On Saturday night a homemade bomb detonated on the sidewalk in Manhattan's Chelsea district, injuring 29 passersby. Investigating police subsequently located a second bomb just four blocks away. Consisting of a pressure cooker connected to a cell phone that served as a timer, and presumably filled with the same ball bearings that served as shrapnel in the first bomb, it had not been detonated.

In the movies I grew up with, a brave, heavily perspiring cop would kneel next to this and disarm it with handheld wirecutters. In real life the procedure is more prosaic: Bomb technicians use a robot to pick the bomb up, then stuff it into what's called a Total Containment Vessel, or TCV. Here's a photo, captured by the New York Times' Sandra E. Garcia, of the bomb being taken away in a TCV:

The attendant Times article refers to the TCV as "an inside-out diving vessel." In the event of a detonation, the spherical chamber is designed to contain blasts and shrapnel, while simultaneously allowing pressure to escape via tiny vents. Up close, they look like the offspring of a cement mixer and a front-loading washing machine:

That TCV belongs to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. As fears of terrorism have spread across the country, so too have the TCVs. Manufacturer NABCO—self-described as "the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of explosive and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) containment mitigation systems"—calls TCVs "the first choice of EOD and Bomb Squads worldwide."

Earlier on Saturday, a bomb left along the route of a charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey, was detonated. (No injuries were reported.) And just this morning, a backpack containing "as many as five potential explosive devices" was found in a trash can in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Apparently lacking a TCV, police there used a robot to attempt to disarm one of the bombs on-site, and here's what happened (Warning, turn your speakers down):

That was one of the five bombs detonating. Thanks to the use of the robot no one was injured, though it does highlight the peril of attempting to disarm devices like these on-site.

Many of us have never seen a TCV in person. But as events like these continue to increase, it's likely we eventually will.

The Corporate Design team of Penguin Random House is looking for a user-experience (UX) designer responsible for conceiving and conducting user research, interviews and surveys, and translating them into sitemaps, wireframes and prototypes for corporate and B2B websites. You will work closely with interdisciplinary teams to gather and understand business strategies and user needs, and to translate these into design solutions.

The recycling-minded Vamp speaker system is back, and it's doubling down on its creative audio offerings in a new Kickstarter campaign. British designer Paul Cocksedge originally took inspiration from the astounding number of abandoned but fully functional speakers left curbside throughout his neighborhood. After collecting the wayward electronics for awhile, he put his design chops to work creating a Bluetooth audio tool that could offer modern portability and self-power yet reuse the quality audio resources already at hand. 

The resulting Vamp is a fist-sized rechargeable Bluetooth vehicle that lets you stream straight from the phone to your old stack. Three years after the successful first run, the current campaign debuts the Vamp Stereo and the Vamp Speaker.

The original Vamp connects to any speaker with a standard speaker cable, and now the Vamp Stereo ups the output enough for a traditional stereo experience. Like the original, the Vamp Stereo works via both Bluetooth and standard audio jack should you prefer (assuming your phone or computer still has one). Stick the metal plate on and the Vamp holds on magnetically.

For interested listeners without existing speakers, the Vamp Speaker brings recycled electronics and the Vamp core together as a mobile boombox for the modern set. And that's not all folks, if you really need to power a party you can connect an additional couple speakers to the Vamp Speaker for MAXIMUM ROCK AND ROLL.

The Vamp charges by micro USB, powers your jams for up to 10 hours, and will come in two two colors of plastic, and three speaker colors. The campaign options even offer a custom-built speaker sculpture made by Cocksedge himself to the audiophile's specifications. 

Extra booming is a big bonus for little audio tools like this, and I can't really tell if the new speaker has a handle or other system for comfortable carrying but it still seems like a mindful alternative to a Beats Pill for back yard parties. All in all, the new products look to do a neat job of sticking to a reduce-reuse-recycle ethos, while growing to fit users' real life applications in the almost post-speaker (but not quite) era.

Now, you can render directly within McNeel Rhinoceros® viewport for continual, accurate feedback as you craft your model's form, materials, and lighting—all without specialized knowledge or a complex setup. The NVIDIA® Iray® for Rhino plug-in lets designers quickly produce physically based, photorealistic visualizations. Try it for free now!

