There's no secret that we love all things upcycled and cardboard. Last December, we even hosted our own cardboard Christmas challenge with some incredible results. Our friends at Makedo have just posted up a great Instructable for creating your own cardboard Christmas tree. All you need is some cardboard and the Makedo kit for THREE.

Download it now and you and the kids can have a great holiday project for the weekend. No lugging around a whole tree, no cleaning of messy pine needles. You can thank us later.

Chloe van Diepen for Core77

The T-Shirt Issue is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary design collective that have de- and reconstructed the quintessential article of clothing, that which gives them their name and purpose. While we had a first glimpse at some of their experimental "non-basics" at Dutch Design Week, the T-Shirt Issue is also looking to launch a line of reimagined tees through a Kickstarter campaign.

The issue is twofold: firstly, "the T-shirt is one of the most personal pieces of clothing, yet with their current mass market treatment, they offer the wearer little individuality." Second, and more importantly to the young Berliners, is that "no matter what cosmetic alterations you apply to the T, the shirt remains the same... a four piece pattern that has remained unchanged since it's birth in the 19th century."

Thus, the designers of TSI use 3D modeling software to explore the infinite variations of shapes (or cuts) of fabric that can be folded and sewn into a standard t-shirt.

After more than 100 years of uniform T-shirts, we have managed to break the code and have started to construct basic apparel from the core... T-Shirt patterns are placed and reconstructed in 3D space. Using basic geometry, an endless amount of unique patterns can be generated that create their own signature in the form of seam lines.

Unlike the seams on common shirts—restricted to the shoulders and sides—our seams run freely over the entire surface of the fabric and can be altered to any position and degree of complexity without losing the fit.

In other words, the T-Shirt Issue is suggesting that the locations of the seams of a T-shirt are largely incidental and that there is potential to "redefine the aesthetics of all things jersey."

If the concept doesn't seam particularly radical, it certainly makes for a different, more material approach to fashion—i.e., they've questioned the very matter of clothing design as a means of achieving a form that is literally anthropomorphic. The video is a fairly straightforward presentation of the concept:

I was certain this was a Photoshopped joke, but apparently it's the real deal. According to 9to5mac, audio equipment manufacturer Behringer will pull the sheet off of this absurdly large iPhone dock/speaker—with a face the size of a sheet of plywood—at the upcoming CES.

The iNuke Boom, as it's called, is four feet tall, eight feet wide, weighs 700 pounds and rings in at 10,000 watts. If you need to shut that upstairs neighbor up for good, cough up 30 large and have one of these delivered. Love to see the look on his face as the delivery guys haul this thing into the building.

Senior Design Leader - Beats by Dr. Dre
Ammunition
San Francisco, California

Ammunition is an international design group that is responsible for several development partnerships, including the leading personal audio brand Beats by Dr. Dre, which has become the number one brand in high performance headphones.

Currently, Ammunition is seeking a Senior Industrial Design Leader to add to their thriving Beats by Dr. Dre design team. The design leader will be responsible for developing and leading creative concepts with the project team, as well as overseeing design language, and product design all the way through execution. Responsibilities include working alongside Ammunition founder and Beats Creative Director Robert Brunner to set direction, creative design, and managing activities for projects and team members. The position will also be responsible for regular communication with executive level stakeholders in Beats, and representing Ammunition's product design process and integrity through all stages of a program.

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The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.

Hand-Eye Supply is pleased to announce our first catalog, Makers in the Modern Era, enlisting photographer Christine Taylor to document a broad cross section of creatives in the Northwest.

Each portrait displays the subjects in the midst of their real creative environments—dusty workshops, hot kitchens and earthy farmlands—tastefully composed with a nostalgic nod to work crew and shop photos from the '40s and '50s.

To give you an additional insight in to the creative lives of each subject, each person included an image in the catalog of a hand-created artifact, be it a sketch, materials list or model that they would regularly use in their specific processes.

The spirit of the Makers in the Modern Era catalog is captured in an essay penned by Core77 contributing writer Willem Van Lancker. His piece heralds the zeitgeist of the contemporary craftsperson and celebrates the marriage of artisanal traditions and new technologies.

Everyone here at Core77 and Hand-Eye Supply is excited about the way the catalog turned out; thanks to all of the makers as well as designer Alex Lin, Willem Van Lancker and photographer Christine Taylor.

