German manufacturer Rephorm produces this line of nifty balcony-based products. Designed by Berlin-based Michael Hilgers, they're meant to bring some liveability to your balcony—here in New York, well, we've got fire escapes—by using the railing itself as the support.

The balKonzept is a desk with a plant-holding trough up top, which could alternatively be filled with "ice cubes and some champagne," in the company's romantic copy.

You're tired of being a cog in the machine. You don't play by the rules. Why should you be judged by them? Innovation flows through your veins and your current company could care less. Tick tock, tick tock... you can't wait for the day to end and get back to your garage where your next mind blowing invention is just a few wrench turns from completion. You crave an environment where science is wrapped in art and design is king.

Oakley is looking for rule breakers, specifically a Design Engineer in Lake Forest, CA who is undaunted in expressing their ideas, thrives on chaos and is disruptive by design. The right person will lead the mechanical design of ESS Military products from concept to production. If you have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and at least 4 years experience in related mechanical product design, Apply Now.

There's a certain respect afforded to the rare designer who has reached the highest levels of keyboard shortcuttery—a masterfulness attained only when the self and the software (be it CAD or Adobe) become one. Whilst effortless key stroke knowledge of a chosen tool can be achieved through years of dedicated daily practice—young devotees required to spend many consecutive days and nights in intimate communion with their keyboards in pursuit of perfection—only true touch typing demi-gods can commit multiple program key combinations to memory, laying down one set and picking up another in the time it takes to switch between screen. This ancient art and time-honored tradition (handed down across generations for millennia decades) could, however, be about to fade into insignificance.

Jaasta is a promising customisable E-Ink auxiliary keyboard soon to run the gauntlet of a crowdfunding campaign. Whilst customizable keyboards are really nothing new (see '05, '09 and '13) this challenge to QWERTY conformity— simple and use-case driven in it's vision; enabled by rapid developments in E-Ink technology—could be the most convincing yet.

To our non-American fans who don't follow (our version of) football, I need to briefly explain what happened last Sunday during our little Super Bowl contest. With 26 seconds left in the game, Seattle was down 24-28. They were also one yard away from beating New England. All they had to do was run the ball into the end zone, scoring a touchdown that New England would have no time to recover from.

Seattle has the best running back in the league in Marshawn Lynch. All Seattle fans waited with bated breath for QB Russell Wilson to hand the ball off to Marshawn, who would Beast Mode it across the line and seal the Seahawks' victory. Instead, this happened (Seattle in blue):

Seahawk fans were apoplectic, unable to comprehend why coach Pete Carroll would direct Wilson to take a risky pass, rather than have the ball run in by one of the greatest talents in the league. But that's not what this post is about. It's about sports fan Brendan Taylor undertaking this year's version of what is becoming an online tradition: Using EA Sports' incredibly realistic Madden NFL to "correct" the outcome. Here it is:

Last year we saw the Pinclip, a combination paper clip/thumbtack, which allows you to affix papers to a corkboard without actually puncturing the paper. Alas, it was Japanese-market only. But now Chicago-based designer Mark Weiser has designed something similar (and got an earlier start than the Japanese product, see further down), which will not only be sold in the U.S., but is actually made here.

Weiser's design is called the Pon. Have a look:

We asked Weiser if his design followed the Pinclip. Here's his response:

Thanks for the question. I completely understand why you ask that, and the short answer is not at all. If you want reassurance, you can reach out to my former professor Bruce Tharp, who I know has been a contributor to Core77. I showed him this concept sometime last winter, and I believe the pinclip was released this past summer.

I've been working on Pon for the past 2 years and have been prototyping around this particular form since the winter of 2013/2014 when I showed Bruce the design. When I was doing patent research I saw the pinclip and I knew that I was going to have to deal with the similarity somewhere down the line. I came up with that concept myself as well when I was prototyping, but came to the conclusion that the [Pinclip] form is a bit kitchy and doesn't function as well as the coil (plus it's not patentable as it was already patented sometime in the mid 1990's).