The London Design Festival is in full swing this week. With hundreds of design events happening throughout the city of London, it's difficult to narrow the list down to a reasonable amount. That's where we're here to help—we've created this insider's guide full of our favorite exhibits, workshops and events to help you navigate the best of the London Design Festival. 

Israel's Human.Touch exhibition

London Design Biennale

Taking over Somerset House, the London Design Biennale explores big questions and ideas about sustainability, migration, pollution, energy, cities and social equality. Expect to see installations curated by leading museums and design organizations, including Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, German Design Council, the MAK and many more. Design teams include architects, designers, scientists, writers and artists.

BRAUN at the V&A museum

London Design Festival at the V&A

As unique collaboration between the world's leading museum of art and design and London's foremost contemporary design festival, the V&A museum will be filled with an extraordinary range of design installations large and small, intricate and majestic.

Patel Taylor's White City Reinvention

Architects' Visions for London

Architects' Visions for London is a showcase of architectural models that each convey a new vision for the city of London. Encompassing designs for contemporary living, transport and public spaces, the models in the showcase range from recently completed buildings to those currently under construction.

London College of Communication LDF at LCC

As part of London Design Festival, London College of Communication invites the public to an engaging series of free design events, including makers' workshops and an interactive look at how service design can shape the future.

Paul Spooner's Five Artists Reflect on Their Waning Powers

A Curious Turn: Moving Mechanical Sculpture 

A Curious Turn explores the resurgence in automata making over the last 30 years. The sculptures combine intricate craftsmanship and engineering to tell stories that range from fantastical to macabre. You can even create your own automata during the exhibit's workshop.

Summer Pavilion by  Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

Serpentine Architecture Program 2016: Pavilion and Summer Houses

Serpentine Galleries has commissioned four architects to each design a Summer House. The four Summer Houses are inspired by the nearby Queen Caroline's Temple, a classical style summer house built in 1734. Each architect chosen by the Serpentine has yet to build a permanent building in England.

Sebastian Bergne's Color Nativity

25 Years of Editions

Designer Sebastian Bergne will be opening his studio during the London Design Festival to exhibit his collection of 25 quirky self-produced objects that has been built up over 25 years. The presentation will include his new Drop jug and Cubit beer glass alongside the Color Nativity, relaunched Ring Soap and his celebrated Lamp Shade. 

Glass Jars by Dechem Studio

BREATHLESS: The Essence of Glass

This interactive exhibit is based on Dechem Studio's passion for glassmaking. Representing the essence of glass, from its inception to its presence in various forms located all around us, it features live glass blowing, a museum of glass curated by OKOLO, workshops and talks. Bonus: don't forget to taste the special glass-makers' 8-degree beer in the exhibit's 'chill out zone.'

Shoes designed by Jayda Hany

Designersblock

Designersblock showcases multidisciplinary design from over 100 independent designers, collectives and companies. The exhibit features products, lighting, jewellery, ceramics and concepts from emerging and established designers. This year, Designersblock is also presenting Creative Matters, a four day curated program of talks, workshops, master classes, round table discussions, installations, exhibitions and networking events taking place in and around OXO Tower Wharf.

Toilet Break

Design has worked for decades to keep the subject of our most primordial activity, and the material that results from it, firmly off topic. Is it time for us to address this silence? Design magazine, Dirty Furniture, and The Shit Museum have joined forces to present a subterranean hub—featuring two exhibitions and a series of debates—called Toilet Break.

Ann Kristin Einarsen's Rolla

100% Norway

The 13th edition of the Norwegian design exhibition presents a selection of bold new projects from Norway's most exciting designers. Curated by Max Fraser, the 2016 show explores the role of the country's distinctive design history in shaping the products of tomorrow.

Electro Craft

We've said it once, and we'll say it again—Electro Craft is a must see exhibit.

Ondrej Trnka's Burnout Fibres

Experimental Materials and Textiles

Experimental Materials and Texties, presented by the Studio of Textile Design, explores the possibilities and boundaries of textiles. For their creations, the student designers use modern technologies and approaches and look for new materials and processing methods. You can expect to see projects that use various innovative techniques, from molding with tree cavities to burning textiles in concrete.

For more information, visit the London Design Festival's website.

Check out the Core77 Calendar for more design world events, competitions and exhibitions, or submit your own to be considered for our next Week in Design.

