What do you do with a design idea before it reaches the concept stage? How do you share it when you aren’t ready to commit to a list of requirements, much less document it with a CAD model?

ProjectBoard, from engineering.com, is a newly launched platform that is intended to help refine ideas by leveraging a online whiteboard and a support community.

What is ProjectBoard?

ProjectBoard is an online community where you can brainstorm your ideas on a virtual whiteboard, adding text, images, links, videos and drawings. You can open your project to the entire community for helpful feedback, suggestions and active collaboration, or keep your project private if it’s just for you and your team. Think Google Docs meets Instagram on a whiteboard. The creators of ProjectBoard hope it will become the social network to make ideas happen.

ProjectBoard is a place for engineers to work out the conceptual design phase of their idea, but it’s not just for professionals. ProjectBoard encourages students and makers of all ages to uncover their inner engineer—for example, check out the Impossible Science Student Challenge, a contest for middle and high school students to put their best projects forward. The winning team will receive a live performance from world champion magician and curator of Impossible Science, Jason Latimer, interviewed here by NBC news.

Starting a ProjectBoard is designed to be as easy as writing on a real whiteboard, but without getting ink on your fingers. The first step is to sign up for a free ProjectBoard account, hit Start a ProjectBoard, and you’re ready to brainstorm. If you decide to make your ProjectBoard public, it will be visible to the entire ProjectBoard community who can help bring your vision to life. If you want your project to remain private, that’s ok, too—you can easily invite collaborators or make your project public at a later time.

What if you don’t have a project idea?

Engineers, designers, software developers and technical thinkers of all types are welcome to join and contribute to the community at ProjectBoard. If you have a passion for solving problems and working with others, then take this opportunity to get in on the ground floor by contributing your thoughts to others' cool projects.