Just announced this morning on Autodesk's AliasDesign site: a preview version of the brand spanking new 2010 release of SketchBook Pro. For FREE.

It won't officially hit stores until sometime in April, but interested digital artist and designer types can head to the site now and download a fully-featured copy that will run for 15 non-consecutive days, enough time to wrap their heads around the thick stack of new features Autodesk is touting, like custom texture brushes, free canvas rotation, and arbitrary straight-edge ruler guides.

An extensive rundown of new features, with video and interview with the SBP product manager is here, trial software download is here for both PC and Mac.

We've been hearing rumblings about other super-spiffy new design-oriented features in the rest of the Autodesk line-up, which may become clearer next month when we head down to Autodesk's Portland offices for more previews -- keep an eye here, and we'll keep you posted.

The entries are pouring in for this month's 1 Hour Design Challenge: Business Card Hacks, where designers and makers are invited to create ingenious items out of ordinary business cards. The concept above, "Seed Card," is a twice-ingenious design. The business card is part seed paper, part paper. You tear off the seed paper part and plant it in some soil, then use the remaining portion of the card as a plant flag with the card holder's info on one side and the flower type on the back. Says designer Greenman, "We typically use flowers to think of, or remind others of us, so I thought it was appropriate." Nice.

View all the 1 Hour Design Challenge Business Card Hacks right here, and upload your own. The 5 top designs will win 1000 free business cards from our sponsor, UPrinting.com.

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Under the name Mintselect, Seoul-based designer Jongchul Kim has developed an insanely deep portfolio of product concepts done under his Mintpass brand.

It takes a lot to tickle us, but his Mint Timepiece 5 Progress Bar clock had us at "Hello." (Dvice succinctly describes the clock as "Day loading, please wait.")

The Mint Timepiece 6 Finger Language Clock tells you the time via robot hands and sign language:

The Mint Multi-tap is a clever expandable powerstrip:

The Mint Light 4 Rollight is a portable battery-powered strip of LED lights that can be rolled into a flashlight, or unrolled into task or mood lighting:

Check out more of Kim's work on Coroflot. (Warning: You may spend the rest of the day browsing his portfolio.)

Core77 is very proud to have been selected as "Best Design Website" in their first-ever Best of Green: Design + Architecture awards. We are humbled to be in such great company, and honored to be on the list. Thank you Treehugger!

Oh: Most unexpected "best of" pick in the bunch? Best Material: Dirt

We know, we know, there's a million laudable iPhone cases out there, but haven't most been abandoned due to their bulkiness? Here's an alternative: Mon Carbone's handcrafted Carbon Fiber iPhone Case is light as a feather, stronger than steel, but adds almost no bulk to your iPhone, so you won't feel like throwing the whole thing in the trash when it gets stuck in your pocket.