If you tuned in to the Olympics, you might have learned about cupping, blood doping, or any of the numerous techniques employed to give athletes that much sought after edge on the competition. But what if I told you that the next big thing to help athletes increase speed, agility and aerodynamics is…condoms?

Sure enough, SKYN Condoms recently debuted their very own SKYNFEEL APPAREL—what they believe to be the latest advancement in athletic performance wear. SKYNFEEL APPAREL is a one-of-its-kind jumpsuit made out of the same material used by the condom manufacturers, but reengineered by Netherlands-based designer Pauline van Dongen to be worn as a sleek, slim-fitting suit.

Van Dongen was approached by creative agency Sid Lee to collaborate on a special campaign they had in mind for SKYN in January 2016. After bonding over their mutual fascination for material innovation and development, van Dongen found that she had a lot in common with the SKYN Condoms team. "Then, of course, supporting the use of condoms is a good thing, which I'm proud of doing," van Dongen says.

"Within my studio we have a strong focus on research and material exploration," van Dongen says. "A large part of our work centers around the performance and the behavior of materials, and the way they act on and in tune with the human body." It was that specification that put the studio on the map of Sid Lee, who were looking for a designer that could translate the trademark material into something wearable.

The material used to make SKYN condoms is a soft and very stretchable rubber known as polyisoprene. Though polyisoprene is chemically the same type of rubber as latex, the synthetic material has better tensile strength than natural rubber latex and does not contain any of the proteins that cause latex allergies.

"The SKYNFEEL material—polyisoprene—doesn't really relate to existing textiles which are typically made by weaving or knitting," van Dongen says. "You can think of it as a non-woven material. The fact that it comes in a liquid form instead of a yarn creates other kinds of opportunities. One of the ideas we had, for instance, was related to the fact that you could spray or apply the material to a mold of a specific body to make an ultra-personalized design."

"We were given a lot of freedom to come up with various concepts and ideas," van Dongen says. "We started thinking about the material and its properties to determine how a specific athlete might benefit from it." Van Dongen and her team decided to focus on the long jump, a sport with little to no innovation in the apparel department and an official world record that has remained unbroken since 1991. "We saw an opportunity here," she says.

Van Dongen aimed to find a balance between a design that would trigger something new and unexpected, but not come off as being too futuristic or surreal. "Besides the concept of the design and the way it should look, we also paid attention to the way it would fit within the reality and exercise of the actual sport itself," she says.

"The video takes you along some of the steps in the process," van Dongen says. "We create thin sheets from the liquid polyisoprene by pouring it onto a glass plate. While still wet, we overlay a laser cut geometric pattern onto it." Once dry, the geometry is cut open and the resulting edges are reinforced. These dragonfly wing-inspired flaps, located on the edge of the body, are an important element of the aerodynamic design, and create an upward lift that helps long jumpers stay in the air just a little bit longer. The polyisoprene material ensures that these flaps remain airtight, opening up only as the arms stretch forward during the jump of the athlete.

For van Dongen and her team, much of the design process involves testing on the actual body—a process that became especially critical for this project. "Static dress forms are not enough in that sense, we always want an actual person to put it on and explore how the material feels and behaves," she says.

Starting with some quick and rough cut-outs from paper and then plasticized fabric, they tested their ideas for a laser-cut suit with flaps that would open when the arms thrust forward. "From there on we started refining," van Dongen says. "We studied various cutting techniques and geometric patterns and searched for the right method to create smooth polyisoprene sheets in a uniform color. Throughout this process we fitted our samples on Joren, the athlete you see performing in the suit in the video."

The final suit acts like a second skin, minimizing friction and streamlining the body. "The design is completely optimized and fitted Joren in a seamless and comfortable way," van Dongen says. "Through this process we were able to create a design that has a contemporary look and a progressive feel to it, without alienating it from current sports practices. I hope when people look at it, they do consider something like this having the potential to become reality."

And while my expectations are low for seeing the next long jump Olympiads decked out in condoms, I do appreciate the material exploration and experimentation—pushing the limits of the objects we interact with every day to create something new. "I think approaching materials in this way will continue to open our eyes towards new ways to produce fashion," van Dongen says. "We can enhance the expression and the experience of our clothes (the bodily sensations they offer us) by merging material and non-material/digital qualities to create responsive behavior."

