The team behind the Webble have clearly done their homework. They’ve got a name that both evokes the internet and sounds fun, and a product that is shiny, ergonomic, and cute in a very Apple way. The Webble comes in two versions, the Webble and the Webble Air. The former is candy apple red and looks kind of like a beetle; the latter is the same shape, but it’s hollow in the middle and wrapped in a dark gray mesh. So what are these things? Well, they’re footrests. Kind of. They’re footrests for the tap dance crowd. You don’t actually rest your feet on the Webble, you play with it under your desk. Think of it as chair surfing, or office skateboarding, or maybe solo footsie.

The Webble is the brainchild of a Silicon Valley design firm called BriteObjects, which claims to be “focused on improving the office experience.” If you’re like me and have trouble actually sitting down for more than ten minutes at a time, and as a result take so many coffee/bathroom/stretch breaks that people begin to get suspicious, then the Webble might be just the cure for you.

–Dan Steckenberg

BURNEVERYTHING, my favorite Liverpool-based creative studio, recently dropped a new site featuring their rapidly growing (and consistently amazing) portfolio. The new site is, from what I remember, even more straightforward than their last, but the uncomplicated design does a great job pushing the focus on to Burn’s latest work which has no trouble standing on its own. It appears as though the studio has been turning out quite a bit of identity work, an area that is quickly becoming one of Burn’s strong points. Not that they’re at all weak in other areas — I think everything they do is above par in terms of creativity and execution — but the work that they’ve been doing for a few local restaurants is so incredible I’d consider making Liverpool my next vacation destination. I love the idea of giving a design studio full creative license in identity work; Burn not only developed these invites to the the bar/kitchen/club, Korova; they also did the interior of the restaurant, the menus, the vinyl on the windows, everything. Check out the shots I’ve included after the jump to see the place in its entirety, then, if you live there, ask me out on a date. No, seriously.

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Can there be such a thing as a metaclock? And if so, would it have to tell metatime?

If there is any hope of answering these questions empirically, we might find it in the Grandpa Clock at Generate. It looks something like an old-fashioned grandfather clock, but it isn’t. Instead, it’s the image of an old clock, printed on canvas with modern clockworks behind the image doing the actual work. The Grandpa Clock looks like an antique, but it’s obviously not trying to be a realistic reproduction; it’s both a timepiece and a commentary on timepieces. It’s hard to look at it without thinking about what you’re looking at, which is a pretty awesome thing for a clock — the most basic of appliances — to accomplish. How far we’ve come from the noble sundial.

–Dan Steckenberg

Since Japan-based cult brand VisVim made their U.S. debut earlier this year, they’ve been getting quite a bit of underground buzz. A little while ago, I shared with you all my belief that boat shoes are essential summertime apparel, and I’m sticking to that story. These Crispy Red Hockneys ($184) from VisVim ooze craftsmanship and flavor. Our friends at Complex tell us they’re available at Union L.A., but I’m leaving it up to our shoe guru readers to let us in on where else they’re hiding. And will someone please tell me they have a website? I can’t seem to find it.

I think I’ve been blacklisted and/or heavily fined by at least 6 libraries in my lifetime, and I’m at the point where I just steal borrow books from my friends who have bad memories and generously donate to many a B&N employee’s 401K. If I can find a library who will trust me with their books, I’ll make sure to download this handy little app for OSX called Library Books, which syncs your record of borrowed books with your library’s catalogue, then adds the due dates of said books to your iCal so you’ll never miss another return again. There are hundreds of supported libraries worldwide, so the chances that your local is on there are pretty good. Whether or not you find the motivation to actually take them back, however, is all on you.

In art and design, finding simplicity is rarely a simple process. The concept of removing the unnecessary sounds easy enough, but in order to really succeed, the artist/designer is often required to sift through piles of very complex concepts in order to find, for example, one word that holds the meaning of an entire paragraph, or one shape that embodies several emotions. However, if true simplicity is found, its resulting companion almost always is, strangely enough, true complexity. It is within the boundaries of simplicity that complexity is best revealed, and it is this revelation that helps to shape some of today’s (and yesterday’s) best art, design, advertising, writing, and almost any other creative endeavor imaginable. A nice example of this pure simplicity/complexity can be found in the black and white artwork of Matt Morgan. Composed primarily of lines or repetitive patterns, Morgan’s pieces are enveloping (even via laptop screen) and emotional; this example, taken from one of four small sketchbooks featured on Morgan’s website, is full of depth, yet made from only three lines. I’m not sure if Matt works with mediums other than sketchbooks — his cryptic website says only that he lives in Los Angeles and that his work is “intended for the viewer to experience in person” — but I’m hoping to see more of his work (or just more work like his; I worship simplicity) in the future.

Widgets are the future: they essentially erase the need for consumers to visit websites, by bringing the website to the consumer…or at least to their phone, and in the realm of artistic mobile phone content, it looks like Start Mobile and XLR8 Mobile are the first collaborators to the table. Today they launched a progressive and innovative widget-powered service that turns your mobile phone into an independent, free roaming, and portable art gallery. Rather than logging on to mobile content-specific websites to buy ringtones, video ringers, and wallpapers, you can now purchase content from independent artists’ websites equipped with the widget. Right now, they have the usual artistic suspects on board, like Shepard Fairey, Sugarluxe, and Vulcan; all content is $1.99.