How much does a logo design cost?

“How much does a logo design cost?”

It’s one of the most frequent questions I receive.

But trying to answer this question without specific details is a near impossible task. How long is a piece of string?

So the next question I usually hear is, “What’s the ballpark cost for designing a logo?”.

This depends, as every project is unique.

The cost of a logo is going to be different depending on the requirements, the size of the business, if its a rebranding, the amount of research & strategy that’s required and so much more.

Think about it. A huge multi-national has much different needs than a small local café.

For this reason, I get clients to fill out a branding questionnaire before formally quoting.

But let’s dive into logo design pricing further…

How much does logo design cost?

Ultimately, the cost of a professional logo design depends on who you decide to work with.

There is no average logo design cost, no set logo design price list and this goes for the USA / America, Australia, Canada, the UK, Europe, India – or anywhere for that matter!

But for the sake of answering the question, here are some logo design price ranges. Keep in mind these are just “ballpark” figures.

Budget Logo Design Price List:

• DIY /  Logo makers: $0 – $50
• Logo template: $5 – $100
• Logo Contests / Crowdsourcing: $50 – $500

Mid-Range Logo Design Costs:

• Offshore Designer: $100 – $250
• Beginner Freelancer: $100 – $1000
• Experienced Freelancer: $1000 – $5,000
• Renowned Freelancer:  $5000 – $15,000
• Small Design Studio: $5000 – $30,000
• Mid-Sized Agency: $5000 – $50,000+

High-End Logo Design Pricing:

• Branding Agency: $50,000 – $100,000  (generally includes strategy & global brand identity)
• Renowned Branding Agency: $100,000 – $1,000,000 + (generally includes strategy & global brand identity)
• World Famous Designer: $100,000 – $1,000,000+

These are all explained in more detail, later in the article.

Why is logo design so valuable?

To understand the value of professional logo design you must understand three things, explained in more detail below:

1. What a logo is
2. The benefits of a professional logo
3. The process of designing a logo

This will allow you to appreciate the true value of a quality logo design.

Take note of the graphic above, showing the differences between cheap logo design VS professional logo design.

What is a logo?

By definition, a logo is a graphic that is used to identify a company or product.

Technically speaking though, a logo is a vector graphic that can be enlarged to any size needed, without any loss of image quality, and doesn’t lose its meaning when it is shrunk down to the size of an app icon. It’s usable across a multitude of platforms and is completely unique. It stands out among competitors in similar fields.

The Benefits of Professional Logo Design

There are many benefits to having a high-quality logo for your company. When you decide that you want to go for it and start a business, you want to do everything you can, to give it a strong chance of being successful.

The right logo can be beneficial towards that goal for these reasons:

1. Recognition

Our memories tend to work in a way where we remember an image first and then a name, which explains why we can remember someone’s face but not their name. Having a strong logo that stands out is essential to making sure you stand out from your competitors. The best logos stay in the memory banks of people and can help create repeat business.

2. Consistency

A logo can provide a sense of uniformity and also make a huge impact on the reputation of your brand. A timeless and classic logo will provide your business with brand authenticity and can make your business look trustworthy, reliable, and professional even if you’ve only been in business a short time.

3. Representation

The logo for your business should be able to reveal the essence of your brand. A design that represents your business is vital to customers being able to know what you do. This is not to say that a car logo has to show a car, but the design style should be representative of the brand as a whole.

4. Beating Your Competition

If you look at almost any marketplace, the number of different brands out there can be staggering. This is why a high-quality logo can help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. With online marketing becoming more important as well as effective, a visually impressive logo that sits well on your site, social media, and marketing materials will make a huge difference in your business’ professionalism and advertising capabilities.

The logo design & branding process

When you decide that it’s time for you to have a logo designed for your business, you will have many options to choose from.

The biggest difference between the options, other than just cost, is the process that the graphic designer goes through when creating your logo. This extensive process ensures that the logo can stand the test of time, and is aligned with your business goals.

My design process looks like this:

1. Design Brief: Conduct questionnaire & phone call with client to get the design brief.
2. Research: Conduct research focused on the business, industry, on its history, and on its competitors.
3. Sketching & Concepts: Develop the logo design concept(s) around the brief and research.
4. Reflection: Take breaks throughout the design process. This lets ideas mature and to get renewed enthusiasm.
5. Presentation: The logos are presented & revised as needed. These steps are repeated until completed.
6. Celebrate & Launch! 

Logo Design Prices / Ballpark Costs

You can put the costs of logo design into 3 buckets: budget, mid-range and high-end.

The Budget Logo ($) 

These budget options are mostly for those people who may just be starting out and not have the capital they need yet to have a logo designed by a professional. If you’re serious about your business, you may want to spend some time developing a budget for your business plan so you can afford a better quality logo, because these routes may actually do more harm than good. You’ll generally get some clip art from an inexperienced designer.

» Read: Why professional logo design does not cost $5.00

• Free logo maker (avoid!)