The home health company Plink asked us to design the most user-friendly, kid-centric humidifier on the market. In order to boost sales, we knew we had to design a product that not only has broad visual appeal, but also has to be incredibly simple to interact with. The KidOasis’s playful, bubbly design includes a highly efficient analog dial with safety sensor, and is easy to transport without making a mess thanks to its intuitive upper handle which attaches directly to the base, not the lid. The

A San-Francisco-based company called MycoWorks has made an incredible advance in materials: They can now grow leather from the mycelium in mushrooms, using a process that's renewable, CO2-negative and customizable. That latter part means they can predetermine what the leather looks like—cow, elephant skin, snakeskin—and most intriguingly, can grow it to any size!

The company claims that the material "feels and performs like leather," being "strong, flexible and durable, just like conventional leathers. It is also water-resistant." Furthermore, they state that their production process "takes a fraction of the time and resources…compared to processes for making leather from animal hides."

Green credentials aside, I think what's most fascinating is the fact that they can grow it in large sheets. When selecting hides, all leatherworkers must live with the limitations of a cow's body; with that obstacle removed, I think that once the right designer gets their hands on this stuff, we'll see some truly spectacular, large-scale leather creations that could not be produced the conventional way.

As evidenced by their success, Legos are a lot of fun to play with. But New-Zealand-based inventor Mark Stolten reckons he can make them more fun. Stolten developed Flexo, a series of tendon-like attachments that can be used to render Lego constructions flexible:

I'm curious to see what Lego's reaction will be: Will they buy Stolten's company, investigate legal action, or let it ride? In any case, consumers have voted for Flexo's desirability with their dollars: At press time they'd reached USD $103,411 on an $87,702 goal, with 13 days left to pledge.

The thing about the design of an event experience is, if done correctly, it's so seamless that the effort behind it often goes unnoticed. You are simply left with this inexplicable sense of fulfillment and, well, experience—and that right there is a surefire sign of thoughtful work. Although often overlooked, this realm of design should not be under-appreciated, which is why we thought we'd honor the design process behind the conference experience and give you the inside scoop on the day-to-day of the brains behind Core77's 2016 Designing/Here Now Conference!

Our skilled team members have a diverse array of backgrounds—architecture, product design, and graphic design—and have been working tirelessly on all aspects of the conference. Whether it's merchandise, set design or motion graphics, our experience design team's fingerprints are all over it.

Design lead and founder of experience design agency Los OsosLaurence Sarrazin along with team member Betsy Lance answered of a few of our burning questions so we could get down to the nitty-gritty:

What exactly does it take to design a successful event? 

Here are some of the helpful tips they shared:

Collaboration is key

When designing for a conference involves many moving parts, that means having the right people for different jobs is crucial. "You have to orchestrate all these different teams that specialize in different things—design, experience, logistics," says Lance, "without any one of those teams, the whole thing falls apart."

Sometimes this means being flexible in your role, as Sarrazin points out: "One of the most difficult parts of designing for a conference is wearing many hats, some of which don't seem to really fit. And there are many uncomfortable moments you have to go through, things that are unresolved and you just have to be patient, work through it and let it come together."

Details matter

Other times, success means leaving certain details to masters of their craft. For this year's beautiful marbling graphic details, Los Osos collaborated with the talented graphic designers Adam Garcia and Anton Pearson, directors of The Pressure to get it right while Afternoon Inc director Matt Eller created the fantastic floating graphics. 

In order to find the central visual element to embody this year's conference focus on co-creation, Garcia and Pearson looked to classic sources in order to find a thoughtful and cohesive solution. Garcia says he, "had been recently watching videos from the early 1970's of a paper marbling shop in the UK called Cockerel and Sons," which sparked the initial inspiration. The research resulted in a beautiful marbling pattern theme that runs throughout the digital and physical aspects of the conference. "The interplay of artist, substrate, water and colored in the marbling process seemed to resonate with the co-creation theme. Marbling becomes a graphic visualization of the collaborative process where elements come together to create on evolving entity," adds Sarrazin. 

Marble piece making with our graphic designers from The Pressure

Matt Eller and Ben Friedle of Afternoon Inc working on the motion graphics

In addition to visual cohesion, important details also include producing a strong voice for your event—what can you breathe into an experience or facilitate through design? Have fun with it, Lance reminds us: "It's worth the effort to infuse as much care, humor, surprise and delight as possible. Like last year's Emergency Cookie: that little detail made a potentially boring snack into something charming that people can relate to."

