Andras Forgacs is the CEO of Modern Meadow, a company that's seeking to mass produce bioengineered meat that comes out of a bioprinter. Why? Because commercial meat production is a highly resource-intensive process, and Modern Meadow argues that their product is a more sustainable way to provide protein.

While Forgacs and co. have been at this for some time—below is a video of him eating Modern Meadow's early product in front of a TED audience in 2011—last week he submitted himself to a Reddit AMA ("ask me anything") session, clearing up some things I'd been confused about. Here are some excerpts:

Q:What is the input, what is the output ? Explain like I am five, for 1 kg of meat , what is needed?
The input are largely animal cells (muscle, fat and a couple other types - taken from a donor animal through a biopsy) and cell culture media (a soup in which the cells grow made of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, salts, sugars) and then energy to run the process. Output is muscle tissue that is then matured/conditioned until it is processed into meat products.

Q: Are the input animal cells consistent with the output? Or will there be a blending of pig/cow/horse etc to create "beef"?
A: No blending of different species. Pig stays pig. Cow stays cow. Etc. We are using multiple cell types from each animal but staying with the same animal. In fact, an advantage of this approach is that it can ensure purity. Because we control the inputs and have such a tight process, we know the exact ingredients of every batch. No mystery meat surprises like the recent one from the UK.

In the aforementioned video, Forgacs spends roughly the first half explaining why bioprinted meat is a good idea, and roughly the second half whipping up a snack in a raclette, then tosses it down the hatch:

Now whether you're grossed out by this or not, you've gotta be wondering: How does it taste? Writes Forgacs,

I've tasted it as have my colleagues. We've only been able to have small bites since we're still working on getting the process right.

I cooked some pieces in olive oil and ate some with and without salt and pepper. Not bad. The taste is good but not yet fully like meat. We have yet to get the fat content right and other elements that influence taste. This process will be iterative and involve us working closely with our consulting chefs.

While I fully understand Modern Meadow's sustainability rationale for pursuing their goal, I'm a little squeamish about eating the stuff. But I can definitely get behind the company's other goal: They hope to successfully print leather, which would be pretty awesome.

Check out the full AMA here.

You couldn't make it up: as recently as a few years ago, Mattias Lepp was an orchestra conductor. After realizing that he "would never be a great conductor," humble Estonian took to developing a home gardening system, and the rest, as they say, is history. Click and Grow has established itself in Europe and has been looking to expand into the US market as of last year. According to their blog,

It all started in 2005, when Mattias happened to read a NASA report about technologies that make it possible to grow plants in outer space. At first, the information about the technology wasn't nothing more than just good knowledge...

However, things took a twist in 2009, when Mattias went through another research paper which stated that every year about 20 billion euros worth of houseplants are thrown away around the world due to mismanagement issues. Baffled that so many people around the world are having trouble caring for their plants, Mattias identified an uncovered market demand. By connecting the two things, the widespread plant managing problems and the knowledge about the technology, the idea of Click & Grow was formed.

In the first round of research and development it became evident that the growing method called aeroponics... wasn't the proper solution. To solve peoples' problems of managing plants, a more complex method was needed, a foolproof method that is.

The attention was turned to a field of study called biomimicry. Biomimicry is the examination of nature, its models and processes, elements to emulate or take inspiration from in order to solve human problems. The basic idea in R&D was to map the key aspects and processes of plant growth and create a medium that perfectly imitates them. By developing a special substrate which holds the nutrients and seeds, and using sensors, a processor and software to measure and care for the plants exact needs, an ideal environment for growing plants was created in the form of the Click & Grow smartpot.

The proprietary nanotechnology and software is enclosed within the proverbial black box of the cartridge system.

Check out the teaser video:

Pedestal not included

The SodaStream booth was definitely on our radar this year, since they unveiled the Yves Béhar-designed Source soda machine just a month after the 2012 International Home + Housewares Show. As with last year, the New Jersey-based company went all-in with a massive booth in the Wired+Well section of the Housewares Show, though they opted to forgo the walkthrough mini-movie booth for a relatively simple cage filled with plastic soda bottles.

Even so, this year's booth was no less spectacular than last year: between the sculptural installation Keurig-like flavor caps and an alcove for the new Samsung refrigerator that features an integrated carbonator, SodaStream made a strong showing at McCormick Place. Check it out:

When we were filming her introductory remarks, Design Programs Vicki Matranga made an offhand comment that SodaStream was among the major success stories for the kitchen category, marking a shift in beverage consumption habits. We noted that at least a couple competitors were nipping at their proverbial heels last year, but we were impressed with the new offerings as SodaStream continues to innovate and collaborate in order to reach new customers in the expanding market for home carbonation.

With power tools and ready access to wood, there's plenty of things you can build for home use. Plain desks, tables and cabinets are the most straightforward, with beds, chairs and seating pushing into more challenging territory. But there are a host of domestic objects I'd never dream of trying to build—like a bathtub. And that's why I'm no Mitja Narobe.

