This was my favorite corner design shop back when I lived in the Sunset. I didn't go often. Being…read morea student, my professional graphic design services needs were low. But they did have one of the last remaining typewriters left in the fog zone, so on occasion they would let me pay them by the hour to sit down and type out an application.
Spotted Dog presaged the dot com boom in many ways with its hip but sincere design ethic, its work on web design, one of the early Color-Animal company names that later became all the rage, and of course the whole dog thing. But it never quite joined in. As other tiny design shops expanded, took in venture financing, took over floors of factory warehouses, and sold out to Avenue A, Razorfish, and Rare Medium, Spotted Dog clung to its cute little storefront on the edge of San Francisco's fog zone, never growing beyond a few people.
You've probably seen their work if you've read the Azie menu, eaten at Hyde Street Bistro, Spa Fusion, Pizza Antica, Fuzio, Zibbibo, a few dozen others. Bought a bottle of Lulu's vinegar? Been to a party at Merchant's Exchange? Perhaps you've seen their famous Wine Wheel. Little things they've done infuse the character of life here, they are part of what makes San Francisco such a gorgeous city to live. If you are in business, from plumbing repair to a chocolate bar, never forget the importance of branding, logos, product design, and style. You are not just selling a fixed shower drain, you are selling a way of life. A restaurant sells more than food, it sells flavor - and a beautiful menu makes everything in life taste better.
Now that the dot com boys are all gone, back to surfing Santa Cruz, back to the engineering job, back to Burning Man, Spotted Dog is still there doing high end work for restaurants, wineries, and hotels. One hopes they'll weather the new economic crash just like the last one and that a couple years from now when the City gets back on its feet there will be some fantastic new restaurant with a salt tasting menu, a pre-dinner herbal alignment, or a beet cart, and you will get swept away in the spotted dog aesthetic not knowing why, just knowing life is good.