Mockup and prototypes 

Prototypes aren't just exclusive to product designers, as further proven by our team. "Nothing substitutes for creating the size and shape of an object or physically walking through an attendee experience. What you have in your mind is never the same as the actual thing!," notes Lance.

Move forward

You're on a deadline, and don't forget it! A great experience requires plenty of thoughtfulness, but also thoughtful action says Lance: "As you get closer to the event, certain things have to be cut and others just have to be what they are—you really have to choose your priorities."

Some of the team on marbling photoshoot day

That being said, it's also important to put as much heart into the details you do commit to. "People who attend your event can tell if you have put a lot of effort into something," as Sarrazin wisely points out.

________

From our conversation, what we got is ultimately all the hard work is worth it for a few solid reasons: the opportunity to collaborate with talented individuals in the development stage, the opportunity to see how their designs help facilitate interaction throughout the course of the actual event and of course, as the whole team notes, the celebratory drinks at the finish line.

Experience the Core77 Conference for yourself this September in Los Angeles. Buy your ticket today!

And some more behind the scenes photos to get your excited and show you what it takes to design a great conference:

Web planning

Our creative lead fell asleep mid-meeting!

Site visit at the Vibiana...

...and measuring the Vibiana—one column at a time.

The view from the rooftop of The Standard, location for our closing cocktail party and the hotel where we'll be hosting our workshops. Yep.

Tote bag recon

Button-making central

More marbling

Working on graphics

Are you a highly skilled Model Maker looking for a dynamic company to join? Designcraft is searching for passionate professional Model Makers who thrive on the challenges and rewards that come with building amazingly realistic appearance models and prototypes to help further product development. Many of our employees are Industrial Design versed Model Makers who want to do hands on custom artistic work by creating creating ultra-high quality solid visual models using traditional model making practices including fabricating, sanding, polishing, painting, texturing, silk-screening, color mixing and assembly.

One micro-annoyance I experience daily is placing the shower wand back in its bracket. The height of my showerhead mount makes it an ergonomically awkward operation, and the top-heavy wand can tilt and slip out of the collar if you didn't register it right (it's easy to misjudge when there's soap in your eyes). You can see in the photo at left that the fit is poor. Every once in a while I'll bump into the hose, knocking the wand out of the bracket. 

This, below, looks like a much better design:

It makes so much more sense to mount the showerhead at its heaviest point. I also think this would be good for shorter folks or kids, as you needn't reach your hand above the point of connection to slide it into a collar, but can instead just click it on from beneath.

The design is by Moen, and it's called the Magnetix line.

Most of us dread air travel—most of us that fly coach, that is. If you, like me, have never flown First Class in your life, you may not want to watch this. This is Casey Neistat showing us what a $21,000 First Class flying experience looks like, after he was unexpectedly upgraded on a flight from Dubai to NYC.

Luxury nonsense and freebies aside, I was primarily interested to see the increased amount of objects, buttons and interfaces the First Class traveler has available to interact with, from motorized drink lifts to timed showers to removable remote controls.

Here's the actual flight:

Aircrafts are made up of parts with amazing shapes, materials and textures.

The aim of this project is to use and up-cycle these old parts into furniture and lighting that is unique, original and convenient.

There is perhaps no company that has helped change the way we view video more than GoPro. By simply creating a small, relatively affordable, easy-to-operate camera with a simple interface, they have enabled the masses to capture and share footage that was previously too difficult or expensive to lense.

Now they've taken it a step further with Karma, the much-ballyhooed GoPro drone that's been under wraps until now. As revealed below, it looks freaking amazing. Before we discuss how this cements GoPro's status as a solid design company, take a look at this thing:

With Karma, GoPro has proven they are capable of the kind of end-to-end design that we used to expect only from Steve-Jobs-era Apple. GoPro's designers did a lot more than create a small flying craft: As evidenced by the finished design, they carefully considered every aspect of the user experience.

Starting with, of course, how you carry the thing. By opting for the low profile and backpack storage, they've obviated the first paint point of how to transport a delicate, expensive item into potentially rugged territory. Other drones require partial assembly on-site and/or transport in a bulky protective case.