Narobe is a woodworker who hails from Slovenia, and maniac that he is, he decided to build a bathtub out of beech with mahogany inserts.

The joinery is done via waterproof wood glue and half-inch dowels, meaning "The whole bathtub has not a single screw or nail," as he told Woodgears.

Building something this massive out of wood raises the question of how you'd straighten the edges. Narobe rigged up a router sled and removed material one pass at a time. (Presumably not at the angle shown in the photos, he's clearly got it propped up for break time.)

One of the things I like about looking at photos from overseas woodworkers is checking out what brands of tools they've got. I'd never heard of the Iskra Ero brand stamped on his router, though Slovenia's proximity to Germany makes the Bosch drill unsurprising.

wants a 3D CAD Specialist
in New York, New York

You are a 3D CAD Specialist. You have a strong background in surface modeling and building complex geometry using Solidworks and/or Pro-E. You can directly translate and recreate designs from other CAD programs as well as interpret sketches. You can also communicate ideas with ease, keep all your ducks in a row, and deliver outstanding results in a timely manner.

You also know this positon is strictly CAD support - not an Industrial or Mechanical Engineering job.

Since you are all these things, and more, you should apply for this job with OXO. Right now.

Apply Now

Designers and thinkers alike are invited to join the Seattle creative community for an evening of, well, thinking about design. Tomorrow night, join panelists Jon Winebrenner (partner of OneOak Design and longtime friend-of-Core), Karyn Zuidinga (Analytic Design Group), Alysha Napes (TEAGUE) and Carl Ledbetter (Microsoft Xbox) for a film screening and subsequent discussion and reception at the Seattle Art Museum:

Produced by One Time Studio in San Francisco, 'Design & Thinking' was funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign and features interviews with a some of the world's best design minds—including laptop inventor and IDEO cofounder Bill Moggridge; Smart Design cofounder Dan Formosa; and AIGA CEO Richard Grefe. One Time Studio's Yang Yu Hsiu says: "From our point of view, design thinking did a good job of bringing forward the value of design to address changes in the world. There have been many backlashes over the topic recently. We want to introduce many voices by form of documentary to look at the topic neutrally. It is important for people to know both the good and bad of design thinking, at the same time."

View this new documentary and then engage with our panelists and your peers as we further explore this fascinating topic and how its impact is being felt in Seattle, Vancouver, and beyond.

Check out the 'Design & Thinking' Eventbrite page for tickets more information.

By Jan Chipchase

This article summarises the issues in conducting corporate ethnographic research in rural locations covering logistics to research dynamics. Rural communities are far from homogeneous.

Over the last decade I've seen an increasing number of multinationals target highly financially constrained consumers in countries like India, China, Brazil, Nigeria and Rwanda (where these pictures were taken) reflecting both a wider awareness and appreciation of business opportunities of this market segment. The very particular ethical issues of working in financially constrained communities are covered in this essay, and suffice it to say, these consumers are arguably some of the most demanding consumers on the planet. Given that these countries have significant agrarian populations, how does ethnographic, corporate rural research differ from similar contextual research conducted in urban settings?

A "rural" community spans a significantly wide diversity of peoples, cultures, faiths and ethnicities. The infrastructure can vary considerably from dirt roads to paved, electricity to off-grid, cell towers and data connectivity, water from jerry cans or the mains. A single farming community can encompass a wide range of incomes from subsistence living through to satellite TVs and four-wheel drives. The size of farms; the crops that are planted, the livestock that is tended; the extent to which agricultural or husbandry expertise is available; whether it has been a good season; the timing of the next harvest; flows of knowledge and income relating to the level of urban or international migration (especially near border areas); access to credit; can all have an impact on who the research team will engage with, and how the research will be conducted.

The first issues arise during the project planning and relate to logistics.

Logistics

Assuming the country has already been selected, how to choose one rural location over another?

Tapping the knowledge of organisations that already operate on the ground can help feel out the nuances of different geographic regions and can provide invaluable advise on access, introductions and existing authority structures and provide a sense of who is already doing what on the ground. An organisation's willingness to share often includes an element of quid quo pro with the promise of some form of share back at a later date—this spirit is not always apparent in commercial projects.

Before the team arrives, Google maps and its ilk are good for remote sensing a country to understand the type of roads (asphalted, dirt) the dynamics of a city, town or village right down to the type and density of neighbourhoods, homes, communities, farms. Backed up by analogous on-the-ground experience satellite images can be very effective at cross-checking other data sources. Commercially available photos from satellites or planes can be obtained if the team requires something specific, including very high resolution imagery. Having a sense of the terrain helps focus the research planning and provides an early taste of 'being there', especially useful in acclimatising team members that haven't travelled to the region.