The catalogs are available now at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR, and select retailers in New York City. For those of you who can't make it to either city are invited to sign up for the Hand-Eye Supply e-mail newsletter in order to receive a free copy of "Makers in the Modern Era."

2011 has been a hard year. Global Revolution! Natural disasters! Bankruptcy! What's next? We're not hedging bets for 2012 just yet, but in case things don't turn out the way you'd expected, we've got you covered. Core77's Ultimate Gift Guide has everything you need to get through these hard times and survive through the... end times?

Today's pick is from John Watson, the man behind the viking helmet of Prolly Is Not Probably, the number one blog for track bikes, fixed gears, grassroots cycling observations and commentary.

Ever try to carry your board on your bike? It's not fun. How are you supposed to pull a wheelie with a board tucked under your arm? Leave it to BMX legend Taj Mihelich to enable shred sessions with the new Fairdale Pannier Skaterack

Photo by John Watson

The promo spot is a nice touch:

See the full gift guide HERE.

A special Thank You to this year's Gift Guide sponsor: Felt & Wire Shop offering a selection of curated paper goods direct from designers.

In October we launched the Fast Track to the Mobile App Design Challenge, an international competition for the Windows Phone to design new apps to help people get their work done. We received amazing and inspiring submissions from to-do lists to contact managers to shutting notifications off so you can focus on actually working. After hours of review and deliberation by our fantastic judges Scott Wilson (MINIMAL), Jill Nussbaum (Barbarian Group), René Schulte (Schulte Software Development), Mike Kruzeniski (Microsoft), Brandon Watson (Microsoft) and Eric Ludlum (Core77), we are proud to announce our five winners and 95 finalists!

All winners and finalists will receive a 1-year subscription to the App Hub development community and the first 25 finalists who launch their apps in the Windows Marketplace will become our Notable Finalists, scoring a Windows Phone. Winners not only receive a subscription to App Hub, Windows Phone and XBox 360 with Kinect, but they also get an app development deal to fast track their apps to the Windows Marketplace. Keep checking back over the next couple months as we start Phase 2 of the competition: following the winners along the development path from design to launching their apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Without further ado...

WINNERS

Bridge - an integrated mobile tool for small team collaboration across time zones.

App Designer:
Ying Wei, Toh
Seoul, South Korea (originally Ipoh, Malaysia)
Portfolio: www.coroflot.com/yingwei
LinkedIn: kr.linkedin.com/in/yingwei
Credits: Dennis Park, Visual Designer

Ying Wei is a passionate User Experience designer specializing in user research, user interface and interaction design. She received her Bachelor's degree in Interface Design from Multimedia University, Malaysia in 2007 and her Master's degree in Interaction Design from Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea in Feb 2011. She was an interaction designer at Autodesk in Shanghai where her responsibility is to assist the development of the global products and workflows such as AutoCAD Map3D and Digital Cities projects in a global team spreading over US, Canada, and China.

Currently, she is working as an information architect in Seoul.
Ying Wei loves traveling and exploring different countries and cultures.

Blackbelt - a level-up based business app aimed at improving company productivity and employee self awareness through objectives, incentives and competition.

App Designer:
Mark William Salerno
Milan, Italy (originally Melbourne, Australia)
Industrial Design: www.designsalerno.net
Graphic Design: www.marksmanstudios.com

New freelancer Mark William Salerno set out to become a car designer yet could not deny his passion for mixed design disciplines in Arts, Graphic, Multimedia and Industrial Design.

Earning 'The Man' nickname at Design Innovation Milano, he became an ID project leader and international tutor. Moving to the design capital in 2006, he completed a master course with Alfa Romeo at the famous Scuola Politecnica di Design. An upbringing in Australia excelled his natural skills with studies at Swinburne TAFE and Monash University.

Utlizing all facets of art and design, he continues to develop a fine 'explore-filter-evolve' cycle of creative labor.

Social Mints - easily track and measure what people are saying about a company, brand or new product across the social media landscape.

App Designer:
Pratik Kothari
Virginia Beach, VA
www.gotechark.com
www.moodswinglife.com

Pratik Kothari works as Director of IT for reQuire, LLC and also runs his own company Techark Consultancy. Kothari holds a Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science and is passionate about solving challenging problems.

Microsoft has recognized Kothari as a Developer Hero for his extremely popular Windows Phone apps: Mood Swing, Dress Pal, Smart Goals, RedMinder and ...honey, I got it! All his apps are very practical and based out of necessities in one's daily life. An AppHub Spotlight on Kothari's apps is available here.

