5 Fonts You Should Avoid When Creating Your Logo

For the general population, a logo is the first point of contact between a brand and a client. It’s the first interaction with a company or a brand. It’s the starting point to recognize a brand so it’s crucial that the designers of the logo correctly incorporate the message the new brand wants to seed into the minds of all of its potential clients into the graphical representation that is the logo.

A good logo stands out. It has distinguishing characteristics while also still being appropriate, practical, aesthetically pleasing and simple. A good logo needs to follow a number of basic design principles which can be summed up into 5 easy to remember keywords: simplicity, memorability, longevity, versatility and last but not least, appropriateness.

That being said, choosing the correct font for your logo is absolutely crucial and it can either make or break your logo and a business with a bad logo is more or less doomed to failure. To help you out with designing the correct logo for your business, we’ve put together a list of 5 fonts you should NOT use when creating your logo.

1. Brush Script [Brush Script MT]

Developed in the early 1940s, Brush Script was created by Robert E. Smith for the American Type Founders (ATF) and the idea behind Brush Script was to create something that emulated cursive writing, which is why the lower case letters present in Brush Script are in fact irregular in size and shape. Keep in mind that we’re talking about the 1940s, when modern technology as we know it today was still in its crib, barely finding its legs and the point behind something like this was to in a way pave the way for technology to imitate life.

However, there are certain issues with the design and style of Brush Script that simply cannot be overlooked.

Simply put, it is unnatural. Yes, it is supposed to look like a person’s handwriting and yes, when a person writes something by hand, the letters are never perfect, nor are they ever the exact same size, shape, or at the exact same angle every time because there are too many variables that affect the way a person’s hand moves on a piece of paper at any given time. With Brush Script, however, there are no imperfections what so ever. No smudges, no creases, no imperfect weight distribution that creates faint but distinctive differentiations in letters, no nothing. It tries to imitate the handwriting of an actual person; however, it is too perfect for it to ever pass as the handwriting of a human and as such looks cold and impersonal.

The whole point of Brush Script was to create a way for corporations to come across as casual or more friendly in correspondence, to make corporate communication look and feel slightly less…well, corporate and in a way it did achieve its desired purpose, however in the following three decades it became so over-used in print and advertising, that in a way it in fact emblematic for the 70s and 80s.

In a lot of ways there is nothing wrong with that and in even more ways in its time Brush Script was a great success, however we are in 2016 and you’re designing a logo FOR 2016 so it would be a very good idea to stay far away from anything that gives people a flash back from 30 years ago because your business is fresh and new and your logo should send that message as well.

If you do decide that something that mimics human handwriting is the way to go for your logo and your business, then you do have options. Brush Script inspired dozens, if not hundreds of other fonts that are meant to look like handwriting (e. g. Mistral, Chalkduster, Avalon, Reporter, Riva, Café Mimi, Calliope, and HT Gelateria to name a few) some of which actually look very good, however regardless of how well they look, fonts of this type will never be able to convince anyone that they were not generated by a computer due to their technical precision, even though they are deliberately made to look like they are imperfect. As much as they will try to imitate the beauty that comes with the imperfections of something that is created by a human hand, unfortunately they will never succeed.

2. Bradley Hand [Bradley Hand ITC]

Here we find ourselves pretty much in the same situation as Brush Script so please keep in mind the same points for Bradley Hand that I have made above regarding Brush Script (so I don’t have to waste too much of your time on this one and so I don’t have to repeat myself), and at the same time ad this to the list of reasons why you should NOT choose this font for your logo.

Yes, it is true that in a lot of ways fonts that imitate handwriting send a message of added personality in a way that the classic and most used professional fonts, like Helvetica or Arial, simply do not do, however in practice these types of fonts (and Bradley Hand in particular) simply come off as tacky, disingenuous, kitschy and lacking anything close to authenticity because it’s pretty much a cheap imitation of the real thing. And not even a good one, in this case.

Bradley Hand simply looks cheap. It will look cheap on a logo and it will look even cheaper on a business card, a business portfolio, a proposal, a memorandum, you name it. It will simply look cheap and it will make your logo, and in turn your business, look cheap.

3. Snap [Snap ITC]

There is nothing wrong, per se, with Snap. The issue with it, however, has everything to do with your logo and brand.

Depending on what your company does, the font you choose can or cannot be appropriate for the job.

When it comes to Snap, the real issue is where your logo is going to be and what it’s going to be printed on. Will it be on a business card? Will it be on the side of a car? Will it be on a name tag, or on a T-shirt?