The cheapest logo you’ll ever use is the one you make yourself. If you have some graphic design ability, you may be able to use one of these sites to create a suitable logo, although I highly recommend leaving designing to a professional – just like you leave your teeth for your dentist. These sites tend to limit what you can do, with generic icons and fonts.

• Cheap freelance services (avoid!)

Sites such UpWork and Fiverr offer graphic design services at an approved to price point, although you’re mostly working with ‘offshore designers’ or hobbyists. You post the job, explain the parameters of what you are looking for and hope for the best. While there may be some quality designers on these sites, the designs are notorious for being plagiarized, so be careful. And realistically if you’re paying $20 for a logo, how much time are they actually investing in your project? 

• Logo Contests (avoid!)

A logo contest is where you let different designers know what you are looking for and many designers present mockups of the logo for you to choose. Only one winner is awarded a “prize”. For this reason, the quality is extremely low. These “designers” do not invest time into the project and often plagiarize to cut corners. I’ve written a huge article on the dangers of Spec Work and I would avoid design contests at all costs.

Mid-Range ($$) 

This is typically where most small to mid-sized business owners should be looking for a quality logo design.

If you do the proper research, you’ll get good quality work and it won’t destroy your budget. While there are a couple of options at this price point, choosing one over the other will come down to which you’re more comfortable spending your money on.

See here for how to choose a logo designer

• Freelance designer

Building a relationship with your designer is a great way to ensure you get what you need and there’s no better way to do this than by working directly with a freelancer. With freelance though, the amount of experience can affect the cost and quality of the work. You must vet their portfolio and testimonials before making a decision.

• Beginner Freelancer – $100 – $1000
• Experienced Freelancer – $1000 – $5,000
• Renowned Freelancer – $5000 – $15,000+

• Small design studio

A small design studio keeps things tight, which means you can utilize a small selection of designers at an effective price point. You generally work with a point of contact VS directly with the designers. 

Prices can range from $5000 – $30,000+

• Mid-sized agency

A mid-sized agency generally has better quality work, but it does come with more overhead, as they need to hire managers, creative directors, and multiple designers to work on the project.

Prices can range from $5000 – $50,000+

The High-End Logo ($$$) 

Logo creation that is priced in this range, generally provide their clients with much more than just a logo. They are more of an encapsulation of your brand as a whole and will provide a much more extensive process than any other option.

• Agencies

A design agency is like having a swiss-army knife. Sure, you’ll get a logo created for your business, but with an agency, they will conduct in-depth market research and competitor analysis to determine how your brand can stand out in the market and you’ll have creative teams work on your project from every angle, ensuring success at a sometimes, very high price point.

• Branding Agency $50,000 – $100,000+
• Renown Branding Agency $100,000 – $1,000,000+

Large multi-national branding projects often go into the multi-millions.

• World renowned designers

Milton Glaser, Michael Bierut, Erik Spikerman, Debbie Millman. Design legends like these come with legendary price tags and are often sub contracted by larger agencies.

What if I can’t afford professional logo design?

“If you think good design is expensive, you should see the cost of bad design.”

Design is an investment and it will pay off for many years to come. If you can’t afford a professional logo design straight away, consider these options:

1. Save your money
2. Apply for funding
3. Invest more of your own time into the business. Define your brand vision, mission, story, and strategy – then go to your freelancer with something, rather than relying on them for all of the answers.
4. Barter – Swap your product or service for branding services
5. Ask your designer if they accept installments

What logo files need to be delivered?

At the end of the design project, you should be receiving:

• Logo design (colour) in vector format
• Logo design (black & white) in vector format
• Vertical logo lockup
• Horizontal logo lockup
• Square lockup (for social profile images)
• Different file formats (Ideally JPG, PNG, EPS)
• Stationery design files + any other designed files
• Style Guide (outlining fonts, colours, etc)

Tips for a successful logo design

Like any industry, there are scam artists out there and they can hurt the rest of those trying to do things the right way and provide a valuable service.

This can make some wary of working with a quality freelance graphic designer, thinking that they will take the money and run, or worse, provide plagiarized work. 

To avoid getting ripped off, here are some easy tips to remember:

1. Stay off bargain freelancer sites

They may seem like a good option at an incredibly cheap rate and there is a reason why. A $5 logo is not going to be worth the headache and in many cases, could be a plagiarized copy.

2. Do a reverse image search 

This is a good way to steer clear of people stealing designs and search engines are able to see the contents of graphics and and match it from the internet. See here for a tutorial on using reverse image search. 

3. Reach out to previous clients 

Who your designer has worked with in the past can tell you a lot about their work and expertise. 

4. Learn how to choose a logo designer

See the tips below.

How to choose a choose a logo designer

These are 10 things you should take into account when choosing a logo designer, explained in more detail here.

1. Proven success & experience
2. Positive testimonials
3. A thorough design process
4. Awards & published work
5. A strong portfolio
6. Price reflective of value
7. Design affiliations
8. Great customer service
9. Business professionalism
10. Appropriate questions being asked

Beyond The Logo

With all this said, you should know that your logo is not your brand.