Rhythmatic - an easy to use and powerful business cash-flow management mobile app.

App Designer:
Geof Harries
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
http://subvert.ca

Geof Harries is a designer who is most commonly hired to research, plan and conceive user interfaces for enterprise software products. When not working on client projects, he and the team at Subvert develop their own commercial software products built on the Microsoft technology platform. Outside of work, Geof loves to spend time with his wife and three children. He occasionally can be found in the Yukon wilderness atop his mountain bike, cross-country skis or snowboard.

car-pal+ - helps road warriors track fuel efficiency, find the nearest gas station, and monitor road alerts and maintenance history.

App Designer:
Alan Asher
Denver, Colorado
www.linkedin.com/in/alanasher
Credits: Chris Bartlett

Alan Asher is an aspiring 28-year-old entrepreneur and digital-media designer whose passion is interface design and user experience. He enjoys designing and consulting from start-up ventures to enterprise-level applications.

With six years of business and technology experience in the financial-services industry, Alan looks forward to meeting new people, learning from new opportunities, and engaging in new challenges. His other interests include finance, technological trends and photography.

Alan is also an active member of his local community, dedicating personal time to programs like Junior Achievement to cultivate young business leaders of the future.

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:

You love to sketch. Pen on paper, stylus on tablet, it doesn't matter. But what does matter, is that Scott Wilson understands that insatiable need to draw. Scott Wilson, the man behind the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for the TikTok/LunaTik watchband for the iPod nano, just launched a great followup to the TikTok: a dual function rollerball pen and digital stylus aptly named the LunaTik Touch Pen. With a click of a button, you can toggle between paper and tablet with a single pen.

The Lunatik Alloy Touch Pen is manufactured from premium materials and features an aircraft grade aluminum barrel, a die cast clip that is hard coated with PVD plating, high grade silicone rubber grip as well as our patent-pending dual mode tip that allows you to seamlessly use the LunaTik Pen with any touch screen. Our custom engineered materials are designed to meet our demanding specifications for touch screen responsiveness and flow. And on paper, the Touch Pen uses precision Japanese rollerball components for a fluid inking experience.

This is a great solution for the way we work today and Wilson hopes that the LunaTik Touch Pen will be an integrated tool to move us into a more seamlessly workflow. This week marks the one-year anniversary of Wilson's impressive funding run for the TikTok! We learn from Scott's project video that the MINIMAL team will be launching a series of products over the next year...we'll be on the lookout for new ideas under the LunaTik brand. Watch the project video after the jump:

Earlier this year I was asked to join the accessions committee for the Architecture and Design Department of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It seems it was an opportune time, as the museum is making some exciting changes, most notable of which is a new expansion of the museum itself. The expansion project will double the existing gallery space to 130,000 square feet, and will also heavily modify the existing galleries to differ in scale, materials and lighting specifically designed to showcase a range of art, from photography to installation, video, painting and sculpture.

From my perspective, the most exciting aspect of the expansion is how it will integrate into the surrounding city. There will be multiple added entrances which will feature some unique galley set-ups designed to blur the edge between the city and museum. The building introduces a façade on Howard Street that will feature a large, street-level gallery enclosed in glass on three sides, providing views of both the art in the galleries and the new public spaces. The work inside will be visible from the outside even when the museum is closed.

Public circulation between the museum and the city will be enhanced through the creation of free ground-level galleries, new entrances that make the museum accessible from every direction, a central public gathering place, and more extensive routes of public circulation. The use of glass throughout the building, as well as the creation of several outdoor terraces and a new sculpture garden, further serves to open up the museum and connect it to the city.

To read more about the design, check out the video and write up on SFMOMA's website HERE.

If you're unfamiliar with the name Alexander Girard, there is no doubt that you are familiar with his work. The multitalented designer is best known for his beautifully bold textiles for Herman Miller and the Eames', George Jensen and Eero Saarinen. Since 2000, Girard's patterns, toys and characters have been reintroduced to a new generation of design lovers through a retrospective at the Cooper-Hewitt in 2001 and curated collaborations with companies like Maharam, Kate Spade, Urban Outfitters, House Industries and Vitra appearing on textiles, wallcoverings, home accents and accessories.

