Forma Update: The Final Stretch

Forma has come a long way since I first started working on the idea, and I wanted to share a quick update on where things stand and when you can expect the Kickstarter to launch.

The short version: Forma itself is ready. I’m now putting the final touches on the Kickstarter campaign and waiting on a few third-party reviews before launch.

Over the past several months, I’ve been testing and refining the design, developing frameline cards for different formats and focal lengths, working through manufacturing, sending units out to photographers for real-world testing, and making small improvements based on what I’ve learned along the way.

At this point, the production process is locked in and I’m confident that I can manufacture Forma reliably.

Several review units are now in the hands of photographers, and I’m waiting for some of that independent feedback and coverage to come in while I finish the Kickstarter video, campaign photography, reward images, and final page details.

So when does the Kickstarter launch?

My original goal was to launch in mid-September.

We're now very close, but I’ve decided not to rush the last part of the process simply to hit an arbitrary date.

The product itself is ready. What remains is putting the final polish on the campaign and giving a few third-party reviewers enough time to properly use Forma and share their thoughts.

The Kickstarter is planned to launch very soon, with the final date to be announced as soon as those last pieces are in place.

If you’ve already joined the waitlist or reserved a Founder spot, you’ll be among the first to know.

A few things that have happened recently

Forma has continued to evolve during testing.

I’ve expanded the range of frameline cards, experimented with cards that show portrait and landscape compositions simultaneously, continued refining parallax correction for different types of cameras, and tested Forma across everything from 35mm rangefinders to medium and large-format cameras.

The basic idea, though, hasn’t changed.

Forma is meant to remove one small barrier between a photographer and a photograph.

Instead of pulling out a phone, opening an app, changing settings, or setting up a camera just to discover whether a composition works, you can simply raise Forma to your eye and look.

That immediacy is what started this project, and after all the prototypes, testing and revisions, it’s still the part I care about most.

Nearly there

I originally thought designing the product would be the difficult part.

It turns out that designing it, manufacturing it, testing it, building a website, making packaging, shooting photographs, producing a Kickstarter campaign and telling the story of why it exists are all separate projects of their own.

But we're almost there.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the project, offered feedback, joined the waitlist, reserved a Founder spot, tested a prototype, or simply told someone about Forma.

The next major update should be the one I’ve been working toward for a long time:

the launch date.

-Peter