Dana Ramler is a Vancouver-based designer with a knack for unconventional design combinations. Speaking the language of industrial, fashion, interactive and media design simultaneously; her projects and collaborations hit that sweet spot between thought-provoking conceptual design and the intelligent products for market.

Bio Circuit is a vest that provides a form of bio feedback using data from the wearer's heart rate to determine what "sounds" they hear through the speaker embedded in the collar of the garment. The wearer places the heart rate monitor around the ribcage, resting against the skin and close to the heart. An MP3 audio player embedded in the vest plays the audio track related to that specific heart rate. The audio tracks are soundscapes mixed from a range of ambient sounds.

Bio Circuit was created at Emily Carr University by Industrial Design student Dana Ramler, and MAA student Holly Schmidt.

While the Biocircuit probably won't be hitting the market anytime soon, Ramler's work in technical running accessories for lulumon athletica definitely deserves a look as well. They almost make running in sub-zero temperatures sound appealing... almost.

Check out more on Ramler's Coroflot page for everything from inflatable belts to an interactive nest

With a record number of submissions from 73 nations, designers answered the challenge "Genius design for a better everyday." The BraunPrize 2012 embraces the increased relevance of well-designed products that help improve all aspects of everyday life. With most people's daily challenges becoming increasingly complex and demanding, we rely on ubiquitous technology, highly connected social structures and our ability to cope with a fast, 24/7 lifestyle.

Our everyday has become an artificial environment of architecture and technology and while it seems that the quantity of products around us is consistently increasing, their level of quality is not. We have surrounded ourselves by many things we don´t really value, instead of focusing on fewer but better solutions to help us live our lives. With this in mind, the BraunPrize 2012 is looking for ingenious solutions and product ideas to make our everyday a better place.

Established in 1968, the BraunPrize was Germany's first international design prize. It was originally introduced by Erwin Braun, son of Braun founder Max Braun, and the goal was to stimulate public debate about design, "during a time when understanding and awareness of design and its positive benefits were largely unknown." This year's program was juried by Oliver Grabes (Head of Braun Design and Core77 Design Awards Consumer Products Jury Captain), Naoto Fukasawa (Founder of Naoto Fukasawa Design), Jane Fulton Suri (Managing Partner and Creative Director at IDEO), Anne Bergner (BraunPrize Winner 1999 and Design Consultant) and Dirk Freund (Director R&D, Global Braun).

Core77 was invited to be part of a special jury team of 80 guest jurors for the 2012 BraunPrize ceremony to help determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners of this year's program. After hearing three professional/enthusiast and three student teams present their projects, the international group of guest jurors voted to decide this year's winners.

There were six Global Winners: Gold, Silver, Bronze in two categories, three Sustainability Award Winners: two Students and one Professional & Enthusiast, 30 National Winners and 20 Special Mentions with projects addressing challenges in mobility, clean energy, personal expression, safety and environmental sustainability.

>> View Gallery

The deadline for the 2013 Core77 Design Awards program draws ever nearer—March 15th to be exact—so if you need any further incentive to submit your work for consideration, perhaps seeing our star-studded lineup of jury members will inspire a renewed sense of urgency. We're in the final stages of organizing the full list of 70+ designers, thinkers and doers—four or more experts in each of the 17 categories—and each team is taking on impressive shape.

Hand-picked by our previously-announced Jury Captains, the jury teams hail from NYC, San Francisco, London, Paris, Milan, Cape Town, Mexico City and Shanghai, to name just a few of the judging locations. Core77 has invited luminaries in each of the categories to select a group of colleagues with whom they will review your entries. Each team has graciously offered their time—not to mention their collective experience and expertise—to judge the projects, and we trust that they share our commitment to recognizing superlative work.

Of course, we're looking forward to bringing even more of the best new design work to their attention, and practicing designers and students alike are encouraged to put their best foot forward and enter today. Without further ado, the Core77 Design Awards is pleased to present our current roster of jury leads and their teams for 2013:

FURNITURE & LIGHTING
Judging location:Paris, France

• Matali Crasset*
• Founder of Matali Crasset Productions

• Catherine Colin
• Founder of the website madeindesign

• Patrick Elouarghi
• Founder and Owner of Hi life

• Philippe Chapelet
• Hi life

» Back to Full List

INTERIORS & EXHIBITIONS
Judging location:Mexico City, Mexico

• Andres Mier y Teran*
• Principal at Grupo MYT

• Michel Rojkind
• Architect at Rojkind Arquitectos

• Mauricio Lara
• CEO, Founder of Eos México Studio

• Sebastián Lara
• CEO of Eos México Studio

Not pictured: Carla Fernandez, Fashion Designer

» Back to Full List

VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Judging location:New York, USA

