Last Updated: April 2025
San Francisco is home to some of the most innovative and forward-thinking design agencies in San Francisco, setting the standard for creative excellence in various fields. Research shows that the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, emphasizing the power of visual design in today’s digital world.
Whether you’re seeking top-tier UX/UI design, branding, web and app design, motion graphics, or 3D design, the design agencies in San Francisco are equipped to elevate your brand’s presence.
In this article, we highlight the 15 best design agencies in San Francisco for 2025, each renowned for their ability to deliver compelling, high-quality design solutions that captivate audiences and drive results.
Table of Contents
The Importance of Visuals in Marketing
List of Best Design Agencies in San Francisco
- Clay
- Citizen Best
- Noise 13
- Play Studio
- Superside
- Manmade
- Awake
- Wunderdogs
- Spritz
- RNO1
- Gershoni
- Hybrid Design
- Gumas
- Juice Design
- JStrohl, Inc.
How Much Do Design Agencies Charge?
What Do Design Agencies Do?
Design agencies are experts at developing visual and even interactive material to enable businesses to tell their stories, communicate and of course, grow. Their expertise covers UX/UI design, product design, branding, web and app design, motion graphics and 3D/AR experiences.
They mix creativity with a strategy for creating logos and user-friendly experiences, designing packaging or videos, and creating entire brand identities. Design agencies play a crucial role and bringing ideas to life with powerful visual narratives that stand out and appeal to a brand’s target.
The Importance of Visuals in Marketing
In today’s quick-paced digital world, your visuals are not just attention-grabbing; they’re fundamental to marketing success. Studies have revealed that content with relevant images receives 94% more views than content without. Thus, visual design is a significant contributor to engagement and the recall of the brand.
From eye-catching graphics to user-friendly interfaces and engaging videos, how your brand looks determines how customers feel and react. That’s why partnering with expert design agencies in San Francisco can give your marketing the edge it needs in a visually driven world.
List of Best Design Agencies in San Francisco
When 75% of consumers judge a brand’s credibility based on its website design, premium design has never been as important. Some of the most innovative creative teams worldwide are based in San Francisco, and for good reason.
Here’s our selection of the top design agencies in San Francisco for 2025.
1. Clay
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Clay is a brand strategy shop that uniquely combines high-level digital experiences with top-notch UI/UX design. With a customer list including Snapchat, Slack, Meta, Google and Fiverr, Clay makes timeless assets that will not age any time soon.
Co-founders oversee all projects, contributing their deep expertise. With a focus on tech companies in general, they’re ideal for fintech, B2B software, crypto, Web3, eCommerce, and electronics.
2. Citizen Best
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Citizen Best is a design and branding agency known for its nimble, responsive, and collaborative nature. They become a natural extension of their clients’ teams and workflows. The agency has worked closely with lifestyle, food and beverage brands, as well as major streaming services.
Though they mostly work with small to midmarket businesses, some examples of standout creative branding for corporate clients, such as Netflix and Applebees can be found in their portfolio as well.
3. Noise 13
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Though Noise 13 comes in as one of the smaller design agencies in San Francisco, they shouldn’t be dismissed. Famed for its strong branding and marketing efforts, it collaborates with companies that make a social impact.
Noise 13 is a custom-focused design firm that values transparency and the social economy. They’ve worked across an equally diverse swatch of clients from food and beverage and beauty brands, to banks and game development studios like EA Games.
4. Play Studio
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Play Studio is a San Francisco design agency that creates bold, future-ready brands and digital experiences. With a multifarious group that varies from UX/UI to branding, mixed with 3D and animation, they’ve produced some fantastic projects for names such as OpenAI, Dropbox and Avala.
Play Studio is a combination of experimentation and collaboration to create designs that connect.
5. Superside
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Superside provides AI-powered creative services to help Bay Area brands scale globally with always-on subscriptions. With a network of 700+ creatives around the world, flexible plans, and 16 M+ hours of local experience (1,161+ projects in San Francisco), Superside gives you game-changing designs that can increase ad performance by up to 65%.
They do everything from Design Essentials to Digital Advertising and are focused on speed and creative scale. Superside is also unique in offering transparent, all-inclusive subscription pricing.
