-stop and I’m still like: “Wow.” That’s why I want to share with you all my wonderful experience with this device, and if you’re interested to buy one here is a list of models and its price. And remember don’t let this special opportunity slip away from you, that sweet, gentle and precious wake up is waiting for you! Be a man and pick one up!

 

For The Price and Models Here is The Line-up:

 

Philips HF3500/60 Wake-Up Light, yellow sunrise

$69.99

 

Philips Wake-Up Light with Radio in White, Silver, or Black

$89.95 – $96.41

 

Philips HF3510 Wake-Up Light, yellow sunrise

$119.99

 

Philips HF3520 Wake-Up Light, colored sunrise simulation

$129.99

 

iOS 9’s Low Power Mode Is Perfect for Vacations

Going on a vacation often brings up a whole new dilemma about a lot of things, which may include bringing which types of gadgets and also bringing plug in and portable chargers. With the rising trend of action camera selfie heroes, one cannot put aside their mobile phone even though they essentially have brought a camera to take their vacation pictures. Nevertheless, mobile phones are equipped with better and better cameras for one reason: people will still take pictures with their mobile phones and their other cameras may only be complementary.

Taking pictures with a mobile phone has a lot of advantages if compared to taking pictures with a separated camera. One obvious reason, posting pictures to social media will be made easier if the pictures are taken with the mobile phone itself in which there will exist no need for picture transferring from one gadget to another. Nevertheless, constantly taking pictures with your mobile phone will significantly drain the battery and to be honest who has the time to charge their phones when they have a limited time of exciting adventures ahead of them?

Good news for iPhone users, iOS 9 is now handling this problem with the Low Power Mode feature. The Low Power Mode feature will really help you to conserve a certain amount of battery life after it drops below 20 percent. How can this be possible? The Low Power Mode feature will minimize power consumption by terminating needless functions like the automatic downloads, background app refresh, email fetch, Wi-Fi associations, visual effects as well as Hey Siri. You will notice that your phone is on its Low Power Mode when the battery symbol in the status bar becomes yellow. In spite of that, it is pretty much understandable that some features might stop working, or might take longer to complete once your phone is turned into the Low Power Mode. The Low Power Mode itself will automatically turn off after you have charged your phone to a 80 percent battery life or higher.

The Low Power Mode can make your vacation more enjoyable because you do not have to carry all those extra portable chargers in your really small waist pack. More often than not, turning off the automatic email fetch and auto update will actually reduce distractions which may take your eyes away from the gorgeous view in front of it to the small square frame of your phone. If you do not know how to turn it on, just go to Settings > Battery and from there you will be able to turn it on. Almost like for every other tasks in your iPhone, Siri can also turn the Low Power Mode on for you.

As a conclusion, despite of all its greatness, too much of something is never good and turning the Low Power Mode all day long will definitely reduce your iPhone’s usability because a lot of its features are being disabled. But do not worry; an iPhone on its Low Power Mode will be your perfect traveling companion because the camera as well as the map and tour guide features will work just as fine.

 

5 Ways to Build a Personal Brand in 2016

Getting people to immediately recognize your brand is definitely one way to create a successful business. However, you need to employ the right strategies to build a personal brand because it will offer a specific way which your customers can recognize and trust you and this, at the end of the day will increase your total revenue. It will also open ways to different opportunities that you may never have access to before. As a conclusion, here are five strategies which you may choose to establish your personal brand in the recently starting 2016:

Establish Your Expertise

Personal branding is really about letting people know what you are really good at and which unique points that you are offering to them that they cannot find elsewhere in other similar businesses. To start doing this, you need to really contemplate on what you want to be recognized for, and this needs to be as specific as envisioning the words that people will automatically state after they hear your brand’s name. Identify what your strengths are, and turn your expertise into your personal brand.

Find A Platform

Another thing to know about establishing your personal brand would be that it will require hard work. In establishing your personal brand, you should find the most suitable platform that you think will be most apt for your business and double down your efforts in it. Even Gary Vaynerchuk who runs VaynerMedia had made more than one thousand YouTube videos before he gained his own brand, and for that reason you need to decide on the most suitable platform because there exist a wide range of choices from blogging to YouTube videos or even through pretty Instagram pictures. The most important thing would be to create an impact, influence your audience and keep on striving towards success.

Join Other Uprising Platforms

In line with finding the right platform, it will be much more beneficial for you to not only stick to one platform but also joining another emerging ones. You should pay attention to different emerging platforms because you will have less competition in the beginning and you will get the opportunity to present a disproportionate voice to that platform’s early adopters. Furthermore, it will really help you with building a strong brand as evidenced by Jerome Jarre who gained his success through Vine which allows him to score million dollars deals for his own personal brand.

Maintain Honesty and Authenticity

Honesty and authenticity is really important because you will establish a personal brand, by which you really need to showcase your identity and be transparent. This is really vital because you want to build real connections with real people at the end of the day, and you will not be able to do that if you are being dishonest because eventually they will find out and they will feel betrayed. Being dishonest will also tire you out at the end of the day because it will be really tiresome to keep on playing a certain role where you can also get followers and fans by being your true self. Honesty and authenticity have a lot to do with the way your followers and customers will continue to be interested in you, so it will be advisable to show who you really are and what your business is really all about from the beginning before it is too late.

Provide Multiple Touch Points

Last but not least, in line with finding out the right platform as well as joining another uprising one, sticking to only one platform will not be sufficient if you want to succeed in establishing your personal brand. You have to be active in several social media platforms because nowadays people require multiple touch points since they are also using several different social media.