• Eddie Opara*
• Partner at Pentagram

• Alex Lin
• Principal at Studio Lin

• Jonathan Jackson
• Partner at WSDIA | WeShouldDoItAll

• Glen Cummings
• Principal at MTWTF

• Julia Hoffman
• Creative Director of Marketing at the Museum of Modern Art

» Back to Full List

PACKAGING
Judging location:Corseaux, Switzerland

• Lars Wallentin*
• Packaging designer, Writer & Founder of packagingsense.com

• Charles Morgan
• Artist at Morgan-art

• Kym Staiff
• Director at DOC; design consulting, St Saphorin; Instructor at EAAL Lausanne

• Patrick Gaudard
• Art Director at ARD Design Switzerland

» Back to Full List

INTERACTION
Judging location:London, United Kingdom

• Anab Jain*
• Director at Superflux

• Jon Ardern*
• Director at Superflux

• Kieran Long
• Senior Curator of Contemporary Architecture, Design and Digital at Victoria & Albert Museum

• Vicky Richardson
• Director of Architecture, Design, Fashion, British Council

• Durrell Bishop
• Partner, Luckybite, London

» Back to Full List

SERVICE
Judging location:Milan, Italy

• Ezio Manzini*
• Design Strategist

• Anna Meroni*
• Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at Politecnico di Milano

• Matteo Bartolomeo
• President at Avanzi and CEO at Make a Cube3

• Anna Spreafico
• Public Design Festival Coordinator at Esterni

» Back to Full List

TRANSPORTATION
Judging location:London, United Kingdom

• Paul Priestman*
• Director at Priestman Goode

• Mat Hunter
• Chief Design Officer at Design Council

• Dale Harrow
• Dean of the School of Design and Head of Programme Vehicle Design, Royal College of Art

• Sophie Thomas
• Co-Director of Design, RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts

» Back to Full List

SOCIAL IMPACT
Judging location:Cape Town, South Africa

• Ravi Naidoo*
• Principal of Interactive Africa

• Heinrich Wolff
• Partner at Noero Wolff Architects and Teacher at the University of Cape Town

• Porky Hefer
• Founder of Porky Hefer Design

• Y. Tsai
• Founder and Architect at Tsai Design Studio

» Back to Full List

EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
Judging location:Århus, Denmark

• Simon Kavanagh*
• KP International development & Education design at The KaosPilots

• Lasse Schuleit
• Co-founding Partner and Curator and Head of Programmes at LYNfabrikken

• Pernille Skov
• Director of CAKI Center for Anvendt Kunstnerisk Innovation

• Morten Nottelmann
• Consultant at Kaospilots

» Back to Full List

STRATEGY & RESEARCH
Judging location:San Francisco, United States

• Susana Rodríguez de Tembleque*
• Executive Creative Director, SYPartners

• Kate Aronowitz
• Director of Design at Facebook

• Phil Ginsburg
• General Manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department

• Jesse McMillin
• Creative Director at Virgin America

» Back to Full List

WRITING & COMMENTARY
Judging location:London, United Kingdom

• Justin McGuirk*
• Design Critic at The Guardian

• Matt Jones
• Principal at BERG

• Beatrice Galilee
• Chief Curator at Lisbon Architecture Triennale

• Sam Jacob
• Director of FAT

» Back to Full List

SPECULATIVE
Judging location:London, United Kingdom

• Anthony Dunne*
• Professor and Head of Programme, Design Interactions, Royal College of Art; Partner at Dunne & Raby

• Fiona Raby*
• Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna; Partner at Dunne & Raby

• Clive Van Heerden
• Design Director of Vision and Probing at Electrolux Design

• Rosario Hurtado and Roberto Feo
• Partners at El Ultimo Grito

• Dr. Jana Scholze
• Curator for Contemporary Furniture at Victoria and Albert Museum

» Back to Full List

DIY
Judging location:Sebastopol, USA

• Goli Mohammadi*
• Senior Editor at MAKE magazine

• Joe Szuecs
• Artist and Owner of Renga Arts

• Todd Barricklow
• Multimedia Artist

• Geneva Bumb Shanti
• Photographer

» Back to Full List

FOOD DESIGN
Judging location:Milan, Italy

• Francesca Sarti*
• Creative Director at Arabeschi di Latte

• Marco Velardi
• Editor in Chief at Apartamento magazine

• Evangelia Koutsovolou
• Founder of Daphnis and Chloe

• Stefano Paleari
• Graphic Designer and Creative Director at Gnam Box

• Riccardo Casiraghi
• Designer at Gnam Box

» Back to Full List

*denotes Jury Captain

These are the experts and industry leaders you want reviewing and critiquing your work so prepare your finest work and submit it to the Core77 Design Awards today!

Core77's Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club is overjoyed to present Judy Langlitz Hansen and Dave Hansen of Langlitz Leathers, crafters of fine leather motorcycle wear and accessories since 1947.