Next the designers tackled the necessary step of locating the camera mount such that the drone's rotors do not spoil the view. (I am always surprised, when viewing footage from other drones, when the rotors come into view; that flaw speaks of a cobbled-together system.)

GoPro's flight software appears to reduce the learning curve of mastering drone flight (though of course we'll have to wait for actual reviews to come in before we can consider that a success).

The controller itself is a handsome piece of design, separating the simple thumb-operated flight controls on the deck from the finger-operated camera controls on the exterior.

The Karma Grip is a well-thought-out piece of equipment, allowing you to pop the camera gimbal off of the drone and onto the Grip--which intelligently provides camera controls on the wand itself. I also love that it does triple duty, going from handheld to backpack-shoulder-strap-mounted to helmet-mounted.

The Karma will be released on October 23rd and will retail for USD $799 (no camera included). It's compatible with the Hero 4, Hero 5 Black and Hero 5 Session.

Lights, camera, action! It's time for you to become a director. Don't sweat it — it's not that hard.

If your sell sheet is worth a thousand words, your video sell sheet is priceless. Like I wrote about at length here, I recommend using sell sheets to pitch potential licensees on your ideas for new products. Sell sheets are like magazine ads: Concise and compelling. The benefit of your idea should be immediately apparent. But sell sheets don't always work. At the end of the day, they're static, and may not leave an emotional impact. If the sell sheet you create isn't doing its job — meaning you haven't been able to motivate potential licensees to get back to you about your idea — you may need to create a video to supplement it.

Video can truly make all the difference. As we all know, it increasingly dominates our newsfeeds. And for good reason: It's a powerful medium we can't take our eyes off of. It also satisfies our collective laziness. Watching is about as passive as it gets. Videos are what go viral, after all. In other words, video is a game-changer. And I mean that quite literally. Product designers frequently tell me: I didn't understand why potential licensees weren't getting back to me about my concept, which is great! So I created a video. And they got back to me immediately to ask me for more information. About ninety percent of the concepts I help negotiate licensing agreements for these days employ the use of video.

When Ryan Diez, a former student of mine who is now an inventRight coach, invented a unique dog-washing device, he labored for years trying to bring it to market. He always got great feedback, and even licensed the idea in 2009, but progress ultimately stalled and he kept hearing no. Then, in June of last year, a video of his hoop-shaped product the Woof Washer 360 blew up on Facebook overnight. The video had been uploaded almost accidentally. It wasn't the infomercial that had been airing during the past few weeks, but B-roll, shorter, and soundless. The next morning, the clip had already been viewed nearly a million times, Diez told me. And from there, it took off. It was played more than 60 million times on social media and written about internationally.

I remember the first time I saw the video. 360 degrees of clean in less than 1 minute! I've had many dogs over the years. I know how much fun bathing them is — and that it always takes longer than a minute. So I was intrigued. It was a great video.

As a result, he was able to license the Woof Washer 360 to the largest As Seen On TV company. You can buy it today in Walmart, Target, and every pet store around the country. Just last week, it was featured on Good Morning America and Rachael Ray's show. Tellingly, the final commercial that was made doesn't differ much from the video originally uploaded to Facebook.

The take-away? A short commercial of your product can be incredibly impactful.

Top Considerations to Keep in Mind

ONE MINUTE VIDEO - Your video sell sheet should be about a minute long. It could be even shorter, but I'd hesitate to go longer. If you can't convey the benefit of your concept succinctly, you haven't really keyed in on it — or maybe there isn't one. Focus on hooking viewers quickly.

PROBLEM SOLVING - If your concept solves a problem, devote the opening portion of your video to that problem. Make it painful. Make it relatable. After something like 15 seconds, focus on the solution, aka your product. I've seen some videos that are in black and white at first. Then, when the product is shown solving said annoyance, color blooms across the screen. Everyone's smiling and happy. Life's great!

GET EMOTIONAL - There are so many different ways you can film your video sell sheet. This is absolutely an opportunity to harness your creativity as a designer and a developer. What matters? Connecting with viewers on an emotional level. You need to give people the solution they've been looking for. It's not about how sleek your video looks. You need to capture the magic, your wow factor. And you can use your iPhone to do it.