I needed a solution that was just as simple as a push-pin that could achieve this flexibility and strength. I've worked over the last year prototyping, getting a provisional patent, creating my entire Kickstarter almost solo (some great friends helped with the video) and now I've launched.

At press time the project was 75% of the way to reaching its $10,000 Kickstarter target. If you'd like to make it happen, you've got just under a month left to pledge!

Design education is a crucial topic these days as the boundaries of product design shift to encompass an increasing set of skills and experiences. As we've discussed extensively (See examples from Manchester, Chicago and even a global consortium weighing in on the topic), preparing students for the future challenges and complexities of designing products for the real world often takes a village and, in the case of Jordan Goldstein's recent product design course for University of Pennsylvania, involves industry.

Alberto Alessi discussing design with students

In the fall of 2014, students from Goldstein's class were challenged by the Italian design manufacturer Alessi to consider a straight-forward design brief: What would a next-generation standing desk or workstation look like when manufactured by an innovative manufacturer like Alessi? As principal and managing director of international design firm Gensler's Washington D.C. office, Goldstein created a "skunk works"-like setting for product ideas and innovation by leading his students through a four-phase design process: strategy, ideation, evaluation and to-market planning. As Goldstein explained:

During the strategy phase, the students dive into a fast-paced market analysis to see what products are out there in the competitive marketplace. The goal of this due diligence effort is to find the "blue ocean" areas that offer opportunities to create innovative product concepts. The evaluation phase teaches students how to step back and look at their work critically and evolve ideas based on feedback. During the last phase, we explore the power of brand and the necessary ingredients that go into a product launch.

Wikimedia Commons

Sea salt is harvested by evaporating brine, i.e. ocean water, then scraping up the white bits. Obviously to industrialize this harvesting, you need to have your processing facility close to the shore. But for years food processing company Cargill, which has the highest revenue of any privately-held corporation in America, has been taking that a step further—in a visually-attractive way that can be seen by those flying over San Francisco Bay. It can also be seen on Google Earth:

What you're looking at are artificial ponds that Cargill pumps seawater into. As the water begins to evaporate and the salinity levels increase, certain microorganisms begin to thrive in the water. Initially algae begins to form, which causes the water to turn bright green.

Photo by Cris Benton

IDEO (pronounced "eye-dee-oh") is an award-winning global design firm that takes a human-centered, design-based approach to helping organizations in the public and private sectors innovate and grow. As an Industrial Designer at IDEO you create product designs and experiences that have a genuine impact on people's lives. You'll be part of strengthening the Industrial Design point of view at IDEO by working across disciplines to bring your perspective to every project.

Once you're there, you'll work on a range of projects, such as smart device systems that holistically bridge the physical and digital world and projects that combine innovative new foods, packaging, and brands. Check out the pop quiz on the next page and Apply Now!

Last winter we looked at the Schneestop, a European roof-mounted invention for preventing snow buildup from falling off of a slanted roof. Because you don't want to be standing under it when this happens:

Or parked under a snowy roof when this happens:

Thing is, the roof-avalanche-preventing Schneestop is good for Alpine houses where the weight of heavy snow has been factored into the strength of the roof design. But the roof on your average American house may not be built to handle the weight. Also, if a roof is not properly vented, when snow builds up, the heat from the house can melt the underlayer into water. As that water runs downward, it freezes at the bottom, creating a potentially dangerous ice dam.

So in the spirit of better-safe-than-sorry, folks use a variety of contraptions to remove snow buildup from slanted roofs before it becomes a hazard. However, no one has designed a home-run product yet. There are roof rakes, like the Snow Cutter, and you can see how laborious it is to use below. (No need to sit through the whole video, ten seconds gives you the idea.)