Tonight's talk starts at 6 at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Judy Langlitz Hansen and Dave Hansen
Langlitz Leathers: "The World's Finest Motorcycle Leathers"
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tuesday, March 5th, 6PM PST

Ross Langlitz was an ardent motorcyclist who decided to open his own leather garment shop that focused on high quality custom motorcycle gear in 1947. Ross was relatively successful in the early years, and in a couple decades the shop was running smoothly and ready for the Golden Age of Motorcycling of the 1970s. Ross retired in the mid-1980s, but left the shop in the hands of his daughter (Jackie) and son-in-law (Dave). For the past three decades they have endeavored to run Langlitz Leathers as Ross intended... not so big as to get out of hand, and not so small that it would have major problems sustaining itself. Ross achieved his goal of being The World's Finest Motorcycle Leathers and his reputation has traveled around the world as the ultimate in motorcycle gear.

Though this small company was founded in Portland and remains located in the same place it has for over four decades, it is well known around the world. Many of their customers are in Asia, and Europe, as well as here in America... but its heart is here on 25th and Division Street. It is not a fancy facility, as one can immediately see when they enter the shop. Its primary focus is building top quality leathers and offering first class service to those who come great distances for its leathers. Interestingly, a customer can stand in one place and order a custom set of leathers. He can also be measured, see where his leathers will be cut and the area where they will be sewn... all without moving from that spot!

Furthermore, the shop found that good customer care is far better than advertising. In this day of modern conveniences, they do not even have a telephone menu... each phone call is answered by a real person capable of helping the customer. Now that the second generation is retiring, the third generation (Judy) is continuing the family tradition. In short, Langlitz Leathers represents the way business used to be done in America, and they continue doing likewise today.

Clockwise from top: Josh Rigg won our "Good Design Is Long Lasting" competition back in 2011 with this drawing of the Sixtant BN (1967); Cassett (1970); Sixtant Color (1971); Silk-épil EE-1 (1989); SM5 Commander (1963)... read on for more on each one

Shaving has been around for a long time. In the 4th Century B.C. Alexander the Great, an early proponent of shaving, ordered his troops to do it. Alexander had observed that beards were a martial liability for soldiers; if you didn't remove your own facial hair, your opponent would do it for you—by using your beard to grab your face.

Two dozen centuries later, in 1930s Germany, a fellow named Max Braun was also concerned with removing men's facial hair, though in a more civilized manner: Using precision-machined blades and a small electric motor. Using an electric machine rather than water and lather to shave your face was a fairly new concept, with the electric razor having been invented only the decade before in America; but Braun knew he had the technological know-how to produce a competitive device.

That was because Braun was already on the cutting edge, if you'll pardon the pun, of manufacturing; he'd been running his own successful engineering and manufacturing firm since 1921, cranking out radio components and eventually, entire radio sets. By the late 1930s Braun had completed his own novel design for an electric razor, and worked out how it would be produced. Unfortunately, there was also a war brewing, and all German industry was shortly pressed into miltary service. Braun's electric razor was shelved for the time being. Whereas war had promoted shaving in Alexander's time, during Braun's, it temporarily sidetracked it.

Nevertheless Braun stuck to his goals, and rebuilt his factory after it was destroyed in the war. By the late 1940s he had rebuilt his operation, and by 1950, he finally embarked on his mission to see the world filled with clean-shaven men using Braun products. The innovations his company spawned changed men's shaving forever.

Let's start at the beginning.

Image courtesy of Sammlung Design

1950
S 50
Max Braun

The S 50, Braun's first electric razor, was an auspicious start for the category. Max Braun had developed a key design innovation: Whereas competitor's models had a comb-like metal layer that shielded the user's skin from the blades beneath it, the S 50 featured a thin, perforated metal foil that covered the cutting blades. When the user placed this surface against his face, his facial hair went through the holes and was trimmed by the blades. This foil was thinner than the metal combs on incumbent devices from Schick and Remington, and therefore provided a closer shave. It was a clear-cut case of superior design and better manufacturing techniques providing a better product, and Braun's foil innovation in shavers persists to the current day.

1951
S 52
Max Braun, Artur Braun

Though the S 50 was a hit, Max Braun was not a man to rest on his laurels; working with youngest son Artur, who had apprenticed in the engineering department of the company, they quickly followed up with the S 52. It featured a wider shaving head, a more powerful motor and an aluminum casing. Sadly, Max Braun passed away shortly after completing this design.

wants a Design Graduates
in Tonder, Denmark

Immerse yourself in two full years of design, production and professional experience at the heart of development for all new ECCO products. The programme combines hands-on work in production at one of their production units around the world and on-the-job training at the Design Center in Tønder.

You'll participate in production and day-to-day business operations so you must have adequate experience, a highly creative and global mindset, plus, of course, a passion to develop exceptional footwear.

Apply Now

By Jan Chipchase

This article summarises the issues in conducting corporate ethnographic research in rural locations covering logistics to research dynamics. Rural communities are far from homogeneous.