These are all things that could make Snap (and other fonts like it) unusable because it’s simply not versatile enough.

It could look good on a blog or a website, but what if your needs for the logo are for it to look good on a shop window? It needs to be distinguishable from a distance and it needs to be very easy to read, whereas Snap, from a distance, at least, would be illegible.

What if, like I said, your logo needs to go on a car, or a van, or a truck or even maybe on the side of a bus? Vehicles are great ways to advertise because they move around. They’re often in motion so you have a good chance that every single person the vehicle passes by will see your logo, however what’s the point of them seeing it at all if it’s going to pass by them and they didn’t have enough time to read your logo and remember what it says if the logo isn’t easy to read? The point is for the logo to take a split second to imprint on someone’s memory so they can then recognize it later when they see it again. But with something like Snap, the only impression it’s going to make on someone is that your logo is a bad logo because it wasn’t easy to read.

4. Papyrus [Papyrus]

Some would argue that there is nothing technically wrong with Papyrus; however, in the design world, it’s one of the most hated fonts.

Designers consider this font to be cheap, tacky and a little childish and despite the fact that there are companies that actually use this font in their logos, there are actually blogs about why designers hate Papyrus (I’m not joking, look it up).

While the customer is always right, and the designer’s job is to give the customer what they want, you should listen to your designer on this one. They do this for a living.

Papyrus is highly overused, and there truly is such a thing as too much of a good thing. There is a reason why big corporations don’t use, for instance, Times New Roman in their logos, and that’s because it’s everywhere. Literally everywhere. Actually, come to think about it, you should probably stay away from Times New Roman and any other overused fonts as well.

5. Curlz[Curlz MT]

Just No.

Curlz is only appropriate for typing up the invitations to a 13 year old girl’s birthday party on pink cardboard with glittery hearts. It’s childish, unprofessional, annoying, and impractical.

The idea behind Curlz was to have something quirky, whimsical, cute and decorative, however unless your business is a kindergarten, a cupcake shop or a business that tries to sell various things to preteen girls you’re in for a lot of trouble if you pick Curlz.

Think of all of the successful businesses you know. Now think about their logos.

Do any of them use Curlz?

Didn’t think so.

In closing, if you’re thinking about branding your business, think very carefully when picking the font for your logo. Humans are by design visual creatures and rely on what they see more than anything so the right logo will guarantee either the success or the failure of your business so choose wisely and Good Luck!

 

How To Edit Photos On Photoshop Like A Pro

When we say photo editing, many will say it is a simple task, but the real truth is that editing a photo like a professional is more complex and it requires a lot of time. Trial and error are key terms needed to master this work. Today, photograph editing is not the same as it used to be five or so years back, thanks to technology that has made this job much simpler. Now you can find numerous programs that are designed to help editors perform this task with ease. Adobe Photoshop is one of that software that aims to help individuals to edit a photo look like professional regardless of their experience and knowledge about photo editing.

According to studies conducted, Adobe Photoshop is the most powerful and widely used program in this field but then there also other software that can be used to edit a photo look like a pro. Editing of the photograph using these programs is very simple if you only know which part to deal with or play with for that matter.  By knowing this trick, you will be able to do this task as if you are a professional editor which is not the case.  When it comes to photo editing, you don’t necessary need to use the specific program; you need to play with colors, saturation, levels, retouching blemishes and hue in any software. By so doing, you can turn that photo from good to excellent looking. That being said, now let us focus on things that you need to have and do to edit a photo like a pro.

You Need Good Photo Editing Program

The first task you are required to do is obtaining a good photo editing program by downloading or using the online based software. When we say photo editing software, it means you will have to go through hundreds of software to find a program that suits you. The best thing to do here is to know what you are looking or what you want from that program. Always choose a program that is well reputed with good ratings to ensure that software offers what you are looking for.  As I mentioned in above, there are good software like Adobe Photoshop, Elements, and Lightroom that provide excellent services. Usually, this software provides a variety of toolsets that you can use to edit photos. In the world, we are not all people are the same hence not all of us can afford them. That being the case, one can find alternative software online that are cheaper compared to this big boys.

The software can be significant regarding reputation, but then it is critical to know exactly what you are looking for. To find out this you need to download a free version of your software that you have selected and trial it to see whether it offers what you want and if you like it, then you can proceed to the paid version.  Making a photo look as if it was edited by a professional, it doesn’t mean you use fancy programs but it requires one to master the basic elements of photo editing. Fixing color, white balancing, playing with different levels and noise reduction are the most important aspects, and if they are done correctly, a picture will look professional. One thing you should note is that most of these features are found in almost all software.

