Sonar Studios is a rich media and application developer located in downtown Indianapolis, in the historic Stutz building. Specializing in interactive knowledge distribution, this award-winning firm has produced everything from interactive multi-sensory theater installations to easy-to-use web tools for the creation, distribution, and tracking of internet content. Sonar is also the inventor and manufacturer of the patent-pending Prometheus Learning Appliance that displays interactive and stereoscopic 3D content anywhere that has a power source.
Since 1999, Sonar Studios, Inc. has utilized a proven methodology to distill strong creativity with an efficient use of technology— creating marketing and educational materials that engage, inspire, educate, and provoke. Sonar has helped clients effectively navigate the tides of change, charting the convergence of cultural trends and ensuing technologies to reach their audiences through all forms of media.
For most of that time, Sonar has had the pleasure of working with The Ruth Lilly Health Education Center (RLHEC). The RLHEC is a not-for-profit health education center located in Indianapolis. It uses seven teaching theaters to deliver 35 different health education programs to thousands of children and adults throughout central Indiana.
Working the last seven years as part of a three-phased grant-funded initiative to create innovations in health education, Sonar has honed to perfection its skill of fusing a strong teaching curriculum with excellent creative content and a command of technology. Participation in this project positioned Sonar at the leading edge of educational technology— having the opportunity to work with the very latest developments in touch-screen technology, web-delivered asset systems, usability testing processes, knowledge assessment systems, stereoscopic animation, and many other forms of immersive learning applications. The result of this experience not only garnered Sonar numerous international awards, but led to the development of a patent-pending learning appliance invented by Sonar.
This appliance is currently the centerpiece of a U.S. Department of Education-funded initiative to improve STEM education – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through the use of immersive visualization and interactive teaching technologies.
Today Sonar finds itself at the forefront of companys producing content, systems and strategies for today’s world of advanced communications. From Learning Management Systems to Stereoscopic Animation, from award-winning video production to live broadcast webinars, from web-centric brand strategies to smart phone applications, Sonar has the creative talent, technical know-how, and experience to help individuals, businesses, corporations, marketers, administrators and educators connect and stay connected with their public, prospects, fans, market place, audience, and students.
So why Sonar?
First, we must understand that the revolution of the last 15 years has not been a technological revolution at all; it has been a communication revolution. And when the way we communicate changes, so should the way we market, sell, and educate. As individuals, businesses, corporations, marketers, administrators and educators become more and more frustrated with the current push/interruption models of reaching a changing audience, they find that Sonar Studios is the logical choice for advanced communication needs. Whether for eBusiness, eCommunications, or eLearning, Sonar has the content and delivery systems needed to reach an audience in a way that connects, informs, engages, and inspires.
But beyond that, time and time again, we are told that we listen well. That’s because we, first-and-foremost, are problem solvers. We understand that we must ‘own’ the problem before we can effectively solve it. Therefore, we truly try to immerse ourselves into our client’s business—and that requires listening well.
Being both a creative and technically skilled shop affords us the opportunity to be true problem solvers. We have a credo that says: “never design for design’s sake, never technology for technology’s sake.” In other words, we never use a design technique or a piece of technology because it is cool, or feels comfortable, or is the latest trend. And although the types of problems we solve are varied in the forms of their solution— from annual reports, to websites, to interactive movies and kiosks— we find that the core is the same. We basically make intellectual property emotionally palatable. That is, we take the core of the message and skillfully wrap it in emotion so that the audience quickly makes the decision to pick it up, open the cover, click the button, download the file, etc. That requires three key components: Understanding the client’s message (really knowing the client), mastering the mechanical aspects of the delivery method (really knowing the technology), and understanding the position of the audience (really knowing the audience). We are good at that. Most companies like us focus on one, maybe two of the components — rarely all three.
We also believe that this three-way relationship (client-mechanics-audience) is key to the success of the initiative and should be monitored throughout the life of it. That requires detailed analytics. For example, when it comes to the web we have another credo. It says: “if you don’t know who is using your website (and how), then you shouldn’t have a website.” In that sense, we really don’t build websites. We ‘manage’ web relationships.
To help sum it up, we are an honest, dedicated, and talented team of individuals who are passionate about what we do. We value the relationships our business provides, and consider ourselves blessed when given the opportunity to contribute to the community. We have a broad range of skills, yet are a lean-and-mean shop— capable of doing a lot of production in-house. We love our work to the point that we often stay into the night because ‘we are on a roll.’ We are empathetic to our client’s needs, fears, and concerns and understand that listening and clear communication are the necessary means of addressing those. We could do more work, but enjoy working with clients we believe in— we want to love every job we do. And we do what we say— we deliver what we promise, when we promise, for how much we promised.