Last week, American-designer Todd Oldham celebrated the launch of his newest book project, Alexander Girard—a 672-page, 15 pound monograph on the life and work of Alexander Girard. Oldham's own whimsical and bright aesthetic is clearly influenced by designers like Girard and Charley Harper (the subject of a previously released Oldham tribute). In the video below, check out Barney's Creative Ambassador at Large Simon Doonan as he chats with Oldham about the new Alexander Girard book.

Marcel Wanders' most recent version of his popular Can Can pendant for FLOS made it's debut at online retailer YLighting. In celebration, FLOS and YLighting are challenging designers to transform the new Can Can pattern into your own product pattern. The Pattern Play Design Contest asks for contestants to, "apply the inner pattern onto unexpected places," for a chance to win $2500 and a FLOS Can Can Light. Enter now...the contest ends January 15th and you don't want to miss the opportunity to have your work in front of judges Piero Gandini (CEO of FLOS), Sean Callahan (CEO of YLighting) and Marcel Wanders himself!

During this past year's ICFF, New Yorker's decide to apply Marcel Wanders' iconic patterns on their own bodies by getting tattooed at FLOS' SoHo location. Check the video of the experiment from the Get Lit, Get Ink'd event from May after the jump.

Yves Béhar needs no introduction here, though a recently posted clip by PBS Arts does a nice job of profiling the star designer. The video, part of the "Off Book" original web series about contemporary art and design, also features Dr. Harvey Moscot of Moscot eyewear and Peter Schmitt of the MIT Personal Robotics Group. Some of the content might be old news to the design community, but it's worth watching as a nicely-produced showcase of the three disparate designers' work.

Meanwhile, the high-culture aficionados at Nowness have paired Béhar with filmmaker Marcus Gaap for an artsy short about his gift picks for this holiday season. We agree on at least one of the objects, and we can't say we're surprised to see another: fuseproject's Jambox—a Core77 Design Awards 2011 Notable for Products/Equipment—is one of Béhar's selections... which isn't surprising, considering that he even built a bike around it at one point).

Maybe we'll go the art-film route for next year's Ultimate Gift Guide...

Also known as the "Kaiser Wilhelm Messer" due to its popularity during his reign, the Mercator K55K "Cat" is a simple folding knife which has been in production for over 140 years. Beyond its functional allure it has a design sensibility fit for our times, including cryptic branding that is a combination of manufacturer name, street address and feline inspiration. The hat-trick of iconic design, history and high-quality production guarantees appreciation across a spectrum of gift recipients! A true classic and available with exclusive lanyard at Core77's Hand-Eye Supply store.

Indeed, it is a "darling of the world of children"; "Parental supervision" advised.

I was kind of on the fence about designer Cory Grosser's "Turtle/Turtle" when I first saw it on Kickstarter a couple weeks ago. Not that the personable Angeleno's design object wasn't worthy of a post—I interviewed him during NeoCon this year—but quite the contrary: I figured he'd have no problem raising the $7,500 he was seeking to produce it.

However, as early as the beginning of this week, Grosser's pet project had barely crossed the halfway mark, and I began to doubt my intuition. While I had no obligation to post it, I also had no reason not to (save for the fact that we've seen a glut of Kickstarter projects lately).

Well, it's down to the wire now, and with just 24 hours to go, "Turtle/Turtle" is less than $300 from the green light.

Turtle/Turtle is a minimalist toy, child's seat and decorative interior object. We think objects for kids should be well designed too, so it was designed with the same care, materials and details as the high-end modern furniture that we normally design. Like the Eames's Elephant designed in the 1940's, Turtle/Turtle is a hybrid object that can be used for play or decoration. It's a gift that you can give to a child that they can keep for life.

This last notion, that the "Turtle/Turtle" has a bit of longevity, is particularly interesting to me: the design object is intended to take on the nostalgic value that is typically attached to a blanket or plush toy (or, of course, an Eames elephant). Thus, the frame is made out of powdercoated steel for sturdiness, while the saddle leather seat will develop a nice patina with age.

If you're not sold yet...

After hours in the AU 2011 Exhibit Hall, we asked TechShop Dream Consultant Zach Johnson to pick a random machine out of the TechShop arsenal, explain what it can do, and explain what TechShop users typically make with it. Just before that, we peeked over the shoulder of SolidCAM Sales Engineer Darrin Bryant, who was using one of TechShop's ShopBots to crank out some guitar-shaped business card holder giveaways.

