Dog Sonic Design & Communications

This is where it all started. Now in its 15th year, Dog Sonic Design has morphed from a traditional illustration and graphic design studio into a lifestyle & brand strategy consultation shop. We do everything from business development to electronic media consultation. From non-profit advertising to commissioned artworks. In 2007 we are doing less client-based work than ever before. This is simply because we are attacking are own projects and following through on many of our long-term plans. However, we are always receptive to new work and meeting new clients. We have worked regionally and nationally, both directly as well as through larger agencies. We have done complete campaign rollouts and project management, and we have done spot illustration as part of a team. If you have any questions, give us a shout: bill@dogsonicdesign.com or laura@dogsonicdesign.com or get crazy and use a telephone: 719.539.0177

Crazy Casa

This house is simply a big art project for us. This is a meeting place for clients and a hub for our lives. So, like every dumb idea that starts with a drive in the country, we decided impulsively on a simple family road trip to move to Colorado and roll our Montana farm house into a little Colorado Victorian. The Victorian never happened because along the way we discovered this property on the side of a steep hill that everyone said was impossible to put a driveway on. I swear to this day I did not hear anyone say we were fools for buying this property, though apparently they did. I recall thinking; who needs a driveway? We could just build a little train or something? It would go up through the Pinon trees on a cable. Yes, a French cable car from the refion of Pinon! We eventually met a young guy with an old Caterpillar D9 who only wanted to put in a driveway because everyone said it was impossible. In short, we spent every cent we had on this house —then borrowed more. Then, this guy we hired to help out ran off with THAT money. It was truly ridiculous, on top of the fact that the house was made of straw. We'd never built a house, but over the course of a few years we got it done. We ended up doing it ourselves. I recall being fronted some cash for a catalog job and immediately running out to get our power turned on so we had someplace to plug in our Macs. We lived in the basement for a long time and cooked on this little hot plate. As experiences like this tend to be; it was great. Our boys were so tiny and they didn't care that it was dumping snow and our roof was incomplete. Now, when wealthy folk cruise our hood for second homes I know they could never have enough money to buy our place. Wait! sure they do: Tamarindo crib! .

I was looking to load up some house pics and realized I need to include the fireplace. My friend, Rodango and I can build you one. (He sounds Latino-exotic but he actually grew up as a Jewish kid in a Brazillian underwear factory). He is just one of the many colorful friends we met while building our house in Southwestern, Colorado

Here's a little vid of the boys behind our house playing on a swing we built.

Large Print Books

Harvard Ranch Publishing may be the best feel-good project yet. We developed HRP to create hard-cover, museum quality books with extremely large print to reach low-vision and those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. The books have reached people all over the world in their homes and in assisted care facilities. We sell them primarily through our web site as well as Amazon, though we are extremely interested in expanding retail distribution. Just when this project was getting off the ground we had kids and moved to Colorado, though we are currently pushing this project forward again —and very excited with our new books which will be out in the next year. Aesthetically, and functionally the books were a challenge: Publishers did not understand the category, nor our desire for institutionally-strong, yet beautiful production. In short they did not understand why we wanted to spend so much in bindery. But, everything came together in a very clean and simple way with a last minute cash infusion from a very wonderful person. The way these books have impacted people has been very moving, and personally, I had the opportunity to photograph stained glass in churches all over Western Montana. In many cases this allowed me to meet people from a myriad of faiths in environments so peaceful and prone to philosophical discussion that the film I walked out with will forever be imprinted with that period in my life. www.harvardranch.com

Harvard Ranch Publishing - Large Print Books, Gifts for the Elderly, Gifts for Seniors and Gifts for Alzheimer's Patients

Our Own Hot Springs Resort..now for sale!?

In 2003 we bought a couple old cabins 25 minutes north of us in a remote canyon. There was hot water on the property pouring into the river, so we dug some holes, did a ton of plumbing and electrical work, replaced the roofs and basically restored them from the ground up. As you can see on our web site we rent them as nightly and weekly rentals. There are plenty of details on the site, but the most amazing aspects of the springs is that people come almost every night. The are jammed all the time primarily by people who need a special place to go, "to get away to." The letters they leave us are truly unbelievable. We'd anticipated creating a really cool place as a long term investment. But, what we have now is a place where eldely people celebrate their anniversaries and honeymoons are realized. Families come back annually and wedding proposals are made. It has become a place soley independent of us, where people feel a sense of ownership. It is a place people can go to get back to who they are. It's a great project to be a part of and we are so thankful to have stumbled across these old cabins in this amazing canyon. The latest news is that we have listed them with Pinon Realty Group www.pinonrealestate.com. That's right, our hot springs are for sale! www.hotspringsdreamer.com.com

Kid's Books From Mars

I've been working on a few kid's books recently. Sadly, they are currently unpublished. These are primarily inspired by what my kids like —and don't like. They also represent what I would like to see on the shelf. Though it's cliche' to say that kids don't like being talked down to, I would add that the success of the occasional bizarro-gem is indicative of a need for more books that strive to speak to the child from a place that is so far out that the mere fact that some publisher had the gazams to print it should be enough inspiration to purchase said book. When I meet a children's book author I am generally more impressed with their organization than I am with their creations. More to the point, I am confused by a publishing system which pairs authors and illustrators together in a way that feels pre-packaged. With that said we live in a time when kids have some amazing books to choose from, and they are taylored to accommodate children's needs with pinpoint precision. My books come from my heart, and my ideas come from my childhood. The weirdness and random poetry comes from Weirdland Quadrant Zulu17 sector 9 late at night.

Life Through The Lens

I can't recall a day when I haven't taken a picture. Sometimes I see the image burned in my mind so clearly when I snap the shutter that perhaps I feel it will help me hold onto this moment. —Cheesy, but true. As if the medium were not limitlessly fascinating in and of itself, we are currently living in a photographic renaissance. The digital world is upon us and most professionals have now made the leap. As a highschool graduation gift my dad bought me a (1986, film-based) SLR. Since then I have had a variety of cameras and lenses, each one an entirely new ergonomic treat of gadgetry that becomes so familiar in my hands that it feels like a tool in seeing the world. Additionally, the connection with other photographers is a surprise: I'll be pulled over on the highway shooting some mindbending western squawl and moments later a gray-bearded fellow will pull up wink, and go about his business. I have been lucky to carve out a niche where I am able to sell my images on a fairly regular basis —oftentimes as an added service to my clients whose story I am telling. As an Art Director, I tend to hire photography, but in short it's a great tool for me to fill in the gaps. I am at a loss without my cameras. But, when I am without my cameras I am highly sensitive to the beauty of the world and aware that I should never miss the natural and fleeting composition of life.