Gripgo Car Mount

One of the best video sell sheets I've ever seen was made by my student Scott Baumann for his product Gripgo, a car phone mount, which became an As Seen On TV hit. Baumann is a professional designer who has licensed the rights to more than 40 products since he began pitching potential licensees about eight years ago. Back in the day, he would shoot on mini-DV, import the video, edit it, render it again and again and again, and then finally burn it to DVD and send a physical copy in the mail.

"Many of my concepts tend to be simple creative twists that, in my mind, offer a better solution to a perceived common problem. There's no better way to illustrate the unique performance and attributes of new product concepts than through the use of video." Video has been a driving force behind his success, he said. And although he admits producing creative and engaging video content fits naturally within his skill set, he thinks anyone today who has an iPhone, iMovie, and is a little bit creative can produce a "more than sufficient video demonstration of their idea." I wholeheartedly agree.

The video he created for Gripgo features a particularly thrilling moment: As Baumann drives down the street, he unsticks the Gripgo mounted to his dashboard and says, "This is my new iPhone 4." He then thrusts the unit (which his phone is attached to) out of the window and vigorously shakes it. The phone stays put! Talk about a wow moment. The benefit of Gripgo is explicitly clear: Your phone isn't going anywhere.

That video is a good example of just how important it is to understand and speak the language of the channel you're presenting to, Baumann explained. "Products that have a magical quality to them and that may, or may not, have a better or different way of facilitating a need — those kinds of products tend to fit well within the As Seen On TV format. You want to present your concept in a language and format they understand. It worked!"

Baumann put it another way: When it comes to product marketing videos, there really are no rules. Every concept has its own unique features and functions. His advice? "Show what those are in the most clear, concise, and creative fashion you can think of — that's it," he said. "We've all seen cheesy "As Seen On TV" commercials. But as cheesy as those are, there's a bit of science to them as well."

The commercial that was ultimately made to sell Gripgo is quite similar to Baumann's original concept as well.

Tools You Need

PROTOTYPE - You don't need a perfect looks-like works-like prototype — far from it. From the right angle, crude prototypes look great on camera. Create different prototypes to meet your needs. Your prototype needs to work right once, or even not at all: You can piece together different clips and prototypes to give the impression that it does. Editing is your friend.

RECORDING DEVICE - A recording device, like your iPhone or a GoPro.

TRIPOD - Your hands will never be as steady.

LIGHTING - A small lighting kit or great natural light. I would always rather shoot in natural light, because it's soft. But that's not always possible. Does your video need to be perfectly lit? No, but it helps. I bought a $120 kit for my YouTube channel.

MICROPHONE - Bad audio is irritating and distracting. Some cameras have great built-in microphones.

Techniques and Tips

Stage your video appropriately. If your product is used in the kitchen, film your video in the kitchen. If it's a garden product, film it outside in a backyard. Look the part. You get the idea.

Map out a storyboard and/or script first. Like I said, there are an endless amount of ways you can put your video together. Many of them do follow a familiar format, though. I recommend watching the videos on Allstar Product Group's website to get a sense of what that format is. That said, what's unique and powerful about ideas obviously differs. Remember what your intention is: To entice a potential licensee to ask you for more information.

For example, consider the video Baumann created for Lite-Brite Touch, a new toy concept. Baumann has had notable success licensing his toy ideas to companies like Fat Brain. There isn't one word in the entire video, he pointed out. "I've found it's best to let the toy speak for itself. Show what it does in the most creative fashion you can, lay an appropriate soundtrack behind it, and get out of the way."

The video worked: That's what he sent to Hasbro, he said, and they got back to him.

Test for lighting and audio quality. Take shots from different angles, including close-up and at a distance. Watch them on your computer. (On your phone, they may not look crisp enough.) Which angles make your product look best? Experiment. You want to come away with more than enough footage to work with, so take a variety of shots. Play around. I've watched dozens of videos on YouTube about product angles. It's not as if you're reinventing the wheel here.

Always film horizontally. That's how video is viewed.

Consider hiring a professional to do a voice-over. You don't have to appear on camera if you don't want to, and you shouldn't if you appear uncomfortable. Voiceover specialists are very affordable — like $5 to $10. It'll leave a great, professional impression.

As far as editing is concerned, there are helpful tutorials on YouTube as well as Lynda.com. Most of my students hire a freelancer to help them. This is a good time to reiterate that whenever you hire someone to help you, make sure to have that individual sign a non-disclosure agreement that includes work-for-hire language. If there are any improvements to your concept made, you need to own them.