If you are a newbie in photo editing industry, ensure you start by teaching yourself basics of photo editing. This can be better done by using free photo editing software. Picasa is a new and quick program that one can use to learn how to edit photos correctly. The software is designed the way that even new editors can navigate editing tools available more quickly. Fotor is another program that can be used to try editing a photo before one buys advanced software.  The program offers a broad range of tools and effects that can help one turn its good picture into a professional one. One good about this software allows one to import raw files or add files the same way as the so-called big software such as Photoshop. For Apple lovers, one can use Apple photos to edit and synchronize your pictures with the aid of iCloud. The program has an array of options that can be used to modify a picture to look great. The list of software is huge so is upon you to select software based on your requirements.

Once done with free software and you think you are ready to go, it is time to find paid software so that you can start editing your photo. The reason you need the paid version is that they are superior to free versions. Hence, you will find a lot of tools and editing options that you cannot get if you opt to use the free version. Also, the support you get when using paid version is excellent.

Make Basic Adjustments

At this point, the real photo editing work starts. Creation of new layers is an important aspect of photo editing so for every new edit you execute it is wise to create a new coat. Production of various layers is crucial because it allows you to make changes without necessarily disrupting original layer. That way one can go back when an error occurs instead of starting over again. I agree with the fact that not all software come with this option, but then they have an option of doing this without having to start over. When selecting software, pay attention to what you want.

White balancing is very necessary for photo editing and to get this right can be a great achievement to your photo editing goals. It is recommended to start balancing white by adjusting the temperature and then move to small fixing little tint. So if you see your photo is too cold, you need to increase the temperature to counter balance blues with more red tones. But if your photo is too warm, the best adjustment you can do is to reduce the temperature by moving it down.

Editing Of Photo Color

In a photo, you will find specific colors pairing much better than others. Photo editing programs come with a lot of colors type, and by knowing how these colors work and match, it will be a bonus to you. The primary colors in photo editing are red blue and yellow. These are only colors mixed to bring other colors into existence.  It’s nice to start with a curve layer because these curves will help you in making your photo cooler or warmer. You can play with colors as you want since there are no set limitations.

If the program you are using has a gray eyedropper tool, use it to adjust an area where you see colors are not mixed well. Also, you can adjust light and color by using color overlay channel. Use any of the three colors to modify and create new layers. Once done with this you can copy the adjustments to the original photo.  The next stage is to change the opacity of the layer so that you can obtain a nice looking contrast.

Noise Reduction Of A Photo

In most cases you find that a photo has numerous dots that are grainy colored. This is what known as noise in photo editing world. The task of adjusting these colors is among the easiest task in photo editing. The best way of doing this is by sharpening your photo, and everything will be in place. You can find some programs that support both photo sharpening and noise reduction options.

Adjust Levels To Enhance Your Photo

Sometimes you might find your photo looks like it was taken by using a shot and old camera with a lot of flashes that you don’t like, you can adjust these levels and make it look professional and can help you counteract the exposure from the camera. This allows one to edit a photo so that it can look as if the darkest pixels are converted to black while light pixels are converted to white pixels.

Making More Advanced Adjustments

After you are true with necessary adjustments, now it is time to focus on more advanced adjustments. This can take several forms. One can start by editing hue and saturation of a photo. This change is very necessary for photos that have a dominant color. Sometimes you will find your photograph takes place outside here you will need to increase photo hue, and if the picture looks bluish, you need to turn your photo saturation up so you can make green to pop more than blue.

Usage of radial blur will help you in keep focal point into focus while you are blurring all things outside the radius. By so doing, your photo will look beautiful and more of professionals. In photo editing, it is necessary to create smooth skin and also removing blemishes which will lead to the creation of a smooth and beautiful skin. Other options exist that can help fix smaller adjustments such as the use of patch and fade tools.

Conclusion

Photo editing is a real task and professional if it is done in the right manner. Always ensure when doing photo editing, you stick with basic editing guidelines to avoid moving out of boundaries. That way, you can turn your photo into a professional looking.