Compared to more urban settings, rural dwellers tend to have a more polarised expectation of "outsiders" (The "outsider" label may be designated by any number of factors including nationality, skin colour, accent, place of birth, caste, the list goes on. (In Afghanistan "foreigners" can include anyone from outside their province). Interactions with locals will be framed by their touch points with outsiders—whether aid workers, missionaries, NGO staff, backpackers, television, and slowly but surely entrepreneurs. How might the dynamics of an interaction change if a local villager's only experience with a blonde female came through Baywatch? For example, I've been in interviews where male perceptions of foreign women is shaped by their porn consumption. My principle is that the team only needs to find one person in a community to be able to build out a meaningful local network, so the only question is finding that one person. The research is rarely about finding statistically representative participants but rather people that that fit within relatively broad criteria. Leave room for interesting outliers. A good team knows how to turn the outsider status to their advantage (or at least minimise negativities) using this status to gain access.

Research doesn't always flow well and it is natural course of events for interactions or requests for interview to be rejected. In urban centers there are plenty of opportunities to move the team to another location even in the same neighbourhood. In rural locations the ripples of rejection can spread tainting the team within the community, and forcing them to move on.

Rural locales tend to have lower levels of literacy and within this, females are generally less formally educated than males—if there is not enough money to educate all of children girls are the ones that receive less investment. Literacy can become an issue when it comes to data consent, since participants are being asked to sign something that is being communicated orally, putting a greater onus on the team to communicate appropriately. From experience this can seconds or take up to half an hour. By keeping the participant's welfare a primary concern the team should devote whatever time is required to ensuring that the consent is understood to ensure consent is informed. My priority is participant's first, team second, client third—and keeping to this eventually does the best by the client. Where a model release is being obtained (allowing external use of data including photos) the research team needs to exercise an additional moral pass to ensure that data (mostly photos) is used in the spirit in which the data was obtained.

Congratulations to our App to the Future Design Challenge finalists and winners!! We asked designers to change the future by designing an app for Windows Phone that would help us create, connect or simply impress our future selves. You answered the call with hundreds of amazing and inspiring submissions from scrapbooks and font managers, trip trackers or convoy road managers, to diaries that don't broadcast your every thought or will even seal them up for the future. After hours of review and deliberation by our fantastic jurors Chris Caldwell (GSkinner.com), Jennifer Bove (Kicker Studio), Corrina Black (Microsoft), Pratik Kothari (Techark Solutions), and Eric Ludlum (Core77), we are proud to announce our 50 finalists and five winners!

All winners and finalists will receive a 1-year subscription to the Windows Phone Dev Center development community and any finalists who launch their apps in the Windows Phone store will become our notable finalists, scoring a Windows Phone. Winners not only receive a subscription to Dev Center, Windows Phone and Microsoft Surface with Touch Cover, but they also get an app design consultation with a Windows Phone design team member and their app featured on Microsoft's Channel 9. Keep checking back over the next few months as we start Phase 2 of the competition: watching the winners and finalists turn their ideas into reality. And now, the Apps to the Future...

WINNERS

4weather—a weather app that lets you zero in what the weather will be like when and where you actually plan to be outside by utilizing a new adaptive forecast feed at its root, an extended and more informative set of "climacons" and finally the choice of the best forecast data vendor for your region.

"Of all the weather apps I've seen this is the only one that actually does something useful for you as well as telling you the weather." —Chris Caldwell

"Lots of thought into the data/algorithm, smart use of sensors, phone in idle mode, seems like content/utility delivery is simple. Prototyping with users would show whether passive information presentation is contextually relevant / useful and if the user input is too laborious." —Jennifer Bove

"This could be boiled down to a simple AI + GPS that would quickly learn what weather conditions you like or dislike in which locations." —Eric Ludlum

"Very unique idea. The description of the app concept provides a very good explanation behind why there is a need for such an app. Instead of providing a general weather forecast, this app exemplifies the Windows Phone's You paradigm by personalizing weather based on you and your information." —Pratik Kothari

App Designer:
Alexander Uhlig
Leipzig, Germany

Alexander is currently a Master of Physics student and expects to graduate by the end of 2013. Right now he is working on his Masters project, which is related to an econometric subject.

At the age of 16 he gained his first insight into human-computer interaction as a tutor and not long afterwards took over the soft- and hardware- support of a small pharmaceutical company.

Getting to know different cultures, and new people with other traditions fascinates him. Right after finishing school he went to Australia on a work & travel visa. He completed the first part of his Master studies in Leeds, UK as an exchange student.

Alexander's strength is blending creative and problem solving abilities. He is passionate about solving versatile tasks and looks forward to the challenges the development of 4weather will bring along.

fitCHAMP—a social fitness app that combines the powerful APIs of the personal fitness trackers that you and your friends use onto a single, beautifully designed dashboard where you can track and compete with your friends through certain metrics like distance moved, steps taken, and calories burned.

