After a move back to San Diego, Dave found himself researching lighting design and production by night and working at the local Home Depot by day. Dave's drive and determination was noticed, and he was encouraged to stay and climb the corporate ladder. It did not take him long to think through this direction and realize that if he was to ever have the freedom to create, innovate and take business risks, he would need to strike out on his own. In the spring of 1986 Dave began laying out the plans for what was to become Live Lights, the first iteration of the company. He then raised a small amount of capital, created a logo, purchased equipment, and by early 1987 he was doing lighting design for rock N roll bands in Southern California.

Sutherland Design Agency Begins As Live Lights

In 1988, Live Lights began focusing it's creative services on the needs of larger corporations, while pushing the technical boundaries of the theatrical lighting industry. During the late 1980's lighting equipment was still developing and advanced equipment and systems had yet to be created. Dave was constantly finding his creativity limited by antiquated equipment and pushed his company to innovate new methods and systems. On one such occasion, while using some industry standard equipment, Dave was nearly injured. As a result, he developed a "sure safe" pipe and base system that is used, to this day, by many production companies in the Southern California area.

Innovating New Methods & Equipment

Those who have been close to Live Lights know Dave has little patience for mediocrity and lack of creative integrity. When it came time to bring computer technology into the company this held true as well. Although at the time, Dave knew little about computers, it only took a short presentation by the Apple Computer retailer to convince him that they shared his same philosophy with their products. Dave has always had demanding standards when it comes to creating a synergy between design and the equipment used to execute it. The new Apple computers would prove to be a great investment and unlock even more creative potential and business efficiency.

Synergy Between Design And Equipment

In an effort to push lighting design technology forward, Dave spent years talking with various equipment manufactures, attempting to convince them to make advanced features available to smaller companies. In 1992, after much frustration, he sent technical illustrations (in an effort to spur innovation) to those whom he felt were industry leaders. Fueled by the desire to make lighting technology better, he put no restrictions on his designs. One of those designs would later surface as a color changing method, still in use by one of the worlds largest lighting manufacturers.

A Small Company Influences Lasting Change

After providing lighting design and systems to JVC Company of America for several years, Live Lights was approached by their management to develop a system for private exhibits. At first, Dave turned down their offer, as he wanted to maintain a focus on lighting design. After repeated requests, Dave agreed to take on the project. By doing so, Live Lights design and innovation capabilities were forever broadened. During this project a new method for providing technical design information was developed. Later this process would be developed even further and made fully digital.

Live Lights Expands Its Creative Services

Live Lights then ventured into full production design. Working alongside some of the industries top producers and production companies, Dave found a perfect environment for his passion in both design and innovation. For instance, in 1998, when a corporate client had some very specific design needs that would have pushed an already high budget even higher, Live Lights developed an innovative hoist system. The hoist was only used on the one show, but it allowed the client to have a highly creative product reveal at a fraction of the cost of standard methods. This type of innovation is what set Live Lights apart from other design companies.

Innovative Thinking Makes A Creative Idea Possible

When it came to planning and information, Live Lights was one of the early adopters of computer based technology. As early as 1999, Live Lights was experimenting with Full 3D as the solution for observing all aspects of spatial design. At the time, this form of information was rarely used by anyone without deep pockets, as many production houses lacked the skills and training to produce 3D information affordably. Live Lights would proudly lead in its ability to use the most advanced visualization technology while making it affordable for their clients.

Advanced Visualization Made Affordable

2001 was the beginning of what would be a challenging decade for Live Lights and Dave in particular. As his efforts to achieve higher design standards and delivery methods reached a fever pitch, two of his long time employees left for other careers within six months of each other. Since Live Lights was built around the three of them, there was not just a loss of skills but a loss to the personality of the company. The rebuilding of the skill sets would be a monumental task. Things became even worse when terrorists attacked the US and many companies postponed or abandoned projects all together. Dave would push forward into what would be the toughest years of his career. He would later emerge a better designer and company manager.

Adversity Either Breaks Or Refines An Entrepreneur

Since the conception of Live Lights, an effort has always been made to make the most of every dollar. This thinking also applied to client projects. One of many examples was a time when a corporation hired Live Lights to enhance their brand presence, as well as look for an innovative solution to lower the exorbitant power fees charged by the show venues. Live Lights solution was to develop a new distribution method which incorporated the innovation of a multi-circuit feed through box. The end result was a 70% savings in charges from the venues electrical contractor.

Innovation Helps The Bottom Line

After incorporating in 2005 Live Lights was changed to Sutherland Design Agency. This name change reflected the push to focus solely on design and innovation. The first major design project was an exhibit booth for JVC Mobile at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2007. The course was now set to help other companies realize clean design and innovative approaches to managing their presence at substantial cost savings. Sutherland Design Agency test marketed services that had been part of it's internal operations and soon realized that there was a need for the knowledge and expertise that they had developed over the years.

Focus Solely On Design And Innovation

Since the beginning of the company, Dave has strived to present information in a sleek and intuitive way. The goal was always to simplify technical information so as to spur on the creativity and efficiency of the actual design. As a result of technological advancements the company was able to transition this goal into the online environment for a quicker way of communication and collaboration. This set the precedence for what would later become a full featured dashboard system, further enhancing the collaborative design process and the efficiency of the company.

Technical Design Information Made Simple

With the success of focusing solely on design and innovation, Sutherland Design Agency began to liquidate all its production equipment and reduce its warehousing. A small amount of equipment was kept for the purposes of marketing at trade shows and the special needs of select customers. With the huge changes in the global economy the company also further refined it's operations, increasing its efficiency. Having learned from the events of 2001, Dave established a new staffing approach that encourages innovation and creativity, while building employee positions around a more focused company direction.

Further Refinements And Focus

In 2011, Sutherland Design Agency positioned itself as a parent company, representing its services through three highly focused and specialized subsidiaries. The diversification of Sutherland Design Agency's services to three wholly owned subsidiaries is now complete. The companies are as follows, One Dot Designs, Just Build My Site and UI Design Guys. With a renewed sense of focus and resolve, Sutherland Design Agency has now positioned its three highly specialized companies to change how businesses represent themselves through creativity and innovation.

Sutherland Design Agency Becomes A Parent