 

 

 

 

Why Timing Is Everything in Sales

 

Sales timing can be made easier if you just put your head in the game. According to Yogi Berra, “You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.” In the business industry, you have to consider this question, “Are they ready to buy?” You need to determine whether or not your product is sold at the right time and at the right place. Thus, it is always important that if you want your sales to be stable, you must have items or products which are saleable all throughout the year. You don’t need to run after your customers, you just have to determine the perfect timing to sell your merchandise.

Nothing makes your marketing harder than when you are conversing with your customers or clients who are not ready or up to the idea of buying what you are selling. The question now is, “How will you know that they are not ready to buy your product?” Well, customers will not buy what you are selling if they are not aware of a need to purchase your product. Imagine that you are selling home alarm systems. Think about the individuals you would like or prefer to sell your product to because they are the ones who will be able to recognize the need to purchase a home alarm system. You can even prefer homeowners whose house had just been robbed or someone in the neighborhood who has close experience to robbery and other trespassing incidents. I will bet that a person, who can recognize the need towards the product you are selling, even though it is kind of too late, will buy or purchase the product you are selling.

 

What dictates your selling strategy is the ability to be aware of the concerns and needs of our customers. Your top priority is to help a customer become aware or recognize the need your product can offer. The strategy you would implement is simply to educate your customers with the lack of awareness when it comes to security needs. You can even ask about your customer’s needs for a peace of mind that they will feel secured with your home alarm system, even at times when they have their children alone at their house. You can even show prospects of police statistics when it comes to the security of their neighborhood just to make them aware of any possibility.

 

Can They Buy It?

 

Aside from timing, you should be able to determine whether your customer has the capacity to buy your product. There will always come a time that your prospects will not be able to purchase your product since they do not have the capacity to buy it. If they just purchased from a competitor, there is a great possibility that they will no longer be willing to make the same mistake they had when they purchase a product that is somehow similar to what you are selling; some may even have objections.

 

You can never deny the fact that missing a sale is pretty much worse than not having any sale at all. You need to strategize your approach when it comes to your customers. Assess their personalities and let them hear what they want to hear.

 

 

Things To Consider Before Buying Music Software

 

Today with the advent of technology such as Laptops and smart Phones it’s really hard to find good software to fit your needs, with the wide range of music software’s that is now available online, there are numerous selections and features that have their own pro’s and con’s. But before you pick a Software, you should first consider the function that you want the software to execute. So ask yourself, Will you apt to be producing your own instrumentals, or will you require a lot of customized sounds? There are a variety of software’s out there that would fit your style, having different kinds of software is better for diverse types of music. Considering your funds is also a concern since some types of classy software offer sophisticated features that cannot be established in more inexpensive music software products.

To begin with, starting your very own personal home studio can be tricky and expensive, not to mention the time and effort you’ll be exerting, and the space that you’ll be using to make this happen. One of The major problems are “What do I need?”(What software or instruments do I need?) And “Where do I begin?” (How should I conduct this project?) If you’re undertaking into this field as a novice, these are all legitimate questions. That’s why preparation and making financial arrangements is necessary. You need to know the intention of your home based studio to put together an action plan.

 

And now if you’re looking for the most fundamental form of digital music construction, the sequencer is the one you’re looking for, this is because it enables the users to control a synthesizer with a MIDI commands and it is easy to use. The majority sequencing packages has selection to create high quality sounds, the use of soft syntheses, loops and samples, and a variety of audio effects. Some examples of popular sequencer software include Apple Logic and Steinberg Cubase. Steinberg Cubase allows its users for audio and MIDI control and recording on both PCs and Apple Macbook users. Apple Logic software can only be downloaded using the PC version, but it has a wider range of sequencing functions available online.

 

The Next question you need to answer is that How can I become more skilled at music production and editing? There are some exceptional software’s on the online market for those who are fascinated in mounting their own music. In particular, Cubase tutorial will assist you in making that evolution from a performer to a recording artist in just simple tricks.

 

Today a number of digital music software takes sequencing a footstep further with the accumulation of studio-like software’s that imitates audio hardware. This feature includes the ability to make entire songs with just one click of the software program. These superior sequencers usually have detailed interfaces that look like the hardware found in most expert music studios. Propellerhead Reason is one instance of a sophisticated sequencer showcasing a user-friendly border and a huge library of sounds that can be added on top of the on-board music library. An audio editor is another section of software used in digital audio studios for editing. Audio editors are handy for removing superfluous noise, adding a variety of effects and cropping, and using a variety of audio formats. Sony Sound Forge is a well-liked recording software and audio editing application that is obtainable in both lite (free version) and professional versions (paid version). While the majority sequencing software move towards with unique effects of their own, extra packages of filters, enhancers and plug-ins can be bought as add-ons to your software online.