Your logo is just the tip of the iceberg.

Contact me or fill out my brand questionnaire to take your logo (& brand) to the next level!

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Designers, how much do you charge for a logo design? Do you agree with the price sheets above?

5 Steps to Crazy Effective Email List Building

This article was contributed by David from CollectiveRay. 

Creating a healthy email list is one of the best things you can do for your business. With a direct-line to a customer’s inbox, you have awesome power at the tips of your fingers. Only one channel is more effective than email, organic search.

But even though 72% of Americans prefer email to other forms of communication, 69% will not respond to an email from a brand they do not trust.

Buying email lists, or harvesting email addresses and spamming might have worked some years back but it won’t fly anymore, today, it will kill the reputation of your email sending domain and with it – your business.

So how do we go about building a healthy email marketing list which can be used effectively?

You have to focus your efforts on creating meaningful and valuable connections with your customers. These connections start by building an email list, based on providing value to your target audience.

Then use the email list to establish a relationship based on trust, by sending a series of emails which give additional value to your customers.

If you are just starting out, email list building might seem like a white elephant. But with the right strategies, it will just be a walk in the park. Here, we will discuss insanely simple steps to building an email list from scratch.

5 Steps to effective email list building

Now that we’ve discussed the importance of building an email list, here’s how to about achieving this.

Given that the fear of getting bombarded with promotional stuff is real, people are very stingy with their emails.

You should therefore never assume you will get emails just because you have a popup box with a plugin such as Bloom Email, Sumo or OptinMonster.

What we’re going to discuss is a strategy which can be performed repeatedly, which will generate a constant stream of new emails, daily, of users in your target niche.

1. Locate a need in your niche

In order to be successful at collecting emails, you must find a pressing need which your target audience experiences on a regular basis.

The best way to discover what users need, is once again, organic search. Simply put, when people need something, they first refer to search engines to try and find it.

By doing a good exercise of keyword research, using keywords which are popular in your niche, you can analyse the user intent behind the keyword searches. Using the “user intent” you can understand whether the user is looking for something they need.

To zone in to specific need based users, you can add the following to your keywords:

• Checklist
• Cheatsheet
• Download
• Best practices
• Free

and other keywords which are relevant in your industry.

Once you’ve done a comprehensive keyword research exercise in your niche, take note of some keywords with a unique need, which you think you can create with good content and a great download.

Even though people loathe content that is salesy in nature, they will readily welcome good content that is actually solving their needs.

There are other simple things you can use to locate a unique need in your niche:

• One-on-one conversations – find a creative way of extracting ideas from your target audience. This could be through telephone surveys, exit interviews, feedback forms, etc. Structure your questions in a way that will make your prospects reveal their biggest pain points.

• Forums – Look for forums dedicated to your niche and browse through to see what users are asking. If you see a topic that is commonly debated, it indicates a problem that needs a solution.

• Keyword research tools – Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, MOZ and Semrush and other keyword research tools can help you identify needs in your niche. Popular and common search terms usually point to a common pain point.

As we said before, you want to find a problem that would require a checklist or something which a client needs to download. For instance, a customer may be asking, “what do I need build a great email list?” This can be a good question for creating a checklist or even a downloadable ebook.

2. Find and rank mid-tail keywords

Just because you have found a very hot topic doesn’t mean you should start creating content around it – you might not rank for that keyword at all, especially if the keyword is very competitive and there are a large number of high authority sites trying to rank it.

Do some research in order to find out which websites are ranking for that keyword. Once you find the sites that are ranking, check the content of that sites, and estimate how much effort it would take you to write content which is 2X better than what there is already. As a rule of thumb, we check the top 10 websites ranking for the keyword. If all the sites are ranking with fairly weak content, then that is is a good target.

In other words, look for keywords that are weak in content. We recommend using a paid tool to do this, where you just enter your keyword phrase and the tool will tell you how many monthly searches the keyword attracts and how much competition the keyword has. Tinker around with different keywords until you have found one that has a high monthly search (500+) volume but has very little competition.

A couple of years ago, it was very easy to find a weak keyword and rank for it in a matter of days. However, Google has since changed their algorithms to favor authority sites. The silver lining is if you become an authority in the niche, you are guaranteed lots of organic traffic.

Once you locate a high volume keyword that has very little competition, start creating high quality and content around it.

The way to do this is to analyze the top 10 results and create a piece of content which incorporates the concepts of ALL the top ten results.

Keyword research is also important when writing the content. Using your tool of choice find as many variable phrases of the keyword as possible. A variable phrase refers to the different ways one can type a given keyword, which you can then use within your content.

• Email marketing best practices
• Best practices for email marketing
• B2B email marketing
• Email marketing design best practices

Variable phrases will help you get more traffic. For instance, while one of the phrases above might get 500 monthly searches, a combination of all the above might give you over 4,000 searches.

The best part is, you can create a single page and optimize it for all those keywords. As long as you rank highly with one of the phrases, Google will rank you highly with all its variants as well.

