Press Release
Aspen Tripod Head by Colorado Tripod Company Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Camera and Photography Equipment Design
Colorado Tripod Company acknowledged for camera and photography equipment design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Camera and Photography Equipment Design category for Aspen Tripod Head by Colorado Tripod Company. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Regarding Aspen Tripod Head
Aspen is a tripod head designed to simplify photographic composition. An open frame allows an attached camera to rotate well beyond 90 degrees in both directions, giving quick changes between landscape and portrait orientations without bulky L-brackets. The ball has a hollow core with holes that reduce weight while maintaining strength. An adjustable lever clamp holds a wide range of camera plates, a friction control sets the drag, and a panning lock permits full rotation for panoramic photographs. Aspen is machined from hard anodized aluminum.
Award Record
Colorado Tripod Company is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2019 - 2020 to 2020 - 2021 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Camera and Photography Equipment Design Award
The A' Photography Equipment Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good photography gear by leading designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to photography equipment designers, camera manufacturers, lens designers and industrial design studios from all countries. Entries typically include cameras, lenses, tripods, flashes, light meters and camera bags. Awarded photography equipment designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/photography-equipment
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/108315
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/108315
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!108315
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/256462
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://aspenballhead.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Aspen Tripod Head
- Function
- Tripod Head
- Category
- Camera and Photography Equipment Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Electronics & Appliances and Entertainment
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Dim Gray and Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Colorado Tripod Company
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #108315
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Aspen tripod head provides photographers with a large range of motion to simplify photograph composition. An open frame design allows an attached camera to rotate well beyond 90 degrees in both directions for quick adjustments in both landscape or portrait orientations. The ball features a hollow core with holes to reduce weight while maintaining strength and the adjustable lever clamp offers a quick and secure attachment to a wide range of camera plates.
- Inspiration
- The Aspen design is centered around increasing range of motion to simplify the process of compositional framing for photographers who need to align their cameras quickly. The open frame construction eliminates the need to adjust the tripod legs to level the camera and makes bulky L-brackets unnecessary for switching from landscape to portrait orientations.
- Research
- A wide variety of competitor references were studied for load capacity, vibration dampening, material selection, weight and mechanical operation. Various test rigs were created to acquire data in addition to disassembly and reconstruction of parts. A weight gauge was created to measure the max load of ball heads at various locations of load relative to the center of the ball. A vibration dampening and rigidity test was created using gyroscope and accelerometer devices attached to the ball heads. Using the data, our design team gained insight into the mechanisms and features that create a high-strength, rigid, low-weight tripod head.
- Challenge
- In order to maximize range of motion, an open framed design was chosen for the Aspen. However, the construction proved difficult to ensure proper locking force and rigidity. The locking pads have much less surface area than traditional ball heads, so a number of pad shapes and materials were tested to optimize the locking mechanism. The surface finish of the anodized ball also proved to be a factor in the locking force. Additionally, the correct tolerances of the interacting parts was difficult, as a balance between tight fit and smooth movement was needed to achieve the end result.
- Realization and Technology
- The Aspen is constructed primarily from aluminum 6061 which is hard anodized for increased scratch and corrosion resistance. Stainless steel and bronze are also utilized for interacting threaded parts. All parts are CNC machined with either live-tooling lathes or 5-axis mills and the machining process was fine-tuned over many iterations to optimize tolerances and fit. The custom locking knob is constructed of an injected molded rubber to improve feel and ergonomics.
- Operation and Interaction
- A camera is mounted on the adjustable lever clamp that is attached to the Aspen hollow ball. When adjustments are needed for compositional framing, the locking knob is released and the camera is rotated into position about the center axis of the ball and then re-locked. The friction control sets drag on the ball when moving freely for a customized experience. A panning lock can be tightened or loosened to create a secure lock or to rotate the ball head 360 degrees for panoramic photographs.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in 2018 and finished in early 2020 with all design, prototyping and manufacturing taking place in Denver, Colorado, USA. The product officially launched in July 2020.
- Specifications
- Width: 134 mm x Depth: 55 mm x Height: 95 mm Weight: 440 g Ball Diameter: 48 mm Load Capacity: 13.6 kg
- Keywords
- tripod head, ball head, camera support, tripod, photography accessory