When you include a link to your video on your sell sheet, make sure it stands out. You want people to click on it, after all!

Whether you use YouTube, Vimeo, or another service provider, password-protect your video. (If you don't, your video could constitute public disclosure, which threatens your patent rights.) The analytics these sites provide will be useful to you. Baumann is a big fan of Vimeo in particular. "There are other providers out there, but Vimeo gives me everything I need and more to deploy my presentations in a highly secure manner."

One of his top tips: "Don't upload just one video and send that same link to all of the companies you want to present it to. Upload a separate video and corresponding password for every company instead. That way, you can track each company's engagement via the analytics provided for each individual video. As a result, you know exactly who watched it, when, and how many times. What better way to gauge their level of interest?"

I think this strategy is absolutely brilliant. The party with the most information always wins, especially when it comes to negotiating.

Designs that are initially rejected after being pitched using solely a 2D sell sheet end up being licensed with video. I hear about it all the time — video really is that powerful.

If you were sitting in traffic and didn't know what was going on, this would probably make you crap your pants.

China's Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest holiday celebrated during the full moon. This year the moon was inconveniently obscured from view by Typhoon Meranti, leading some Chinese cities, like Fuzhou, to inflate enormous moon balloons (see at left) and put them on public display. Alas, Meranti's wicked winds managed to break Fuzhou's moon free from its tether, then this happened:

I was surprised at how calm the people on scooters looked!

Here's Australian inventor Mark Murray being openly mocked on Shark Tank last year. The sharks not only declined to fund him, but laughed at him:

Murray persisted with the Hamdog on his own, and began selling them at fairs in Australia this summer:

Somehow, the Hamdog went viral. This week everyone from the BBC to CNET, from Reddit to CNBC picked up on Murray's invention. If you're part of any food-based groups on Facebook you've probably seen it come across your feed.

Murray patented the bun in the 'States back in 2009. These are the most awesome patent drawings ever:

On Hamdog's Facebook page, commenters suggested that Murray had ripped off the Hamdog, insisting that it had been invented in 2005 by American Chandler Goff. We looked into it and found Goff's invention to be significantly different:

It appears that only the name is the same. Should conflict arise, it ought be a simple matter for one party to call theirs a Hotburger.

Murray is currently seeking Hamdog franchisees. I can just about guarantee that if somebody starts selling these in New York City, there's going to be a line around the block. People are still queuing up for those Cronuts, for chrissakes.

HunterGatherer is seeking a Graphic Design/Motion Design intern for Fall, 2016. Must be a current student studying Graphic Design or Motion Design and must possess proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and After Effects. This is a paid internship. HunterGatherer is a multi-disciplinary design studio, focused on telling its clients’ stories in ways that are artful, intelligent, elucidating, and sometimes funny.

The new Sofort might be the least Leica-like Leica ever, which is arguably awesome. It's clunky, it's silly, it's relatively cheap, and it features very few knobs, bells or whistles. Instant cameras are a niche product, especially now that everyone has a multi-megapixel camera and photo roll in their pants at all times, but their popularity is still growing.

Whether you hate or appreciate the premise of instant photography, this design seems like a well done step outside of Leica's normal lane. ...Though they might have stepped onto the old Instagram logo.

The Sofort uses Fujifilm Instax Mini film, as well as its own white-banded options in black and white, or color. Early testers report surprisingly good definition and saturation, which (like all instant photo expectations) should be taken with a large grain salt. 

#liveauthentic #Iguess

As you'd expect, at around $300 it's still a stretch more expensive than most other options. But unlike cheaper options, the Sofort has four preset exposure modes for your instantaneous snapping (Auto, Macro, Party & People, Sports & Action). Its delayed flash mechanism ostensibly improves on exposure quality. And it also allows control over focusing distance and brightness, which seems small but certainly improves on the standard.  

And can you selfie with it? You know it. With its mirror-assist, this thing is going to be cropping up in travel bags and music festivals in the blink of an eye.

As with most Leica options, there are notable similarities to other cameras (namely the Instax Mini 90), and the difference is in a sense of quality and a distinctive aesthetic. Unlike most Leica offerings, this one is pretty affordable and really intended just for fun.