3. Offer valuable content – include some free downloads

Once you have identified some good keywords that have very little competition, you can go ahead and create content around them, as we have discussed in the previous step.

Optimizing your content for various keywords is one of the fastest ways of achieving top ranking in search engine results. When creating your content, remember to use the “need” based content (such as the checklist you came up with in step 1) because this will help to keep your readers hooked.

Your content creation process should focus on one main goal – giving readers value. If a reader is happy with your content, they will most likely want to keep coming back for more.

They will trust you as an authority in the subject and it will be easier to convert them when that time comes.

But the kicker, and the one which is going to bring home the bacon is this. Create a version of the article, or it’s content as a downloadable file.

A Word/Excel checklist, a PDF, a spreadsheet with steps to follow, or a bundle of items which can be used as templates or starting points for their need.

Supposing you had written a blog post on the advantages of “email marketing best practices”, you can offer something like “The Must-Have Checklist for Implementing Best Practices in your Email Marketing” as your free download.

It’s important that the content you’ve written is already giving them excellent value, but the download would be the cherry on the cake. The user can get what they need via your website article, but they can “take it home” or offline, by using your download.

4. Setup your list building plugins

After having created excellent content around a specific need, and building trust with your readers, you can then create a lead magnet page – the mechanism which will help you capture the emails.

Since you have built the trust already, your clients will be happy to give their emails in exchange for the download. This is because, you are not asking for their email address, but you are offer them something in return, which makes the lead magnet convert much more effectively.

The way we do this is to setup a button, which triggers an opt-in box, which is then hooked to a mechanism which sends the download via email (that gives you double opted-in and clean emails by default).

There are two main reasons why this will work like a charm.

First and foremost, the reader trusts you so they will not be afraid to share their email. Secondly, they have already seen that you offer great value so they do not mind getting even more valuable content through their email.

So for your lead magnet to work, you must have something valuable you are giving your reader for free and the only condition is you will send it to them via email.

So how do you go about creating a product that customers would really want to download? It is easier than you think.

By the time you follow the three steps outlined above, you will have lots of high-quality content. Just curate something from your content and you will be good to go. Here are some interesting ideas:

• Checklist – we have discussed how this spot on for downloads because this is something which the user will require over and over again and they can use this as their template available offline.
• Bundle of templates – give them a download which is a good number of various templates which they may need to start a piece of work.
• E-book – think of it as a whitepaper except that it addresses the topic in a more entertaining and laid-back way. You want to make the e-book authoritative but not too technical.

• Infographic – If you can convert one of your posts into an interesting infographic, most users will be happy to get it delivered in their emails.

• Quizzes – embedding a quiz on your page is another way of keeping your visitors engaged in a fun way. You can then request them to leave their email to receive a copy of the quiz results.

• Slideshow – use a slideshow to help your reader to walk through a process. You can use a slideshow as a follow-up to another email.

There are various plugins you can use to create your lead magnets. We’ve used Bloom from Elegant Themes, Sumo, OptinMonster, but there are various others which work just as well.

5. Promote and get links to the article so you can rank it quickly

Finally, while content alone might get you some traffic, it won’t get you great traffic, unless you get some good incoming backlinks to the piece, which will also help it to get ranked quickly.

As soon as you have finished setting up and testing everything on the page, start promoting it.

Share it on your social media platforms and mail it to the emails you had already collected.

Go through your old posts and create inbound links back to the page as well. If you are using WordPress, make sure the page has the Yoast SEO greenlight. Then start doing various types of outreach to help you get links to site article you have created.

Once the links started coming in, the page will rank for the appropriate keywords, and traffic will start trickling in first, and eventually start coming in floods. But performing this process on a few strategic pieces of content, you will start receiving a stream of emails in no time at all.

As we have seen, building an email list doesn’t have to be a marathon bender. As long as you know how to go about it, it will just be a brisk walk. Just follow the steps outlined above and you should have a fully automated email collecting emails.

OptinMonster Lead Generation Plugin

Editor’s note: I personally use OptinMonster for my lead generation and can highly recommend them!

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Top feature image by vasabii on Shuttertock. 

Internet of Things: What It Is, How It Works, Examples and More

This article was contributed by Jay M.

One of the most common buzzwords in the world of mobile app development right now is IoT, the Internet of Things.

From the simplest consumer-based applications like smart homes and wearables to complicated, industry-grade solutions like driverless forklifts, IoT is everywhere and gradually changing the way how consumers live, work and interact with their Internet-enabled devices.
According to a recent report from Statista, there will be almost 31 billion connected smartphones, wearables, smart watches, cars, and other devices by the end of 2020. Currently, this number is around 23 billion worldwide. This demonstrates how exponentially the IoT is growing.

While the concept of the IoT has been around for quite a long time, most of the people are still not familiar to it. If you’re also one of them, this comprehensive guide is for you. Covering everything essential you need to know about the Internet of Things, this detailed guide is fabricated to help you learn what IoT actually is, how it works, its use cases and advantages, with appropriate real-life examples.