Remembering all the important thoughts we have during the day is next to impossible, so organizers will advise using some sort of note-taking tool. That could be an app on a smart phone, but many people prefer paper. Fortunately, there are many designs that help users with paper note-taking when they're away from their desks.

Notebooks that can fit into a pocket are one such design. The Capelino pocket notebooks, with 48 pages measuring 9 cm by 14 cm, have been called the French Field Notes. They come in four versions—ruled paper, graph paper, plain paper and dot grid paper—so there's something for any need or preference. The ecologically concerned will appreciate that the notebooks are made from recycled kraft paper that's been paste bleached without chlorine and carry the FSC label.

Many users are big fans of Post-It Notes, and the Noteshel gives them an easy way to use them on the go. It's a refillable holder for 3-inch by 5-inch Post-it Notes, which are a decent size for note-taking. The case comes with a pen that has a magnetic casing to keep it in place. The shell is made from a polycarbonate alloy and has a colorful rubber covering.

The Noteshel was designed to be easy to hold while taking notes. Notes that have been written could be stuck to the other side of the case, keeping them from getting crumbled up or lost.

Another alternative to the notebook is a case that holds index cards, and Levenger's Pocket Briefcase line has a number of designs that do just this. The one above would often be used purely as a note-taking tool, although it could be a mini-wallet if you used one of the three pockets for ID, credit cards and cash; there would still be one pocket for spare cards and one for used cards. I've used this as my note-taking tool for years, quite happily.

At Hand-Eye Supply we believe that gratitude, listening and mutual inspiration are key to lasting love. Valentine's Day is the perfect time to make time for your favorite creative thinker or tinkerer. Show how much you value their insights and excitements! Passionate people deserve provocative presents, so we gathered up some classic gift ideas for talented sweethearts! Check out our Valentine's Day Collection, and give that meaningful maker an extra hug from us.

In our vintage drafting tables post, we ended by lambasting a poorly-thought-out modern-day copy. Which is not to say that all contemporary takes on older designs are horrible; one interesting modern design that we've seen, though it's admittedly not a proper drafting table, is one that expands with side leaves. California-based Martin Furniture has produced this Portland Loft Expandable Architect's Desk:

As you can see by studying the photos, the top and bottom horizontals of the side units are spaced to clear the drawer in the desk; we assume that they have protruding pegs that ride along dadoes carved into the main desk's interior. The only thing that makes us suspicious about this piece is the product copy, which claims that the table is crafted from "Elm hardwood solids." Why not just say it's made from "elm," are there composites involved?

The Pottery Barn also produced a take on this design, though theirs was considerably uglier:

If you had to design a robot to fight fires on a ship, what form factor would you go with? The peculiarities of both ship architecture and fighting a fire present some unusual challenges that complicate the decision.

First off, the robo-firefighter has to be able to clear the raised threshold of a watertight door. That means wheeled robots are out.

So maybe you think a flying quadrotor would best be able to navigate a ship's narrow corridors. They'd also have no problem clearing raised thresholds:

But the problem with a flying drone is that they're not strong enough to physically support a heavy hose with water coursing through it.

We don't know how many form factors the Office of Naval Research went through, but we do know which one they're settling on, at least for now: Humanoid. With legs that can stride across a threshold and hands and arms that can grab a hose from a reel and aim it onto a fire, it seems the most practical choice.

Johnson & Johnson's Global Surgery Group Industrial Design and Human Factors team is seeking a multi-faceted, exceptionally talented, user-centered Senior Industrial Designer who is passionate about improving the quality of people's lives through compelling design experiences. The Industrial Design & Human Factors team, provides user-centered design leadership to business partners across several businesses within the J&J Global Surgery Group.

The right person for this job will embrace the various roles this position requires consisting of Design Leader, User Centered Research Champion, Classic Industrial Designer, and Strategic Partner. Experience with the design and development of physical products and/or capital equipment is preferred as is experience working with hand-held electro-mechanical devices. If you have experience with medical device design process and regulatory landscape, that's a strong plus. Don't wait, Apply Now!

