less then two weeks now until the sold out inaugural TEDPortland event. you can’t tickets anymore but if you’re around town next saturday it might be worth hanging around outside to see what you can pick up. can’t wait to hear what’s in store but even more excited to know that this should no doubt be a yearly event here.

+ with all that pdx has to offer in the way of ideas, creativity + downright zaniness it should only get richer in the future. definitely like to see more industrial design + architecture in future rounds.

been uncomfortable lately? why not?

a handful of times recently i’ve bumped into language + it’s ability to shape our mind + it got me thinking about one’s professional vocabulary. not literally in terms of the words that we use in regards to work but rather the tools at our disposal or at least those incorporated into one’s arsenal.

the argument with language is that since we think with words, different languages or lack thereof, shape one’s thoughts. the old czech proverb, “learn a new language, get a new soul” highlights this. so to does the story told by susan schaller in her book “a man without words” + the radiolab edition. + if that’s not enough delve into scientific american’s take on it in their piece “how language shapes thought – the languages we speak affect our perceptions of the world” by lera boroditsky in the current issue.

i remember being aware of this as a high school + college student but it really wasn’t until i was on a train in malaysia talking with two swedish girls who had been sitting on the rough wodden bench seats longer then i had. after far too long on the train we all became fast friends + they explained the idea of tracemakk (guessing on that spelling as can’t find the word) which they told me was “the feeling of your ass having the taste of wood (from sitting so long)”. there’s no way to really say that in english + definitely not a way that’s so elegant.

personally, as a student + speaker of japanese i find this to be true though not to the extent i would hope. in other words, it’s not a wide open soul shaking revelation that comes with language but rather a nuanced view of things through another lens. but that in fact is life, right. i’ve always maintained that it’s the interpreters of the world that control everything spinning one president’s remarks softer + one dictator’s words smoother + one queen’s speech harsher.

in terms of visual media + design i’ve experienced this not so much with language but more in terms of technique. it’s the rare individual that continual forges ahead with mistakes in learning new ways to communicate rather then stalling after getting comfortable with a handful of methods. not only is this stall dangerous but it completely defeats the very work of creativity. if you rely on x number of tools then undoubtedly your confined to a relatively small window of view.

in order to better express oneself i think that learning various mediums of communication or essential whether it’s more lighting styles in photography, additional design programs or simply exposing oneself to styles that aren’t inherently compelling to you. whatever it takes, to remain comfortable is to risk stagnation.

make mistakes, learn new ways to communicate + see if your thought process is altered + eventually expanded in the process. do it today before you experience torschlusspanik, the stoic German term, meaning “the fear of diminishing opportunities as one gets older”.

need to want less

pin-up calendar like never before via butter, a studio from germany

circus: the photographs of frederick w glasier

should have thought of this

vampire electronics defense

10 movies every photographer should watch via fashion photography blog

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

I used to play the guitar when I was ten, you know. So I figured maybe my thing is playing the guitar, maybe that’s my little gift. Like somebody can make a cake, or somebody else can saw a tree down, and other people write… Maybe I got a better gift. But as of right now, I haven’t found out what it is.” ~ Bob Dylan, in a 1963

the first is steve jobs back in the day. really much more vocal then i expect but obviously excited about his work + motivated. the second is artist raghava KK on his life + it’s evolution along an inspiring + unique path. i like what both are saying. not just via their stories but through their lives, their actions. it’s readily apparent that they love what they do. + as a result have been stuck on it for a long, long time. the 10,000 hours of malcolm gladwell. the stick-to-it-ness that has to be in place to really succeed.

after a complete rebuild i’m happy to announce that the new site is live. it’s at heathkorvola.com + features a full overhaul from anything i’ve done in the past. in fact, it’s substantially different from anything i’ve seen from photographers/filmmakers yet. it stems from an idea i’ve had for quite awhile + am excited to see living. not only does the site feature a bunch of new work + projects but even more fun is that it takes on a whole new shape. the reel idea is employed as a navigation tool so simply by arriving at the site the viewer is treated to brief window into the work. reel-nav.

it’s been strange to see photographers move into video + then begin putting reels up for websites. i’ve always felt that this is fun + perhaps slightly useful for the viewer but kind of betrays our roots. my vision was to not only be true to my still roots but also take the reel a step further. rather then a simply show piece, can it act as a navigation tool itself? why not.

once your on the site the reel auto starts. the kicker is that it’s not just random highlights stitched together but rather features clips of still, motion + new media from the galleries just below the video window. it moves through in a timeline fashion representing each gallery or project as indicated by the blue triangle. in other words, for a viewer simply to open the site they get a no click preview of the various work as it’s laid out on the site. of course, it is just a reel + the galleries feature more in depth material but it’s a step in creating a more fluid viewing experience.

granted this is the first iteration but it’s an exciting step + we’re already working on round two. i’m excited to see where this goes. give it a look, i think you’ll like it.

welcome to the new blog. brand new flavor. crazy new visuals. a keen sense of direction. + the same old heath korvola. well mostly anyway.

as you can see we cleaned house here on the blog to keep it moving forward as well as fall in line with the new site that’s out any day now. added a slew of new links on the right side in a few new categories – some stuff that’s really inspired + fueled me over what’s amounted to a crazy two months. have reformatted a few of the features + attempted to keep it all in order + clean for your perusal.

in line with the new site + work roll out i’ll be releasing my latest movie, the escape, here this week as well. it’s a short tale of self discovery + modern life. until then, keep moving forward.

heath

however, knowing that the complete design manufacture process is well beyond me i approached my friend matt in bend, oregon to set me straight. matt’s a creative industrial designer who’s actually developing a complete set of camera bags for a client as i type this (more on that soon).

his response to my request was so well thought out + insightful I thought i’d share it (with his permission of course). though i’m not thinking of a production mass market run at this time he brings up too many good points to pass up that relate to any branding/product work that you do. (+ just so you know i’m already moving on the automated taffy puller…)

Heath

Yes, we do do one off designs when presented with a good product. The process question is more of a book than a response. It is a tough road, however if you are interested I can guide you through. We have a monthly column in a local publication (http://www.cascadebusnews.com/index.php?m=2&s=78&id=942) that covers this process. Here are some of the high points… To keep it simple:

1) If you are worried about protecting your idea(or someone stealing it), start using NDA’s (non disclosure agreements) with anyone out of your close friends and family.

