Walking past Seattle’s well-adorned dumpsters, it’s easy to spot a sticker or two with artfully-lettered phrases such as “F*ck Tech Bros!” and “Seattle Sucks,” small acts of design rebellion fighting against waves of privatization and displacement. However, it’s hard to see the same visual representation acknowledging the public institutions that characterize the city at large and its history—that’s where Seattle Department of Designs (SDoD) comes in.
SDoD is the creation of Ryan Hunt and Nate Hoe, two friends working in Seattle’s fashion industry. Existing as a fantasy department of the city, the brand “aims to provide Seattle with aesthetically-pleasing signifiers of civic identity.”
Using research from various public archives and obscure blogs, the duo design and produce clothing and other items adorned with historic logos, design standards, and campaign images to explore the iconography of select local institutions.
SDoD also maintains an instagram page and email list that inform followers about their “deliveries” of new items that often include informational narratives about their latest subject. As they say, “it’s equal parts research project and apparel.”