Munich-based designer Steffen Kehrle has created these gorgeous tabletop wood pieces, simply called TRAY.

The materials listed are "solid oak or ash," meaning these things are actually monolithic, i.e. carved from a single piece! The grain lines seem to back that up.

That being the case, these must have been made with a 5-axis CNC mill, or the world's most complicated router jig and a whole lot of patience. They come in two variants, TWO HALVES (one flat surface and one V-shaped one) and THREE THIRDS (one flat surface flanked by two V-shaped surfaces).

Jack Storms' glass sculptures may take months to complete, but he's an artist. Below we see two tradesmen, guys for whom time is money, working glass at a decidedly faster pace. Watch as they use a neat trick to break a full size sheet of glass down into quarters:

Can you imagine if any sheet good—plywood, foamcore, plexi—could be broken down that quick? And I dig the guided, adjustable scoring tool they're using, it's like a T-square had sex with a beam compass.

While the cameraman shoots, I score

via Digg

Okay, sorry for the sensationalist headline. While it's true that members of the Japanese military are conscripted into building gigantic snow sculptures, it's viewed as a team-building exercise, not punishment. Since 1955, troops in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have been erecting them for the annual Sapporo Snow Festival.

This year's festival is currently underway, and the JSDF 11th Brigade spent a month putting up this Disney-sponsored masterpiece paying homage to the Dark Side of the Force. Even cooler, Lucasfilm Ltd. documented the construction with these shots:

Here's a quick video shot by an attendee, showing what this thing looks like from the ground:

One way to make a wooden bowl is to turn it on a lathe. Another way, for those with more patience, is to use a scroll saw to cut sections out of a sheet, then glue them together.

If you've got extreme patience, you can form that initial sheet with a complicated repeating-pattern glue-up, then cut your bowl; and if you're precise about it, as Ohio-based master woodworker Bruce Shea is, you can get the patterns to line up before you re-glue it into a bowl. Watch and respect the skillz:

Shea was showing his stuff at this year's Columbus, Ohio outpost of The Woodworking Shows, where the video was shot. For those of you who've never heard of The Woodworking Shows, it's a traveling exhibition featuring seminars, tutorials, project showcases, and aisles and aisles of tools, gadgets and gizmos. If you're into woodworking at all, you've got to attend at least one! Here are the locations:

Click here to see when there's a show near you.

When you're installing a surface that needs to sit flush against a wall, and that wall is not straight, you need some way to trace the wall's contours onto your workpiece. There are companies that make pricey tools to do this, like this "Perfect Butt Profile Scriber:"

26 bucks

However, I think this low-cost trick from American Woodworker is the mutt's nuts:

2.6 cents

The washer trick is great for horizontal surfaces, but obviously won't work on verticals. For doing that you've probably seen this trick using a compass…

Not digging this method.

…but I don't think you can get good results with that, as you've got to hold it perfectly perpendicular to the wall. A better way to go would be the Simple Scribe, a small, inexpensive and handy way to scribe at six different distances:

10 bucks

It's made in the USA, and was designed by carpenter Marty Crochet.

Magnetically-joined furniture doesn't have a very long commercial history. We first saw Eveline Pieters' Green Tuna Design brand and Joene Verschuren's BARkwadraat table in 2011, and Benjamin Vermeulen's Geometry line in 2013, both of which made use of magnets; but neither appears to actually be for sale, or at least, they don't have websites with shopping links.

Now, however, a Chicago-based furniture design collective called Dock 312 is producing and actively selling a line of magnetically-joined endtables. 

Called the Artesian line, each piece consists of  bamboo ply elements that are joined together via slots, with the connection firmed up by embedded magnets; a piece of glass then forms the top. They'll ship flat, and assembly looks to be virtually idiot-proof: