Is This Your Dog?

A story about copyright, alleged infringement, and how a small company is fighting back.

By Robynne Raye

Modern Dog is a small, three-person design studio located in Seattle, Washington. We’ve been in business for the past 25-plus years and have stayed purposely small so that we can continue to work with people we like and admire, companies both big and small.

Because we’ve stayed a manageable size, money has never been the main motivator. For us, it’s always been about the work we produce and lifestyle we have created. This is why it’s possible for my partner, Michael Strassburger, to stay home if his daughter is ill or take off around noon to do jiu-jitsu for an hour. It’s enabled our employee, Shogo Ota, to leave on a moment’s notice for a short bike trip. And since I’m not a morning person, I can clock into work around 10 a.m. if I feel like it.

That’s not to say we don’t take our work seriously, because we do. We just enjoy having a balance and, more importantly, we recognize the healthy outcomes of that balance.

OUR POSTER ART BOOK ...

In March 2008, Chronicle Books published a monograph of our poster work. The 20-year retrospective—showcasing more than 200 posters spanning three decades—was and is a proud moment in the history of our company.

During the making of that book, my 14-year-old West Highland White Terrier, Pete, died from a combination of cancer and Cushing’s disease. A few weeks after his death, my best friend’s 13.5-year-old Dalmatian died. Since Pete and Rudy grew up together, my friend Maddie and I buried them together in the back yard of my house.

As any childless person knows, we channel all our nurturing feelings onto our animals. I was devastated.

Michael suggested we dedicate our book to my dog Pete. That’s when we came up with the idea of “Dogs We Know” and “Dogs We Don’t Know,” the end page drawings of our dogs, friends’ dogs, clients’ dogs, childhood dogs, and other random dogs that became part of our poster book.

To say that we love dogs is an understatement. From the very beginning, we have allowed our clients and employees to bring their dogs to work with them. As I type this essay, less than a week ago Michael’s 17.5-year-old Whippet, Rosie, passed away, and by the end of that same week our Shogo adopted a Poodle-Shih-tzu mix named George—the circle of life in full view.

WHY AM I TELLING THIS STORY?

On September 12th, 2011, I received an email from a designer working at another design firm who said he saw our dogs on a product being sold through a major retailer. At first, I was skeptical: I had to see the actual item to make sure for myself. A few days later, as I waited for a flight to take me to an AIGA event in Nebraska, I was sent the image that contained what the person thought were our dogs on my phone. Even though the image was tiny, I immediately recognized my best friend’s Dalmatian, Rudy; my business partner’s Whippet, Rosie; my client’s Poodle, Albert; and my new Cairn Terrier pup, Conan. I also thought I recognized other dogs, so I ordered the shirt online.

When I returned from my Nebraska trip, the shirt was waiting for me at my office. The hangtag on the shirt was also part of an advertising campaign for a movie. We believe that all 27 T-shirt dog images came from our book.

Compelled to make things right, we entered into a lawsuit that is now a year in the making. If anyone had asked me a year ago if I thought this case would drag out for months, I would have said no. I naïvely believed that this case would be settled in a few weeks. Boy, was I wrong.

We find ourselves in a battle with some of the biggest corporations in the world, and we have no idea how long and hard they intend to fight, as they have seemingly unlimited resources. Our jury trial date is not until September 2013, and in that time the process could easily bankrupt us.

We believe that copyright law should protect everyone, not just large companies and corporations that can afford to litigate. Concerned colleagues and friends suggested we organize a fundraiser, which we initially declined.

After several more weeks of contemplation, my three-person design studio decided to start a fundraiser to help offset some of our costs to see this case through to the end. The money will go toward depositions, expert witnesses, and hiring accountants—basically everything it takes to prepare for trial. None of the money raised is going toward our current attorney’s fees.

All money received will be deposited into a trust account called Friends of Modern Dog. Receipts of expenses will be provided publicly, with any surplus monies going to two organizations:

American Institute of Graphic Arts (aiga.org)

A portion will directly benefit the AIGA LINK Program, a youth mentoring and outreach program (thelinkprogram.org).

The McKee Project (mckeeproject.org)

We picked the McKee Project for our love of animals and because it breaks our hearts when we see stray dogs and cats. This is especially apparent if you have traveled into developing nations. Based in Costa Rica, the McKee Project has become a model for how to help improve the quality of life of companion dogs and cats through a sustainable spay and neuter program.

Thanks for reading, and please log onto friendsofmoderndog.com to send us a note or make a donation. Even a small donation is a sign of support and we greatly appreciate it.

Art Director/Artist Brock Davis

Considered by many (including the author of this intro) to be the best creative in Minneapolis because of his boundless versatility, Brock Davis quickly achieved this distinction while starting out as a prodigious art director at Peterson Milla Hooks, Hunt Adkins, and Martin|Williams, after making his way to the Midwest’s capital of creativity as an early graduate of Atlanta’s Portfolio Center.

If you think that first sentence was frickin’ long, wait until you read about his incredibly rewarding run at Carmichael Lynch—both award-show and title-wise—which culminated in his becoming Group Creative Director on accounts such as Porsche; Harley-Davidson; and the client his inherent irreverence and fondness for Bigfoot most reverberated with, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.

After numerous Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Kelly, and Communication Arts appearances, Davis decided to give it all up in order to make kids’ apparel, since his day job eventually became mostly about playing Call of Duty with colleagues and designing winning T-shirt ideas for Threadless.com. What follows are Brock’s candid answers to our pressing questions. Enjoy.

—Foreword by Colin Corcoran, former student of Brock Davis’ while at Brainco

1. You art direct, design, write, creative direct, illustrate, photograph, direct, sing, play musical instruments, create fine art, are a husband/father, and we’ve heard you’re even good at ultimate Frisbee. What aren’t you very good at?

Fixing engines. Card games. Roller blading.

2. What is the work of art, other than your children, that you appreciate the most and that has the most significant meaning to you, and why?

My favorite pieces are the ones that pull something interesting out of something ordinary. There is a simplicity and a spontaneity to these projects. My Make Something Cool Every Day project of 2009 is certainly the most life-changing project I’ve worked on, as it really helped me to focus on my surroundings much more and pay attention to the things I often forget about. The most important aspect for me wasn’t so much the pieces I was making daily, but the act of making something every day for 365 consecutive days. It wasn’t long before the endurance of the project turned into routine. Once my brain was used to the process, then I really started having fun. It transported me back to the way I used to make art when I was a kid.

3. When working on briefs for clients, do you get just as inspired as you do by purely artistic pursuits?

I always strive to make the best work I can make, whether for clients or for myself. I always want my work to be smart and original. Sometimes the originality part can be challenging, especially if the creative brief is rooted in a formulaic and unoriginal thought. If I’m stuck having to say something that’s been said a million times, I embrace the challenge and try to relay that unoriginal thought in an original way. I’m never interested in doing what has already been done. That’s never fun. If you give a creative brief to 100 different agencies and everyone is working within the same parameters, you’re going to get back a lot of work that is similar in thought. Among those agencies, a handful may create work that is completely different, yet still smart and relevant. That’s the kind of work I like to make.

4. If you could just pick one creative area to pursue, what would it be, and why?

That’s a tough one. I work in a lot of different creative areas because ideas call for that. Not every method of execution is ideal for every idea. I want every creative thought to be completely realized and perfectly executed. That means I’m going to have to know how to do different things artistically, and anything I don’t know, I’m going to have to learn.

5. How strong an influence do awards and recognition have when it comes to the work you create?

I think awards and recognition will always be important. The level of importance depends on the person. People need validation for what they are doing, regardless of what they are doing. When I first started as an art director, I was really driven by awards, but more so, I was driven to show the industry what I could do. Doing well in award shows or getting pieces in publications was and still is a good way to accomplish that. I’ve always been very driven, motivated, and competitive, especially with myself. Whenever I embark on something new, I like to give myself goals … but not in a list-making kind of way. It’s more subconscious. In advertising, I wanted to win certain awards and get my work into certain publications. When I started submitting designs to Threadless, I had heard that it was really tough to get a design printed, so my goal was to get 10 printed in a year. When I would accomplish these things, I would move on to something else. I suppose awards have always served as a sort of mile marker for my goals.

6. What do you feel makes Minneapolis such a rich breeding ground for creativity?

I moved to Minneapolis because some of my favorite ads as a kid were created in Minneapolis. In school, I heard that Minneapolis was the place to be if you care about creativity in advertising. The city lives and breathes creativity. It’s a priority. Music, art, culture … it’s just a part of the architecture. Maybe it’s because so much of the year it is buried in snow and people turn to creative outlets. You can’t help but be inspired and encouraged to participate.

7. How much of your audience do you have in mind when you approach your art versus when you were in advertising?

When I’m working on an art piece, I’m primarily my only audience. I’ve always made art for myself first and foremost. When an idea hits me, I drop everything and start making it right away. I get excited, curious, and I try to visualize what it will be like. There is a lot of spontaneity and a bit of trial and error. I think the way I feel when working on a piece shines through the finished work. Hopefully people can look at one of my pieces and see that I had a good time making it.

8. What’s next?

A lot of fun things. I have my hand in quite a few projects at the moment. I was dissecting some owl pellets with my son. Owls make these furry pellets after eating and they spit them out. They’re like a furry burrito, comprised of feathers and bones. My son and I dissected a couple to see some of the tiny mice bones inside. I was thinking it would be interesting if there were other things in the pellet that told more of a story as to what the mouse may have been doing before being consumed by an owl. Maybe the mouse was listening to his tiny iPod or maybe there is a tiny wallet or cell phone in the pellet.

9. What are some of your best memories about attending art school?

I was a fortunate to have gone to school with some very talented creatives.

Everyone was very competitive but also encouraging. That level of competition drove me to try to create the best body of work I could. I honestly think that if there had not been so many talented students at Portfolio Center at that time, my work would not have been as good. A couple of my peers and I were in constant competition. One week, I may have the best work in the class. But the next week, I would get beat, which would make me want to try even harder. I taught some concept classes a few years back. There were some good students in my class, but the level of motivation seemed low. I gave them an assignment, but I decided that I would also do the assignment with the goal of beating my students. It was an interesting exercise. Knowing that I was also competing, many of my students came to class with some of the best work I’d ever seen out of them. My work was good, but I’m not going to lie: A couple of the pieces from my students were better. I’m not saying the spirit of competition always generates great creative, but it doesn’t hurt.

10. Any chance you’ll start your own T-shirt line in your future? Why have T-shirts stood the test of time so well?

Actually, I’m fortunate to already have my own line of kids’ T-shirts at Target stores. My “Brock Davis” tees have been in Target for over a year now, but mainly in the boys’ department. We’re starting to stretch out into other departments, which is cool. It’s been kind of crazy. I’m basically an unknown designer with shirts in Target, so the designs have to be compelling enough to make up for the fact that I am unknown.

11. If you could give advice to a budding art director or designer, what would that be?

Well, here is a hodgepodge of advice. Surprise your brain. Change it up. Try not to get too much into a routine with creative thinking. Keep learning. I try to always be a student and always want to be learning something. Don’t ever assume you know everything—that’s boring. Also, one of the biggest things that helped me early on was when I made time to have creative outlets outside of my job. This has always helped to keep my brain fresh. Creative work in the office can often be stifling. Limitations are great for the creative process, but it’s good to have outlets of pure independence to balance them out. One of the last projects I worked on at Carmichael Lynch was called CL50 (now called Carmichael Collective). On the surface, the idea was simply designed as a way for CL to celebrate its 50th anniversary by making 50 pieces of creative work throughout the year. What intrigues me is how it also serves as an outlet for creatives to make work for the sheer joy of making work—a way for ideas that may otherwise never see the light of day to exist and have an audience. These kinds of side projects help keep creatives fresh and they can complement the client projects and make the work better.

CMYK has given me a generous opportunity to share a few ideas that we here in my studio are fond of thinking about. These form our philosophy, and we thought we’d share them with you. Cheers, James

Always ask for more. Ask for more time. Ask for more creativity. Ask your clients to think BIGGER. And always, always ask for more money.

Fear and self doubt are the biggest detractors to achieving your goals. Confidence is not something we are born with or even taught. We have to assume it, practice it daily. And hell—confidence is sexy. Being small or shy does not work. Be big. Bold.

Put yourself into your work. Avoid cookie-cutter answers, standard built-in responses. Avoid committees, they are paid to water down ideas to a low common denominator, to make it “easy” — fuck it — life isn’t easy — its not supposed to be. The world needs you!

Teach your tongue to say, “I don’t know”. Ask for help. Search out mentors. For anything you want to do in your life there is someone else who has gone before. Ask for help and seek good advice.

Read. Take a walk without your electronic leash. Ask yourself “What do I have to say?” The computer is not a box of answers. There are so many things in this wonderful world that google does not know. Go find them.

Doing great work involves risk, chance and above all else freedom. Working for a sense of safety will yield safe work, and safe work is boring.

A truly radical idea. We don’t work for clients, or audiences or marketing people…we work for us. We work to put beauty, love, meaning and magic out into the world.

____________________________

James Victore runs an independent design studio hell-bent on world domination. He is an author, designer, filmmaker and firestarter. He continually strives to make work that is sexy, strong and memorable; work that tows the line between the sacred and the profane. His paintings of expressionist designs can be seen on ceramics, surfboards, billboards and supermodels. Recently described as “part Darth Vader, part Yoda,” Victore is widely known for his timely wisdom and impassioned views about design and it’s place in the world. James’ work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and is represented in the permanent collections of the museums around the globe. His work was recently published in a monograph titled, “Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?” Victore teaches at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. He lives, loves and works in Brooklyn. www.jamesvictore.com

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CMYK first discovered Danny Nathan back in the mid 2000s when his work for Broan trash compactors was published in CMYK’s 34^th issue (produced while attending the University of Texas at Austin). CMYK recently caught up with Mr. Nathan to find he had become a vocal advocate of breaking the mold of traditional advertising. Today he furthers his cause as a “creative project lead” for POKE in New York where he fulfills a multitude of roles: ideator, copywriter, designer, art director, UX designer, social media strategist, developer, outreach agent, account guy, project manager, and recruiter. Nathan has also taught at the Miami Ad School, UTA and was a guest lecturer at Pratt Institute. We decided to get Nathan’s feedback on what exactly is wrong with advertising in its current state, and how it can be fixed. This is what he said…

[What’s Your Beef with “Traditional” Advertising?]

Simple … Nobody wants to be advertised to.

Nobody wants to flip through a magazine and see hundreds of print ads. Nobody wants to have their favorite TV program interrupted by commercials. Nobody wants to be inundated by billboards every time they drive down the highway.

Not to mention that most advertising is downright insulting. Just because a company spends a million dollars making a 30-second spot doesn’t mean that I’m automatically gonna care about what they have to say. In my mind, if you can’t make a commercial that people—not just the advertising world—will actively seek out because they want to watch it, you’ve failed. Miserably. And you’ve wasted an obscene amount of money in the process.

And if you are going to try, the least you could do is be entertaining—or engaging—about it. All in all, advertising is an interruption. It’s boring and it’s usually trying to convince me to buy or do something that I don’t have the slightest interest in. Advertising is like a perpetual bad date that you can’t get away from.

[Big Mistake(s) Companies Make Where Their Marketing Is Concerned]

Entire books have been written about those mistakes; I’m not sure I can really do them justice in a short discussion. There are a few that are touched on here: trying to substitute marketing voodoo for a great product; ceasing to view people as people; assuming that speaking from a soapbox makes people want to listen.

Another that has gotten under my skin lately is an inability to say “enough is enough.” When companies are so focused on wringing every last dollar out of people that they lose their ability to see what’s good and what’s right, the world suffers for it. Blind capitalism at the expense of humanity is a scary thing.

[Are Traditional Marketing Habits Obsolete?]

Not in the slightest. They’ve just been twisted into unintelligible drivel. In fact, not only are the most basic, most traditional marketing ideas NOT obsolete, they should serve as guiding principles for everyone. Just not in the way that we’ve learned to talk about them.

Who needs “the four P’s” of marketing? (Or was it five? Nine? Whatever …) Traditional marketing is simple: First, make an awesome product that people want. Second, treat people well, regardless of whether they’re complaining about that product or praising it.

I can’t help but believe that if companies spent 90% of their current marketing budgets making their product better, the remaining 10% would be more than enough to cover their marketing needs. And their products would sell themselves. Isn’t that how marketing got started in the first place?

[Today, What Is Meant by “Creating Useful, Valuable Marketing Solutions”?]

The distinction between “marketing” and “product” is gone. That’s the issue that most corporate organizations still don’t understand: The two are inextricably bound. Divide your marketing department from your product development team and you’re pretty much doomed to fail. But build something useful that adds value to a person’s life and that product will largely market itself. If people are excited about your product, they’ll go out of their way to extol its virtues to others who will share their excitement and enthusiasm (and so on and so forth down the line).

In case I haven’t been clear, I don’t much like to create “advertising.” Advertising is made to live for a limited time and then disappear. That is the very flaw in creating “advertising campaigns”—they’re intended to disappear in a month or so. Why pour your energy into something that’s been created from the get-go to interrupt someone’s life and then disappear? In contrast, when you think of design, you expect something that’s been created to stick around—something that is intended to be valued and shared, and to endure.

That’s the idea behind designing useful things that advertise.

[Define “Thinking Small”]

Everyone is so focused on “the BIG idea.” Every school teaches it, every agency lauds it. And yet, the reality is the simple, smart ideas (the small ones) have the most opportunity to take root. Sure, a simple, smart idea might eventually grow into something powerful and pervasive. But if it does, it’s probably because the idea started as something that everyone could understand.

If you can explain your idea in an elevator pitch or a press release and it still engages people, then you’re onto something. People gravitate toward, and like talking about, simple, valuable, and entertaining interactions. They’re willing to forgive (and even embrace) branded messages that come with them. That’s a win-win for everyone, and it doesn’t come from visions of grandeur.

[What about Your Design Education Helped Prepare You for “The Real World”]

I don’t actually have any formal design education. As an undergraduate, I pursued dual majors in theater and marketing. Following that, I earned my master’s degree in advertising. (Trust me, ad school is not design school, not by a long shot.) I never went to design school along the way.

What I have come to realize, though, is that I was brought up as a design thinker. My mother pursued architecture for a while and has one of the best eyes for spacial relationships and layout of anyone I’ve ever met. My aunt was a potter, painter, and internationally known interior designer. (She designed all the public spaces in the World Trade Center buildings.) All of their teaching added up to the best design education anyone could ask for.

In addition, my years of theater study were helpful too. Not many people realize just how much design goes into a theatrical performance: How do you convey emotion as an actor? How can you create tension between people? How do you compose a scene on stage? How do you craft the experience of a play for the audience?

[Describe the Importance of Assuming Multiple Roles/Titles/Duties as a Modern-Day Creative]

Bringing a creative venture to life requires the input of a variety of roles. In a traditional agency setting, those roles are splintered across a bunch of departments where multiple experts are involved in very small aspects of the process. Strategy is separated from creative ideation which is separated from the actual creation process. It’s design-by-committee the whole way through. How can true collaboration possibly happen in that environment?

But there’s nothing to say that these roles have to be individualized across a bunch of different people. I interview a lot of people from a variety of different backgrounds. Those who catch my attention, and the people who sit around the table in our office, tend to have one thing in common: They’re Swiss Army Knives. If you can’t think both strategically and creatively, you don’t have a place among us. If you can’t come up with an idea and have the know-how to bring it to life, you don’t have a place among us.

Having an idea is the easy part. Making it happen is where the true talent lies.

[Where Does That Leave Print?]

Print is fine for showcasing ideas or products when time is not critical. I’ll be the first to admit that I have a stack of magazines on my bookshelf, many of which are dog-eared or bookmarked. But for information that people want to share instantly, print is no competition for the technology. Let’s face it, we’ve become a society built on instant gratification.

[What Is a Strong Example of Your Kind of Marketing/Advertising?]

There are plenty of brands out there, both big and small, that are accomplishing some amazing things and making truly utilitarian products that have social built into their core (and therefore advertise themselves). The Nike+ running system is one of my favorite examples of a social product. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad for it, and yet since its launch in 2008, Nike+ runners have accumulated nearly 400 million miles and have challenged each other to more than 18,000 races.

A number of other brands are truly committed to both making money and doing good for the world. Through unique business models and a healthy dose of “we live here too” attitude, these companies are successfully establishing themselves as brands for good. For example, Tom’s Shoes and Warby Parker have both adopted a 1-for-1 initiative to give shoes and glasses (respectively) to people in need around the world.

Another one of my personal favorites is a brand called Nau, which designs all of its products with an eye toward “social, material, and aesthetic sustainability.” Nau donates 2% of every sale to their Partners for Change program, they source only sustainable and recyclable materials, and they don’t skimp on design or quality. Even the way they choose to talk about themselves sets them apart from other brands: “We’re stuck on an idea: to redesign fashion and to redefine business so that each becomes a powerful force for change. One small step toward unfucking the world.”

[What Are the Prime Elements of “Nimble, Effective Communication”?]

In this day and age, I think these are questions are inextricably bound. You can’t create nimble, effective communication without following the rules of engagement. Here are some of the rules that I encourage clients to live by:

Be human. Yes, you’re a company. But you’re made up of people, and you’re interacting with people.

Create something useful and valuable. An amazing product designed around your consumer will advertise itself.

You are what they say you are. In spite of all the money that companies pour into advertising in an attempt to define their brand to consumers, the simple truth is this: You can try to tell consumers what to think of you, but in reality, your brand is defined by consumers’ perceptions. You are what people say you are.

We live here too. Together, we all share this big, bad world. In my experience, the brands that people choose to make part of their lives are those that exhibit an awareness of the world around them and the people within it, and those that demonstrate an ability to become a part of that activity and conversation in a meaningful way.

Think about what you have license to publish. What does your brand stand for? What current issues and ideas align with your brand? Those are the things that people will look to you for advice on. Those are the things that you have a license to talk about. When you stray from those ideas, you’re likely to appear out of your element. And your explanations may not ring true.

Take an active role in the conversation. Once you’ve determined what your brand/company stands for, make yourself a part of the discussion—not just to sell, but to be heard and to help people. Answer questions, offer opinions, be part of the solution, or just acknowledge your presence and say hello.

Be aware of social etiquette. You’re at a cocktail party. People are looking at you. They’re judging you. Everything from what you wear to what you say will become a part of how people perceive your brand.