 

To finish it off, the whole procedure of music production, editing, enhancing can’t be learned in just overnight. There will be a whole lot of things that you will learn and become skilled at along the way. Your endurance and resolve will certainly be tested, but sooner or later it will all pay off once you get to take pleasure in the beautiful and fantastic music and sound elements that you are able to make.

 

Riding the Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship: Q&A With Ben Jabbawy of Privy

Cofounder and CEO of Privy, Ben Jabbawy, shares some of his secrets and experiences in becoming one of the most successful young IT entrepreneurs in the world. Having brought Privy from 50 business clients at the start of 2015 to more than 10 thousand business users at the end of 2015, he may inspire you to achieve the same success.

Ben Jabbawy comes from a family with entrepreneurial background, and even though it may be in his blood but his father was the one who always encouraged him to take risks and lead. With regards to this, he always thinks of himself as both technical and people person, in which to take risks and become a leader he combined his technical, creative and personal skills altogether. Taking risk does not always end pretty, but it is his continuous optimism, creativity as well as true passion to help other person that keeps on motivating him to go further even when times are hard.

Not only that, entrepreneurial jobs can require someone to be highly individual and lonely because even though an entrepreneur is surrounded by an amazing team as well as supporters, there are still numerous decisions and important moments that can only be experienced and taken alone. A lot of times these decisions also need to be taken rather quickly with insufficient information, and as a result, entrepreneurs have sharp intuitions on things.

Further, Ben Jabbawy believes that leading requires steadiness and balance throughout the ups and downs of the business. The concept of balance applies to work and family, and Ben Jabbawy tries his best to maintain this by heading home to see his wife and sometimes cook dinner together. However, it also applies to the way he manages his team when he is at the top while still being able to manage them and obtaining their trust when he is at his lowest point. For him, this really matters to his company as well as to his personal development as an entrepreneur. He emphasizes that a lot of things can and will happen, so even though it may be fun to celebrate your wins but you need to also survive the most terrible and awful moment.

The way an entrepreneur manages his/her employees is also vital, because there should be certain values and characteristics that need to be maintained in order to achieve a great teamwork and an overall success for the business. For Ben Jabbawy, he prefers people who are hard workers but valuing autonomy as well as applying a “figure it out” mindset. He believes that this kind of people is more convenient to work with and they work more effectively. Working with these kinds of people, according to him, eliminates unnecessary meetings and excuses, and it allows him to focus on the things that he has to really pay attention to such as exposing the team to different challenges and opportunities to meet their career goals and personal growth targets. As an incredibly task oriented person, he usually schedules the meetings with his employees in the mornings while spending the afternoons working with customers or investors.

Top 10 Ways to Tame and Deal with Your Allergies

Allergies are one of the most common health conditions to be found worldwide. It can be extremely annoying and it can develop into something more serious if left untreated. Here are 10 ways to alleviate your allergy symptoms:

Learn About the Symptoms

Allergies can sometimes be really similar to other things, like a cold for example. To ensure that you really have an allergy instead of something else, learn about your symptoms and have them properly treated. Notice that itchy eyes are more indicative of an allergy whereas snot formation can similarly be caused by both allergies and a cold.

Pinpoint Your Allergens

After paying attention to the symptoms, you should find out exactly what you are being allergic to. If you have difficulties in doing so, a food elimination diet may help you to figure out the cause of your allergy reactions. Or else, try writing down a diary so that you will be able to track your allergy reactions.

Prepare For Traveling

You may have your allergies under control when you are at home because you already know which restaurants to avoid or which bath products you cannot use. However when you are not at home, especially if you do not speak the language of your destination country, inquiring about different foods and products may not be as easy. For this reason, search for allergy friendly lodging and amp yourself up with a complete set of allergy medications just in case something triggers your symptoms. If you want to go the extra mile, pack up some instant packaged food and eat them whenever you are unsure about what you are going to eat (that is allergy-free).

Change Your Habits

Once you found the triggers of your allergies, you can always change your habit to ensure that the allergens will not bother your daily routines. Furthermore, if your allergies come and go with the season, it may be caused by a high level of tree pollens in the spring or mold and dust mites in winter. Hence, you can search for tricks to avoid these allergens, such as going outdoors not very early in the morning, or shower at night.