Let’s get started!

What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is essentially an ecosystem of physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other things that have the ability to connect, collect and exchange data over a wired and wireless network, with little or no human-to-human or human-to-computer intervention. Allowing integration and data exchange between physical devices and the computer, this new wave of technology focuses on making human life more simplified and comfortable with the right mix of efficiency and productivity.

To be more specific, taking advantage of cutting-edge technologies like Machine Learning, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication and Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT aims at extending connectivity beyond standard Internet supported physical devices (smartphones, tablets, desktops, and laptops) to a wide spectrum of non-internet-enabled physical devices and everyday objects, such as coffee makers, washing machines, door locks, etc., so you can remotely monitor and control them with the help of a mobile or tablet device.

How Does IoT Work?

Since the mechanism of IoT devices is highly technical, so for many it’s quite confusing how an IoT system actually works. Well, just like any other system has predefined steps and components to make it work, so the Internet of Things has its own. A complete IoT system is made up of four distinct components that work together to deliver the desired output. Let’s look at each component and understand what it does.

1. Sensors/Devices

First of all, sensors or devices collect very minute data from the surrounding environment. The collected data could be as simple as a geographical location or as complex as health essentials of a patient.

To pick up the most sensitive changes in data, one can bundle multiple sensors together to be a part of a device that is capable of doing more than just sense things. For instance, the mobile phone is a device with several built-in sensors such as GPS, Camera, Accelerometer, without which the phone is not able to sense things.

Thus, be it a standalone sensor or a device having multiple sensors, the first step involves the collection of all the minute details from the surrounding environment.

2. Connectivity

Once the data is collected, it is sent to a cloud infrastructure aka an IoT platform with the help of a medium. That’s where several wireless and wired networking technologies, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Cellular Networks, LPWAN, Ethernet, etc come into handy. While each of these connectivity options represents a tradeoff between power consumption, connection range, and bandwidth, choosing the best one to transmit data to the cloud solely depends on the complexity level and specific requirements of an IoT application.

3. Data Processing

Once the data gets to the cloud infrastructure, it is stored, analyzed, and processed securely using a Big Data Analytics Engine for better decision making. This analysis can be as simple as checking whether or not the temperature reading on an AC or heater is within an acceptable range, or as complex as identifying intruders in your house with the help of surveillance cameras. The processed data is then used to perform immediate, intelligent actions that turn our ordinary physical devices into exceptionally smart devices.

4. User Interface

The last step involves notifying the end user about the action through an email, text, notification, or alert sound triggered on their IoT application. Depending on the complexity of the IoT system, the user can then either leave the automatically performed action intact, proactively check in on their IOT system, or manually perform an action to backfire or affect the system. For instance, if the user detects some changes in a particular room, he can remotely adjust that room temperature via an IoT app installed on his phone.

6 Benefits of IoT

While the ultimate goal of the Internet of Things is to automate human life to make it more insanely efficient and productive, there are countless benefits of IoT for both businesses and consumers. Mentioned below are just a few of them:

1. Access to High-quality Data

Everyone, especially marketers and entrepreneurs, loves data and with the invention of IoT devices, companies now have greater access to data related their customers and products than ever before. They can take advantage of these real-time operational insights to monitor consumer behavior, deliver better customer experiences and make smarter business decisions. Technically, the more information you have, the easier it is for you to take the right decision.

2. Better Tracking and Management

Whatever the industry is, IoT makes tracking and management a breeze for organizations. From keeping track of inventory item by item to monitoring road traffic and weather conditions to notifying the concerned authorities about any suspicious behavior, IoT revolutionizes the way how we currently track and manage our business assets. In fact, IoT is not just about the smart homes anymore, but it is now also about smart offices, smart warehouse, and smart anything else.

3. Efficient Resource Utilization

Be it home, office, hotel or car, IoT facilitates an efficient utilization of assets for improved productivity. Leveraging the power of machine-to-machine interaction, an IoT system collects real-time data with the help of sensors and actuators so you can further use it to improve process efficiency and minimize human intervention. As a basic example, if any of your Home Appliances notifies you about the task completion, you need not worrying about the inefficient consumption of the electricity.

4. Automation and Control

Automation is the need of the hour and IoT is renowned for the same. Since most of the IoT devices are connected with each other through a wireless infrastructure, they are able to operate on their own with little or no manual intervention. For instance, home appliances such as air conditioner, washing machines, ovens, and refrigerators can be automatically get operated and you can even monitor and control them remotely.

5. Comfort and Convenience

We live in a fast-paced world where busy people don’t even care about small things like switching on/off lights and reading energy meters, and this is where the Internet of Things comes in. The interconnectivity of devices and aggregation of data provides you full control over your all devices that are connected with each other through the IoT system. Since you’re able to control all your devices just through one centralized device like your phone, this leads to greater convenience and comfort.

