Photographer Kelvin Young on the ORBIS DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital, with Think Tank gear.

I spent some time on Kelvin’s website and also on the ORBIS website and was impressed with ORBIS’ mission and that Kelvin was going to document the event as a photojournalist.

Philosophically, I have always maintained that our mission at Think Tank is more than just supplying bags to photographers. There are many companies that focus solely on the product, and forget about the larger ramifications of what impact their products have on the world.  I have always believed it is vitally important to support photographers, because the images that they create and use to tell stories are absolutely vital.  Our mission is about more.  It is about supporting photographers doing their job.

So the story about the Flying Eye Hospital, a DC-10 aircraft converted into a mobile ophthalmic surgical unit, is really an amazing one.

I am proud of the fact that we could support both ORBIS and Kelvin on their trip to Kenya. You can see some of Kelvin’s photos of the trip on youtube.

Women participate in a survey with Lily Fisher, senior designer and developer with Think Tank Photo, on Friday night, August 8th, during the Women In Photojournalism conference in New Orleans, La.

As a product designer, it is interesting to me that most companies do not allow their designers to talk directly to their customers. Designers are very creative, analytical, and intuitive, and there is no substitute for talking directly to the person using the product. Regardless, many companies put other people in the way of this relationship, such as product managers, sales and marketing people, and the like. 

I think the simple reason for this is “control.” Companies don’t like for the designers to be in control, or even to give input on what should be strategically developed. 

Sometimes I refer to this as the “Politics of Product,” meaning the internal company politics that occur about which products should be developed and why. For those of you involved in the design, marketing, or sales of any type product, you probably already intuitively understand what “The Politics of Product” actually means. Let me further try to clarify this.

When a product is designed by committee, all sorts of people give input into what they think the product should be, each person representing a special interest. For example, the designer wants some cool features, the sales people want a certain price point, the marketing person wants something else, etc, etc, ad infinitum. The Politics of Product occurs when the grand debate ensues about what the product should be, what features it should have, what it should cost, and more.

My design philosophy is actually the opposite. There are no business people between the designers and the photographers. Designers should  listen directly to what the photographers need and want and make it for them. No politics! 

Using this design strategy is an absolute pleasure – working with photographers directly, the ones out in the field using the equipment, to find out what their needs are, asking them what works and what doesn’t. As a designer, the most satisfying thing is hearing from a photographer that the product exceeded his expectations!

Think Tank co-founder and photojournalist Kurt Rogers in Thailand.

We are a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work, and developing inventive new carrying solutions to meet their needs. By focusing on “speed” and “accessibility,” we prepare photographers to Be Ready “Before The Moment,” allowing them to capture those historic moments that reflect their personal visions and artistic talents. For some companies, it is only about the product. For us, it is more: It is about supporting photographers doing their job. If we can design products that help photographers travel easier, take pictures faster, and organize their gear more efficiently, then we will have accomplished something beyond the bags themselves. www.thinktankphoto.com