2) You want to do some market. The internet works wonders in this area. Start with simple google searches for products similar. This should take no more than a few hours. If you still have something you want to pursue, analyze (provided there was some unearthed competitors) competitors and tailor your product to capitalize on weaknesses of other products and strengths of yours. Note; sometimes competition doesn’t actually look like competition. If you had a revolutionary idea for a digital day planner (being silly of course), you could go out and see that your idea was far superior to anything on the market, however you may ignore the smart phone technology. Another example, the competition in a premixed canned bloody Mary is not other premixed canned bloody Mary’s, its beer, zima, wine, mixed drinks etc… The point is: avoid tunnel vision. Further your competition may not exist yet. If you were coming up with a new baby bottle that dwarfed all other baby bottles, there is a strong chance that P&G may see your design, and make their own version.

3) You know your competition, now you want to know what their IP encompasses. In google, under the more tab there is a patent search filter. Click on this and search for competing patents. This can be tricky as the search terms are very important. You have to find the right combination of phrases that will get you staring at that one patent that hampers your progress. You can certainly have someone do this for you, but since you are a clever guy, I am sure you can handle it. 99% of the patents won’t need a second glance. The other 1% can usually be worked around.

4) Next analyze your market. Who is buying your new home automated taffy puller. What are the demographics. How will you market your device etc… Out of this should come a plan for how you will attack your market, what channels are there to get your product to those buyers, and what price will they pay for the product.

Note: this is a lot of words for a process that in many cases may take a lot of time and research, however it may be a very simple process as well. This usually happens when a person with a product has intrinsic knowledge of the problem and industry.

5) You’ve done your homework. You know how, and you know what price people will pay. These previous steps all led up to giving your product designer the right information. You should now sit down with someone like myself and go though your product in detail. A good product developer should be able to digest all this information and by the end of the conversation have the product 90% thought out and designed in their head. For instance one of the key pieces of information is selling price and how many you expect sell. This determines manufacturing methods, what continent it will need to be produced on, limitations on design based on production methods, nifty additions to the product that may improve functionality. Additionally they should be able to tell you roughly how much money you (Heath) will have to fork out to make molds, samples, and production runs. If there are many parts going together to make one big assembly they will tell you how to produce the tools needed for this assembly.

6) If you are not scarred yet then the critical moment comes. Now you actually have to pull the trigger, or go back to drinking beer and swimming in your pool. All previous steps were at little or no cost to you. Once you bring in the designer your costs add up. And the process is not as easy as we make it sound. Often it can take a year or more of iterations to get the product ready. The process can cost as little as a few hundred dollars all the way up to 10-30k.

7) After the design is done it is time to source your product. The suppliers will make molds prototypes etc… and start sending you parts within a few months. At this point it is time to fine tune your product and get it just right.

If the product has some important features or applications you will want to test the pants off it. Often it will require some special equipment to do this testing.

9) Once through these hurdles you are ready to order a production run of parts and initiate your sales and marketing plan.

if this is not your cup of tea for the time being, then check out this fine design in a travel bag from speck products. + while you’re waiting for your flight why not reread your canon 5D II manual again.

during the course of any give year i do a handful of talks + presentations that vary from teaching style to pure fun, from stills to video mash ups. if there’s one thing that comes with these it’s that you’ve got to have a nice little kit together to make them all successful as each location has it’s own challenges.

due in part to these presentations i’ve acquired a huge number of cords, plugs + adapters that no normal person should have in their possession. design in general is too underrated these days but why we can’t see more in the way of streamlined collaboration for the sharing of imagery i’ll never know. imagine if we had a system wide plug + play setup…

apple hasn’t helped with their ongoing port extermination (mini-dvi, firewire 400, etc). here’s the history if you’re into it but with any 2009 mac you’ll be looking at a mini display port. your output with most projectors is usually vga but definitely look before you leap. before any show, like a shoot, do a scout if you can. at least talk to the host about the set up, equipment, sound system.

here’s my kit:

pelican 1490 case
freitag mac sleeve
mac book pro (with guts + a remote)
imovie, quicktime (7 over latest) + keynote
laser pointer
mini display port to vga adapter
mini display port to dvi adapter (for apple cinema displays + the like)
mini dvi to vga adapter (for your friends with macbooks, powerbook G4′s, etc)
extra mac battery
pc audio cable 3.5mm (the longer the better)
belkin mini surge protector
duct tape – cord coverage

if you’re looking for more, try this.

In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.
Steve Jobs

ideo’s tim brown humbly touches on design – ‘building in order to think’ – as a lifestyle in the following ted video. isn’t this the way that most people think? how can you not be aware of your surroundings be it in business, in life or while being creative? design isn’t simply something that happens but rather an effort of awareness put in the appropriate place at the right time or even all the time.

it’s up + mostly live @ heathkorvola.com. we’ll be adding a few new pieces soon but you get the idea.

refreshed scene here on the blog too so take your time + look around.