6. Saves Time and Money

The concept of IoT revolves around getting more done in less time by automating tasks and requiring little to no human intervention. Allowing you to accomplish cumbersome tasks faster and with optimum utilization of energy, IoT not only saves your precious time but also your hard-earned money. For example, if your kitchen electronic appliance has the ability to turn off itself after the task is done, this saves your time and efforts required to manually switch off the appliance as well as extra expenditure caused by the unnecessary use of electricity.

6 Use Cases of Internet of Things (IoT)

If you look around, you’ll find an ever-growing number of devices is getting smarter day after day and there is no industry that has remained untouched by the Internet of Things. Some real-world applications of IoT presently in use are:

1. Smart Home

Smart Home, which is also the most searched IoT associated feature on Google, is definitely the best example of IoT use case. With a focus on providing you optimum security and convenience, smart home systems and devices are designed to save your precious time and energy. You can control everything from lighting to temperature of your house with just a few taps on your smartphone. Isn’t this really a cool thing?

2. Wearables

While wearables like Smart Watches and Fitness Tracking Bands have already flooded the market, many giant companies like Samsung and Intel are now investing heavily in building IoT-powered wearable devices. With the help of sensors and software installed, such devices can track and monitor crucial metrics like heart rate, blood pressure, sleeping and eating habits, caloric intake, etc, and share them with a third-party app or a healthcare service provider.

3. Smart Cities

Many countries like South Korea, Japan, Spain, and the UK are trying to colonize smart cities in order to provide their citizens with a better, safer and healthier living environment. Collecting the data from citizens, devices, and assets, a smart city promises to solve major problems of people living in a usual city, like water distribution, pollution, crime, traffic congestion, waste management, etc. To better understand how Smart Cities actually work, check out this amazing video.

4. Automotive and Transportation

With the Internet of Things, automotive companies like BMW, Ford, Tesla, and Volvo are looking forward to enhancing the in-car experience. Being equipped with technologies like sensors, maps, computer vision, sonar, and the Internet, these cars are driverless and can run with little or no human assistance. And, if combined with Machine Learning, the IoT also assists in various aspects of transportation systems like logistics and fleet management, smart traffic control and smart parking.

5. Medical and Healthcare

The Medical industry is also taking advantage of IoT-powered devices for remote health monitoring and emergency alerts. With the help of smart healthcare devices, the doctors can remotely monitor the health of patients outside of conventional clinical environments and give medicines on the basis of collected data. Likewise, in an emergency, doctors can keep themselves ready for the operation as they are already aware of the medical condition of the patient.

6. Industrial IoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the industrial subset of the IoT which leverages this innovative technology to solve industrial concerns, automate processes and eliminate inefficiencies. While the term IIoT often denotes the use of IoT in manufacturing industries, other common applications of IIoT include futuristic farming, aerospace and defense, and energy management.

Internet of Things Examples

Amazon Go

Amazon Go is one of its kind retail store that facilitates customers shopping with no checkout required. All you need to sign in the Amazon Go app to enter the store, then shop as you normally would and leave the store. No lines, no checkout, just walk out! Can’t believe it? Watch this interesting video.

Nest Learning Thermostat

Nest Learning Thermostat self-learning Wi-Fi-enabled smart thermostat that leverages Machine Learning to automatically optimize the heating and cooling of your home to conserve energy. You can also manually control your home’s temperature with just a few taps on your smartphone or tablet.

Philips Hue

With Philips Hue, you can control your lights from your living room to the backyard. You can turn them off with a single tap and even change their hue to match your ambiance. Even, your lights even give you a warm welcome when you arrive home and switch off automatically as soon as you leave your home.

Hero Health

Hero Health is a smart medication dispenser that is widely used for home treatment and elderly care. This smart appliance not only allows your loved one to dispense doses at the push of a button but also sends alerts to your smartphone if they miss a dose.

Blossom

Blossom is a smart watering system that utilizes real-time weather data and forecasts for optimal water use in your yard and allows you to control your sprinklers from remotely from your Android or iOS device.

Internet of Things Platforms

Cloud IoT Core by Google: A fully managed service that allows you to securely connect and manage IoT devices, globally.

Microsoft Azure IoT Hub: An open-cloud platform that makes it easy for anyone to connect, monitor and manage billions of IoT devices.

AWS IoT Core: A managed cloud service from Amazon to provide a secure, bi-directional communication between the Internet of Things and the AWS Cloud.

IBM Watson IoT: The AI-powered IBM Watson IoT platform allows you to collect connected device data and perform real-time analytics on it to maximize the potential of your IoT devices.

MindSphere: Developed by Siemens, MindSphere is an open cloud platform that empowers you to unleash the full potential of data generated by the IoT devices with a leading-edge analytics.

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About the author: Jay M, an app developer cum blogger working with iPraxa – a mobile app development company, who has proven expertise in resolving all the technical complexities involved in the development of innovative, unique websites and apps. 