"Could be fantastic if the platform API's work well together and you can map data onto similar and comparable points." —Chris Caldwell

"Great socialization/gamification of the dataset and activity." —Eric Ludlum

"Similar apps exist but the design of this app provides a fresh look. Social component is certainly a motivating factor to challenge someone." —Pratik Kothari

App Designer:
Christian Valencia
Seattle, US
christianvalenciadesign.com
Credits: Shelby Blair

Christian is currently a Junior UX Designer working at Ratio Interactive, a small digital agency in Seattle, WA. He truly loves designing simple, yet engaging interfaces for many platforms: Web, iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8.

HappyAppy—a smile is contagious and what better way to spread a smile than by sharing a dance? HappyAppy is an interactive mobile application that allows friends to connect by dancing for one another when words are not enough. This allows people to virtually connect in a physical and emotional way that is not currently possible.

"I started smiling instantly :) You made my day! Besides being unfathomably simple, this is an experience that you'll have fun creating as well as receiving." —Chris Caldwell

"Simple, delightful, great use of physical gesture. Adorable characters, smart constraints around time limits, movements, etc." —Jennifer Bove

"It is cute and there is opportunity for a broader spectrum of sentiment (angsty appy? morose appy? estatic appy?)." —Eric Ludlum

"Uses various Windows Phone accelerometer features to create a customized greeting. This is certainly designed to connect and delight." —Pratik Kothari

"What a creative and fun way to connect with your friends and family and make them smile! This app makes me smile :D" —Corrina Black

App Designers:
Yian Ling Cheong & Sarah Sykes
Singapore & Wisconsin
yianlingyianling.com
sarahsykes.us

Yian Ling and Sarah met while attending graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University. Although they come from opposite ends of the world, their backgrounds are surprisingly similar. Both Yian Ling and Sarah have a bachelors degree in industrial design and work experience in design research. When they are not designing, both of them enjoy traveling the world, collecting fresh inspiration and getting their hands on new projects.

Tide&a Surfing forecast app that creates a more gestural way of exploring the waves through time whilst allowing fast access to the data that most is important to surfers.

"This makes me want to buy a surfboard, abandon my landlocked city, and drive thousands of miles to the nearest ocean and start surfing!" —Chris Caldwell

"Simple, quick access to info on the go. Fluid use of gesture, application interface doesn't get in the way. Easy to share." —Jennifer Bove

"Awesome and beautiful. The sine wave display feels like the pure essence of the phenomenon and is at home in the Windows UI." —Eric Ludlum

"Overall very good design and a useful app." —Pratik Kothari

App Designer:
Martin Spurway
Warwick, United Kingdom
martinspurwaydesign.co.uk

Martin is a young Industrial Designer currently working for DCA Design in Warwick, United Kingdom. Having graduated from Loughborough Design School in 2011 his work focuses on creating connected products, brands and experiences. When these are designed at the same time, really new and interesting experiences emerge. This is not currently being implemented by most companies.

It is an exciting time for design, where different fields such as UI/ UX, Web Design, Packaging and traditional Industrial Design are coming together and the boundaries are becoming more and more blurred.

TripUs—connect all your social activities about a trip through one app. Organize all your pictures, Facebook updates, check-ins and tweets into a Trip timeline with invited friends and share information and photos with those friends in your network.

"Where were you on my last road trip? What a great way to spread the travel bug!" —Chris Caldwell

"An easy way to organize personal media into a narrative—trips are a natural for this." —Eric Ludlum

"Good design and layout." —Pratik Kothari

"Fun way of connecting with friends to capture shared events in a visually compelling, immersive, and memorable manner." —Corrina Black

App Designer:
Sittitsak Jiampotjaman
Bangkok, Thailand
stainfilm.com

Sittisak is a Web/UI Designer living in Bangkok.

We can't reveal too much about these apps before they're launched, but here are the finalists we'll also be keeping an eye on:

Artwork by Chuck Anderson/NoPattern

Portland and Los Angeles! The Semi-Permanent conference is touching down in the United States this month: March 13th in Portland and March 22nd in Los Angeles and Core77 is giving you the chance to win a pair of tickets to the conference!

One of the largest events of it's type, Semi-Permanent is a creative platform spreading art and design inspiration. Started in Sydney, Australia in 2003, the event has established itself over the last ten years as a leader in presentations and exhibitions throughout the creative world. With annual events hosted in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and Brisbane, this is the first time the conference has hit Stateside since their 2005 US debut in New York City.

Andrew Johnstone, the Director and Founder explained, "Two of the Semi-Permanent team visited Portland last last year and loved it—we chose Portland to host a conference because we had heard that it was a really creative and interesting city. We chose Los Angeles because we felt that the art and design scene in Los Angeles is quite strong—it is a more creative city than people like to think."