Avoid Contact With Dust

Closely related to changing your habit, more often than not your allergies come from the things you come into contact with every day, such as your bed sheets or detergent. With regards to this fact, regularly cleaning the things that you use daily may help alleviating your allergy symptoms. If this is not enough, buy dust mite covers for your bed and pillows and opt for a tile or hardwood floor instead of carpets.

Download Allergy Information Apps

Regardless of the fact that you know exactly which types of food that can trigger your allergic reactions, sometime dishes can contain these allergy-inducing ingredients without your knowledge (since you may not know the recipe for it). To handle this possibility, download allergy information applications to help you figure out the foods that you should not eat and the restaurants which are allergy friendly.

Substitute Your Foods

Even if you are allergic to a long list of food ingredients, you can still enjoy a lot of dishes that will taste similarly but cooked using its substitutes. If you are allergic to dairy products, it will be safer for you to always eat vegan foods, or if you like to cook you can learn more about substituting ingredients online.

Watch Out For Hidden Allergens

Hidden allergens can really be frustrating, because you will seem to be fine eating everything but all of a sudden there will be allergic reactions without you knowing exactly the cause. In addition to reading food labels and ingredients list, you can ask your waiter whenever you are dining out in a restaurant. Also take note that sometimes there are other terms that can be used to refer to your allergen.

Never Rush In Buying Hypoallergenic Products

Do not misinterpret hypoallergenic products for something that will definitely help you ease out your allergy symptoms. The term “hypoallergenic” itself is not a legally binding term, and hence companies can use them as a promotional tactic to get you to believe that they cannot trigger an allergic reaction. To prevent any misunderstanding and vain effort in fighting your allergy, look for the ingredient list of each products and find out more about them.

Always Bring An Allergy Card

An allergy card is always useful whenever you are traveling or even when you are trying out new local restaurants. An allergy card will contain pictures of your allergies and instructions on what to do if you accidentally eat them. You can create your own and make it multilingual if it is for traveling purposes.

 

 

10 Best Website Builders to Easily Build Your Own Site

One of the most common trends in today’s new era of technology is surfing or searching through different websites and blog posts on the Internet, looking for all kinds of information and products, or whatever else that can be found on the Internet. But not every person that goes online searches for random stuff, well others actually upload useful information for the benefit of others. So if you yourself fall unto this category, then most likely you ought to want a website of your own to pour your Infinite knowledge into.

Well You can either hire a professional programmer to build you a fantastically-looking website of your own or you can make it yourself if you are so willing enough to spend some time.

Making or acquiring your own webpage used to be a difficult task but thankfully, with the advancement of time, current technology would allow making websites an easy task, with the advent of online site builders there is now an abundance of website-building services and tools on the market. Zeal Howen here and now let me present to you some of the best website builders online to help you build your own dream website.

1. WordPress
   Now then let’s start with our no.1 pick, WordPress, on the subject of web sites, one-fifth of these sites are actually built with WordPress. Nevertheless, WordPress outshines others when it comes to premade themes and templates, mobile-optimized outlines, and add-ons that permit you to include the whole lot from comments, videos to images. There are still other tools which can lend you a hand to find what WordPress themeis used by a webpage you mostly like.
2. Weebly

Second on our list is Weebly, this web builder has been on the stores for an adequate amount of time to be considered as one of the favorites amongst those who use theme-based website builders.

3. GoDaddy

On to our third spot, GoDaddy is recognized mostly for its low-cost domain listing and site hosting. Another feature is that it also vends a website builder account which is straightforward to use, it’s stylish and easy. For those who lack in the imagination department this could very well be the thing for you, this is the ideal app for those who want to speedily build a good website.

4. Wix

The fourth on the list is Wix, Wix is renowned for its effortlessness offered and it’s devoid of compromising possibilities. Like the others it is a free builder in the online market which commands more than a million websites. Using this tool your website will be registered with their sub domain, you can choose the free account or the paid account for more features including a modified URL.

5. Shopify

Next on the list is Shopify, it is the jack of all trades in ecommerce solution, it is presently powering more than 200,000 online stores. It has been honored by its online users and the critics as one of the best online shop builder at present obtainable in the online market.

With its 24/7-availablility, top-notch support tech system, Shopify has an armory of tools to assemble the extensive functionalities of your store. It offers you a variety of professional-looking, first-class templates to select from.