2018 Black Friday + Cyber Monday Deals for Graphic & Web Designers

Welcome to my massive compilation of the best 2018 Black Friday Deals and Cyber Monday Sales for graphic designers, web professionals, creatives, freelancers and more.

I will be updating this page frequently until all sales are over.

If you have your own deal, email me and I’ll update the post with your deal.

Please share the love with your fellow designers!

Copy and paste the below to share:

2018 Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals for designers & web professionals! https://buff.ly/2DIrCpP #BlackFriday #CyberMonday via @justcreative

Click here to tweet.

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, where many retailers make special offers, both offline and online. It has long been touted as one of the best times of the year for buying just about anything.

When is Black Friday 2018?

Black Friday is on Friday November 23, 2018 but sales generally run from November 23-26.

What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is the pinnacle of capitalism, where every man and their dog has a heavily reduced sale of their online goods & services.

When is Cyber Monday 2018?

Cyber Monday is on Monday, November 26, 2018.

Top Black Friday Deals Overview

For full details, valid dates & coupon codes you must scroll on further.

• Online Courses from Udemy – $10-$15 (90% off)
• Skillshare Premium Membership – 2 Free months
• Shutterstock Stock Photos & Vectors – 20% off
• MyFonts – Best Sellers & Special Offers – 20-80% off
• Adobe Photography Plan – 25% off
• Booking.com – $15 Free
• NordVPN – 75% off
• Domains & Web Hosting with BlueHost – 50-66% off
• The Ultimate Guide to Logo Design eBook – 35% off
• Amazon – 10-80% off
• Getting A Mentor As a Designer Guaranteed Book – Free Audio Book
• SleekLens Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop Products – 20-30% Off. Code BLKFRIDAY
• 35,000 Icons: RoundIcons – Everything – 50% Off
• Mockup Zone – 70% Off
• FontBundles.net Marketplace Items – 50% off
• InkyDeals – 25-95% Off + extra 60% Off Site Wide
• MightyDeals – 25-99% Off
• DesignCuts – 25-99% Off
• MyDesignDeals – 25-97% Off
• CreativeMarket – 20% Off

 Many more deals are listed at the very bottom of this post and will be updated as they come in.

 

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Master A New Skill with an Online Course from Udemy – Just $10

Master a new skill with an online course from Udemy for just $10 which gives you up to 90% off any particular course!

Bonus! Buy one course, get on free on Cyber Monday – use code ‘UDEAFFBF18’.

Eligible dates to earn free course credit: 11/22/18 – 11/23/18
Eligible dates to redeem free course credit: 11/26/18 – 11/27/18

 

SkillShare 2 Months FREE of Unlimited Classes

Get 2 FREE months of Unlimited Classes from Skillshare. These classes are much more ‘snack-sized’ than Udemy’s in-depth courses. So, learn a new skill today, enroll in a class from Skillshare.

 

Adobe Creative Cloud – 25% Off

• 25% discount on Creative Cloud all apps membership

Available until Nov 24.

 

Amazon Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals Week

Amazon have an awesome Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals week page that lists everything from electronics, toys, kitchen tools, pet supplies, and more.

I recommend using their Electronic Gift Guide.

iStock – Save 12-20%

Save 12-20% on Photos, Videos, and Illustrations.

• 15% off annual subscriptions for all customers with promo code ANNUAL15.
• 12% off everything for new customers with promo code 12NEWIS.

 

Shutterstock Stock Photos & Vectors – 10% off

Get over 60 million stock photos, vectors, videos and music tracks from Shutterstock.

Get 20% off 750 image subscription plans with the code ‘SSUB’ or get 10% off any order with code ‘SS10’.

 

 

MyFonts Best Sellers & Special Offers

Browse the MyFonts best sellers and special offers page and grab some great Black Friday deals !

Need a Vacation? Get US $15 off any booking at Booking.com

Booking is my favourite online hotel booking engine, due to all of its features and simplicity. And today, you can get US$15 off your next stay!

> Click here to get $15 off your next Booking

The $15 will be refunded to you after checking out of your hotel. Booking.com will send an email with the refund. You must have a Booking.com account to get refunded. Have any questions? See their FAQ.

 

DesignCuts Marketplace Black Friday – 40% Off 

You can save a massive 40% on the best quality creative assets from some of DesignCut most popular designers. Valid to 12PM, Tuesday 26th November, UK time.

Just Creative Store – 15% Off

Grab a t-shirt, tote bag, hat, socks or more from the JUST Creative Store. Get 15% off with code ‘JUST15’ until Nov 26.

SmartMockups App – 60% Off 

Smartmockups is exactly what it sounds like… A smart mockup tool that gives you the power, speed and resources you need to create stunning photo-realistic mockup designs, in just a few clicks. Save 60% off (up to $117) between Nov 22nd-28th.

 

NordVPN (75% Off)

NordVPN is the easiest to use VPN provider out there. You can watched previously banned TV from other parts of the world, while increasing your online privacy.

Get an exclusive 77% discount on a 3 Year Plan making it just $3 a month. Use code ‘3ydeal’ to claim, until November 29.