» Part 1: What They Do
» Part 3: Injection Molding Demo

Client Support Specialist
Coroflot
Stamford, Connecticut

We're hiring! Core77 is currently seeking an energetic, self-starting Client Support specialist for our sister portfolio site, Coroflot, which is home to these very job listings, as well as thousands of designer portfolios. Since this role is the primary interface to our clients, the Client Support specialist must communicate extensively and clearly with our audience through email, social media and phone calls.

The ideal candidate is college educated, completely computer literate, and able to use a variety of office applications. Any experience in client support, HR functions, or marketing is a plus, along with experience in a creative or agency environment. A demonstrated ability to communicate clearly in writing is essential.

This is a full-time job, located in Stamford, CT. Please inquire only if you are immediately able to work in this location.

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The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.

With the barrage of stylus options on the market and new ones cropping up every day, it can sometimes feel like wading through a sea of similarity when choosing the right tool for your needs. The Jot by Adonit is the most recent capacitative touch stylus to enter the fray, but with one incredibly important difference: the inclusion of a patented "precision disk."

This clear plastic disk sits on a ballpoint tip, giving touchscreen users the feeling of writing with a classic rollerball pen. Where the precision disk lacks in elegance of form it makes up in performance—reviews across the board mention that the Jot is the most precise stylus on the market.

The Jot comes in rainbow-colored aluminum options with the Jot+ including a rubber grip upgrade and magnetic cling to attach to your tablet without a bulky pen clip. The screw cap protects the precision disk when not in use and screws safely on top of the stylus while you're "writing." And by all accounts, it does feel like you're writing. The Jot was recently recognized as a finalist in the 2012 iF Product Design awards. See it in action with photographer Erin Kornfeld and menswear designer Ren Jett after the jump!

2011 has been a hard year. Global Revolution! Natural disasters! Bankruptcy! What's next? We're not hedging bets for 2012 just yet, but in case things don't turn out the way you'd expected, we've got you covered. Core77's Ultimate Gift Guide has everything you need to get through these hard times and survive through the... end times?

Today's pick is from the Core77 Editors.

Walnut Studio's handsome leather six-pack carrier is a worthy tote for those last six microbrews you've been aging in your cellar when the apocalypse comes... until then, transport bottles from your local market or brewery (or bodega, if you're in New York City) in style with the weatherproof, reusable carton.

But wait, there's more: use it with Walnut's Bicycle Frame Cinch for an elegant two-wheeled beer delivery system... nice!

May or may not work as advertised...

See the full gift guide HERE.

A special Thank You to this year's Gift Guide sponsor: Felt & Wire Shop offering a selection of curated paper goods direct from designers.

Where Cutlery and Russian Dolls Intersect: Belgium-based Coroflotter Mia Schmallenbach's Deglon Meeting Knife Set, which took first prize in this year's European Cutlery Design Awards, combines four knives into one nifty, nested form. And these are no mere concept, but are actually for sale on Amazon (though precision like this doesn't come cheap!).

Astute readers might remember seeing these—Dalìesque pomegranate and all—in Yves Béhar's gift picks for Nowness.

As of the beginning of the month, the IDSA International Design Excellence Awards is open for submissions for its 32nd consecutive year. "With its storied history, impartial jurying process, international pool of exceptional entrants, impartial expert jurors, breadth of categories, and forward thinking criteria, IDEA 2012 is uniquely positioned to shine a spotlight on design genius."

The brief is as timely and relevant as ever:

We live in a global community with unique challenges and opportunities in which great design is uniquely positioned to improve daily life and experiences. Design touches people every minute of every day. It shapes the world, experience and daily lives. Great design envisions reinvents and creates the future we want rather than the one we are handed.

To that end, the IDSA is calling for designers the world over to submit the best of the best: exceptional design that epitomizes quality across design mediums and platforms. Given that IDEA has maintained and honed its reputation as the preeminent international design competition, it should come as no surprise that it is also known as the "Oscars of Design."

Of course, just as the very definition of design continues to grow at an ever-increasing pace, the awards program has evolved over the past three decades, and 2012 is no exception. IDEA2012 features several new categories: Digital Design; Service Design; Social Impact Design; Bathrooms, Spas and Wellness; Gardens & Outdoor; Kitchens; and Living Room and Bedroom. (See the full list of categories here.)

Check out some of our favs from 2011—bronze, silver and gold—for inspiration or head over to the IDEA2012 website for more details and to enter! The deadline for submissions is February 17, 2012.