6. SquareSpace

Next is SquareSpace, Its different from the other website builders because of its receptive, visually invigorating templates. There’s not a great deal for you to be concerned about the mobile site making since the whole thing is mobile-ready. It mechanically generates a portable site from the site you put up for desktop browsers applications.

7. Jimdo

And now finally the last on our list is Jimdo, this tool is another WYSIWYG builder with heaps of site customization alternatives and superior mobile support with realistic value. The freemium pack up, which is JimdoFree, offers you sufficient tools to put up a well-designed website with not so precipitous learning experience.

The tool is, in reality an e-commerce oriented, so it has more than average ecommerce designs, however that does not limit you to put together a high-quality website other than a shop like an Instagram search engine.

 

The Tech Gearhead’s Go Anywhere Bag

Different people need different types of bags to carry possibly different items in accordance to their needs. Girls tend to carry a smaller but more trendy and chic bags compared to guys who just like to carry plain old backpacks to suit their needs. Girls also tend to carry more trivial and light items in their bags, which may include a hand sanitizer, a pack of tissue and a small mirror. Nevertheless, sometimes people just need to carry a bunch of high-tech things and gadgets in their bag, and this is the case of Chris Vega who needs to bring everything that he needs for his Information Security job.

Started up with a brown Rough Rider Messenger Bag with a red accent on it, Vega managed to put a whole bunch of items in a neat and organized fashion all into his bag. Considerably fashionable for a guy since he opted to carry a messenger bag instead of a backpack, he carries a Nook Glowlight for convenient reading experience, as well as an iPhone 6 and Nintendo 3DS to accompany him during his free time. Not only the Nintendo 3DS, but he remarkably also managed to bring his Playstation Vita in the very same Rough Rider Messenger Bag complete with its slip cover.

Being a total tech-savvy individual, Vega also brings with him his Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet along with its sleeve case and stylus. Completing it with a Seagate 500GB USB 3.0 drive with cable as well as an Anker Battery, Vega still managed to carry small miscellaneous items in his gear pouch probably to keep it organized and well-managed. The gear pouch basically carries everything from all his tiny technology related goods such as cables, hubs and adapters to his daily needs such as cigars, Zippo lighter, eyedrops, chapstick, pill tins with medicines in it, bandaids and moist wipes. It is actually neat and practical instead of having everything scattered here and there in a bigger bag.

Moving on to the not so tech-savvy stuffs, he also carries a Kind & Strong Thai Sweet Chili Protein Bar for an unexpected hunger strike. He also carries a steel comb in leather sheath for after lunch touch ups as well as a Moleskine notebook with a few pens in hand in case he needs something to be handwritten. In addition, a Mpow Wolverine Bluetooth Earbuds as well as a pair of Amazon Basics Earbuds for listening to his favorite songs, a lightning cable, and a wooden business card holder as well as passport for unanticipated self-introductory moments.

Last but not least, having a great go bag with a remarkable organization inside can give you the chance to be featured online. So if you think you have a great chance of catching the crowd’s attention, do not forget to add it into the Flickr group with relevant information about your bag, the things that you put in it as well as other details which may be relevant with regards to making it totally awesome.

 

Strength Training Really Does Help Your Running

Got to Go Fast! Got to Go Faster! Faster! So you want to be a runner? Do you want to Feel the rush of running wild on the tracks and feel the wind gushing down your face? Well then your old buddy Zeal Howen here is going to teach you how, While it is true that this is the feeling every athlete on the field yearns to experience there are different factors to be considered in your training, and if you’re trying your best to be a high-speed runner, weightlifting workouts might looks as if a bit of wasted time. Luckily, a recent study shows that focusing on strength related training gives you that extra mile in running.

Research shows that runners who have added strength training to their running, after training for five weeks or more, those who have undergone strength training were able to sprint the same speed while using only 3-4% of less oxygen in their system. Or, to put it simply, the runners could run a minute faster on tract for the same amount of effort. Their bodies “running economy” had significantly increased throughout the process.

Well here’s another bit of excellent news from the analysis of the research: it showed that the strength exercises didn’t have to be too cruel. The amounts of weights used need not to be that heavy, you could use weights from low to moderate, it did not need some tiresome lifting “to failure,” a process which when you lift weights until your body bugs down.