 

BlueHost Web Hosting 66% Off AND 50% Off Domains

BlueHost is my recommended web host for small to mid-sized businesses. Easy to use, great value, great support and my first choice for clients. Just Creative readers save up to 66% off their hosting and 50% off domain names. See my tutorial on how to set up your own website.

 

The Ultimate Guide to Logo Design eBook – 35% Off

The Ultimate Logo Design eBook by Kyle Courtright is the “definitive guide to logo design”. This eBook would go for $29 however you can get $10 (35% off) the book, making it just $19. This is your chance to up your logo & branding game – there really is no other resource like this. Use coupon code ‘JUST10OFF’ at checkout.

 

IconFinder – 2 Million Icons 60% Off

IconFinder is offering Just Creative readers 50% off the first month of membership. Get it here.

 

LogoWave Awards Competition – 25% Off

LogoWave Awards entries get 25% off for any entries from Black Friday through Nov 30 with promo “WAVE25“.

 

Getting A Mentor As a Designer Guaranteed Book

Ram Castillo is one inspiring dude and he has two great books, his latest is based on finding a mentor to allow you to “see blind spots and succeed faster”. Get the free audio book with the purchase of the paperback (please email Ram after purchasing and he will send it to you). Also see Ram’s other book, How to Get a Job as a Designer Guaranteed.

 

SleekLens – Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop Products – 30% Off

Receive discounts of up to 20-30% off on select products for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Simply use the promo code BLKFRIDAY during checkout. Get the deal here.

50% Off All Marketplace Items at FontBundles.net

Get 50% off all marketplace items at FontBundles.net between Nov 25-28. Browse items.

 

StoryChief’s Content Marketing Software — 50% off 

Are you a marketer, publisher or otherwise content creator? Get 50% of ALL plans for all your content creation and distribution needs. Create, Publish, Analyze Stats and manage your stories in one place with StoryChief! Use coupon: BLACKFRIDAY18

Starting at $5/month (with 50% off) and there’s also a free forever plan.

 

Creative Market – 20% Off

Get 20% off stock resources from CreativeMarket until Nov 26.

 

OptinMonster Lead Generation Software – 35% Off

Get 35% OFF your entire OptinMonster cart between November 19-26. Use code: BF2018

 

React, Node & ES6 Courses – 50% Off

Take 50% off all courses and skill up before the year is over.

• Learn React for Beginners
• Learn Node
• Learn ES6+

 

Papirmass Art Subscription – 25% Off

Papirmass is monthly Art Subscription that will wow your walls. Get 25% off an annual subscription with promo code: GIVEART

 

 

More Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals

I will update the deals below as they come in!

Courses

• Online Courses from Udemy – $10-$15 (90% off)
• Skillshare – 2 Free months of Unlimited Classes
• CodeCollege – 50% Off all memberships and courses. Use code BLACKFRIDAY2018

Graphic Design Assets / Marketplaces

• MightyDeals – Design resources 25-99% Off
• DesignCuts – Design Marketplace 25-99% Off
• MyDesignDeals – 25-97% Off
• CreativeMarket – Graphic design marketplace 20% Off
• Envato – 50% off 500 items, and 34% off annual subscriptions
• InkyDeals – 25-95% Off + extra 60% Off Site Wide
• Designmodo – 70% off. Coupon code: BLACK
• FontBundles.net Marketplace Items – 50% off
• Craftwork UI Assets – 50% off all products.
• CraftBundles – 20% Off
• Ramotion – 50% discount for all mockups. Coupon: BLACK18
• Vecras – Product mockups, vector cut outs, graphic packs – 30% off. 25-27th Nov. Use code SPECIAL30%OFF
• Mockup Zone – 70% Off

Stock Photography & Vectors

• Shutterstock Stock Photos & Vectors – 20% off
• iStock – Save 15%  – Coupon: ANNUAL15
• 123RF.com – 15% off

Hosting, Domains & Web Dev

• BlueHost – 66% off hosting and 50% off domains

Web Apps / Software

• Elementor Pro – 25% off – Create stunning pro websites in minutes. Coupon: blackfriday2017.

Plugins

• Soon

Icons

• IconFinder – 2 Million Icons – 50% Off First Month
• 35,000 Icons: RoundIcons – Everything – 50% Off

Other

• MyFonts – Best Sellers & Special Offers – 20-80% off
• The Ultimate Guide to Logo Design eBook – 35% off
• Amazon – 10-80% off
• Getting A Mentor As a Designer Guaranteed Book – Free Audio Book
• SleekLens Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop Products – 20-30% Off. Code BLKFRIDAY
• DJI Drones & More – 18% Off

Submit your own sale and I’ll add it above.

 

More Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deal Compilations

• Coming soon

 

Please share the love with your fellow designers!

Copy and paste the below to share:

2018 Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals for designers & web professionals! https://buff.ly/2DIrCpP #BlackFriday #CyberMonday via @justcreative

Click here to tweet.

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Balloon image by kotoffe on Shutterstock.