This year's event includes presentations from Chuck Anderson (NoPattern), Terry White (Adobe Evangelist), Holly Wales (Illustrator), Michael Muller (Photographer) and special guests in each city: Gary Baseman (Artist), Gmunk (Motion Graphics) and Rei Inamoto (AKQA) in Portland, Aaron Rose (Director/Curator), Gia Coppola (Director/Photographer), Oliver Zahm (Purple Fashion) and M Blash (Director's Bureau) in Los Angeles. Attendees can look forward to an exhibition and parties that are programmed alongside the conference itself. More artists are on the roster and are being announced daily—REGISTER TODAY for the Early Ticket pricing.

To win tickets, leave a comment below with:
- Which speaker are you most excited about seeing + one sentence explaining why
- Be sure to include your email address so we can reach out to you if you win!

To get a taste of what's in store at the conference, check out the highlight reel from last year's event in Sydney.

SP Sydney 2012 Montage from Semi Permanent on Vimeo.

They said it couldn't be done, but Lamborghini has pulled a design coup and successfully created the world's most-difficult-to-wax car. A cleverly arranged array of fins, vents, humps, angles, and even dangerously sharp edges have been designed to stymie even the most dedicated lackey, who simply will not be able to apply Meguiar's and wipe it back off in a reasonable amount of time. Mr. Miyagi's car, this isn't.

That isn't the only benefit conferred by the contorted shape: Should a cinderblock fall onto the car from above and damage the sheet metal, onlookers will likely not be able to tell where the damage occurred, saving the driver money on bodywork.

Early chatter indicated these drawings were fake, but Jalopnik's now fairly certain that the Lamborghini Veneno will debut at this week's Geneva Motor Show. Priced at a reasonable $4.6 million, the Veneno should prove irresistible to young families who need to get around town in a safe, roomy way. And the exterior styling belies a sensible 6.5-liter V12 powerplant, whose 750 horsepower and 220 m.p.h. top speed should be more than enough to get you over to the inlaws in a comfortable manner.

The Veneno will reportedly not come with a glovebox, but instead, a handbasket. Then you can take that handbasket, place the car inside of it, and you can bring it straight with you to Hell.

Is there anything you use all the time, even though you know the design of it sucks? For me that thing is safety goggles. I have a hard time finding a pair that fits properly, particularly when worn with a respirator and/or ear protection. Some companies make them in different sizes to ameliorate the fit, but my local hardware shops stick with the one-size-fits-all variety, presumably to keep stock down.

3M is attempting to tackle both poor ergonomics and the retail inventory issue by designing the SecureFit, a purportedly better-fitting pair of one-size-fits-all safety glasses.

After studying models of the human face and sussing out contact points, they've calculated a (hopefully) universally-fitting wraparound curve for the lenses; coupled with the flexible temple you'll see in the vid below, they're claiming this will provide a better fit for many.

I'm eager to try them out if I can find a local stockist. The only thing that gives me pause is the permanently-pinned ear stems; since the glasses won't fold up, that means they'll be stuffed into a toolbox or drawer with a bunch of other tools in and around them, increasing the potential for my other eyewear pet peeve—scratched lenses.

I always assumed protective eyewear with design flaws was just the name of the game. Have any of you had good experiences with a particular pair, especially those of you with smaller heads? And has anyone had a good experience with prescription protective eyewear?

The Smithsonian has selected 50 finalists for their Photo Contest 2012, and the images are now open for public voting. The one that most caught my eye is Nebraska-based shooter Tim Wright's flick, above, of a what was once a big-ass silo in Iowa. While the image has been HDR'd, Wright points out that that's where the photo manipulation ends: "This is NOT something created in Photoshop," he writes. "It is a display of the awesome power of a tornado."

Colorado-based photographer Colleen Pinski captured this insane shot:

While she claims that's a shot of last year's solar eclipse captured in New Mexico, it seems more likely that this boy has somehow discovered how to open a portal to another dimension.

Another shot that seems to involve Black Magic is Dave Morrow's shot of the Milky Way Galaxy "erupting" from Mount Rainier:

None of the photos shown here are done justice by the small size; be sure to click over to the Smithsonian to see 'em large, check out the rest, and/or vote for your faves.

Shutterbugs among you with good chops, the 2013 Contest is now open for entries.

Per Emanuelsson and Bastian Bischoff comprise the Stockholm-based design duo known as Humans Since 1982. Back in 2011 they came up with the Clock Clock, an elegant grid of 24 analog clocks that work together to create one large "digital" clock:

Beginning in March, design lovers in Dubai will get to see Emanuelsson and Bischoff's update. Called "A Million Times," it's scheduled to be unveiled during Design Days Dubai 2013. This time they've cobbled 288 clocks together, and as expected, the result is even trippier:

"A Million Times" will be part of the Victor Hunt Gallery's DDD 2013 exhibition.

Previously:
Turning 24 Clocks into One; "Collection of Light," a Taxonomy of Light-Emitting Diodes.