Strength Training for Running Athletes

Research shows that resistance training has “great, beneficial effect” on effective runners.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research published a data that came from researchers across Spain and Greece in their several previous experiments. They went through hundreds and hundreds of studies to find those satisfying criteria where in:

• The volunteers had to be cutthroat middle- to long-distance sprint runners;
• Runners had to poses a VO2 max ( runners speed ) of at least 60 mL/kg/min, in which shows a soaring level of hard training and incredible ability;
• The data were reviewed by experts and it integrated a control group which did no strength training or resistance training for comparison;
• The program would at the least last four weeks long of intensive training; and
• The Running economy must be measured prior and after the training period.

The experiment ended up with five studies achieving those standards, and with a lot of 93 viable runners. And the majority of the results were outstanding: “A large, beneficial effect” of power training on the running economy, equivalent to an average development of 2.32 mL/kg/min in a participants running economy.

So what was the uniqueness of each strength training experiments in these five studies shown? Well they were quite diverse, but all held on between 8 and 12 weeks, which included 2 to 3 sessions per week. In each strength training conducted None of the studies drawn in lifting to failure; and in fact, 4 of them used the “low to moderate” weight training.

Well then does this offer the final answer about whether or not runners should engage in weight training? The answer is… It’s still not rather that simple.

At the end of the scale, if you’re by now running as extremely as your body can handle, it does look like a no-brainer move, as the authors note, in a survey of 2008 the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials participants found that almost half of the participants did no strength training, the result of which is that most of the others didn’t do well.

As an alternative of focusing only on running economy, the profit of strength training for ordinary runners may have extra factors like avoiding injury, where the data is once again insufficient and mixed at best. In general, health, especially with relation to age-related factors like muscle loss is also worth taking into consideration.

So finally can strength training make you go faster, faster, better, stronger? Well as promised the study reveals that the answer is a definitely “Yes.”

 

How Giving Up Sugar For Lent Affects Your Brain

If you are a Catholic, you will most likely know what Lent is all about. Known as ‘quaresima’ in Italian, ‘cuaresma’ in Spanish as well as ‘careme’ in French, Lent itself is derived from the Anglo-Saxon early English language which means to ‘lengthen’. For non-Catholics who are not aware of what ‘Lent’ may mean, it is a solemn religious practice where a Catholic should abstain from something of their choosing (usually their favorite foods) and it is done around six weeks prior to Easter.

Since the majority of people in the world are addicted to sugar, abstaining from it for the period of around 40 days for Lent will be an extremely arduous and difficult journey. Excessive consumption of sugar leads to weight gain, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure as well as cholesterol level, and if it were to be reversed, below are the effects of abstaining from sugar for a long period of time:

Mood Swings

Similar to other things that are contained in your food, sugar affects the chemicals in your brain which help you to function properly. One of the chemicals that will be released after you consume sugary foods is called dopamine. Dopamine helps to control the brain’s reward and pleasure system, as well as regulating emotional responses. For his reason, it is really foreseeable that once you take all your sugary food away, less and less dopamine will be produced in your brain, leaving you “rewardless” and unhappy. Withdrawing from sugar will cause similar effect to withdrawing from drugs, which may include physical symptoms if it is of severe condition. But as time goes by, the mood swings will stabilize and it will be replaced by mood and mental clarity.

Fatigue and Tiredness

As you give up instant supply of your blood sugar, your insulin count may be a little bit low and as a result, you will experience fatigue and tiredness. Sugar actually provides people with a short-term energy boost, or otherwise known as the “sugar rush”. The body is programmed to obtain energy from sugar, and it needs to adjust once the sugar supply has been stopped. Hence for this reason, it is really possible for people to experience symptoms like fatigue and lethargy during the first weeks of their sugar free journey. In some severe cases, withdrawing from sugar can also cause symptoms which are similar to getting a cold.

Headaches

Giving up sugar will cause the body to flush out toxins, and this detoxification process can cause headaches for some people because the body is trying to issue a warning to consume sugar as soon as possible. People have also reported the symptom of dizziness after they stop consuming sugar, but this typically affects people who are more sensitive to bodily changes. Such change in the body can also cause tension because the body system does not function normally, but this symptom will alleviate gradually.

Sleeping Pattern Changes

Withdrawing from sugar can cause someone to be moody, tired, lethargic and dizzy. These symptoms can also affect someone’s sleeping pattern, because the energy level drops in the beginning where the brain is forced to function differently. In spite of that, once the body has been accustomed to the absence of sugar, it is reported that someone will actually experience an improved sleep experience since toxins from the brain are flushed out, where additionally the insulin level is finally balanced with the amount of existing blood sugar. A positive result of such sleeping pattern changes would be a more natural and refreshing waking up experience.