6. Manmade
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Manmade describes itself as an information design consultancy, ideal for businesses needing to visually communicate complex data or value propositions. As a smaller digital agency, Manmade builds flexible teams by tapping into a broader network of designers and strategists.
Their clients include leading companies in science, technology, green energy, 3D modelling, and healthcare sectors, with a strong focus on data visualization and clear communication.
7. Awake
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Awake is a digital design and branding firm that defines, accelerates, and shapes brands. They are dedicated to producing captivating product experiences and bringing an exciting twist to every project.
Their portfolio is retail-centred, with names like Gucci, Saint Laurent and Puma hanging in the closet. They also have extensive prior design work with large tech brands such as Apple and Microsoft, and eCommerce sites.
8. Wunderdogs
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Wunderdogs is a known name within the San Francisco design industry and is famous for providing innovative options for organisations’ most design problems. The group presents as an extension of marketing teams by focusing on building brands and strategies for long-term value.
With backgrounds in fintech, life science, venture capital and non-profit, Wunderdogs has partnered with midmarket and enterprise-level organisations to deliver meaningful design that simplifies communication between their clients and their products.
9. Spritz
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Spritz is an integrated full-service design and branding agency trusted by many to help some of the biggest names in the industry deliver their brands and grow online. They are experts in product launches, event support and social media design with a focus on digital strategy, brand identity and brand activation.
With its experience serving start-ups and corporates from hospitality and restaurants to lifestyle, Spritz has collaborated with such distinguished clients as Lucky TukTuk, Fisherman’s Wharf and The Bay Lights.
10. RNO1
Pricing: Custom Pricing
RNO1 is a subscription-based, tech-savvy agency that leads powerful, product-driven growth for high-growth brands. This is one of the bigger agencies listed here, and it’s good at VR and AR design.
They have flexible subscription options, such as “blocks” of hours for creative assets on a monthly basis. Key clients include Disney, Airbnb, Ericsson, Microsoft, and BMW, highlighting their strengths in scaling big business across digital touchpoints.
11. Gershoni
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Gershoni is one of the premier design firms in San Francisco, bringing over 25 years of branding and design acumen. They’ve done work for brands such as Spotify, Patron, Google, Nespresso and Tata as they have grown and evolved.
Gershoni provides brand-building services that include the revitalization of identities and the creation of brand guidelines. They eschew specialization in a sector or industry, preferring instead to serve a wide variety of clients from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
12. Hybrid Design
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Hybrid Design has a reputation for offbeat, yet polished work. Their multidisciplinary team contributes to illustration, print, web, and even interior solutions.
With clients as disparate as Nike and Lego and arts and non-profits, they’re a standout for brands who need a cohesive visual point of view, whether that’s a digital campaign or a building’s facade.
13. Gumas
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Gumas is a full-service advertising and branding company that helps challenger brands compete and grow. A leader in challenger brand marketing, Gumas provides high-frequency, high-impact campaigns that increase visibility and drive demand.
They collaborate with businesses ranging from small to large across various industries such as medical, pharmaceutical, tech and engineering. A thumbnail of work for notable project clients like HP, SanDisk and many small-to-midmarket companies looking to sharpen their branding, advertising and messaging efforts.
14. Juice Design
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Juice Design is a non-affiliated design studio based in San Francisco that creates advertising, media, and design for the modern world. They’ve been delivering creative services such as social media strategy, brand identity and storytelling since 1996.
It’s been their unique blend of talents that has lured in heavyweight international brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Nike, Nickelodeon, Matador Records, and more. With over 30 years of experience, Juice Design is your leading partner for fashion, entertainment and more.
15. JStrohl, Inc.
Pricing: Custom Pricing
JStrohl, Inc. is a small team with a big vision, blending boutique design sensibilities with large-scale innovation. Known for bold, unconventional themes and strong client relationships, they work closely with companies of all sizes—from scrappy startups to Fortune 500s like Pepsi, Kodak, and Mattel.
How Much Do Design Agencies Charge?
As you weigh your options for working with a design agency, it’s important to know how much it will cost for budgetary purposes. Design agencies usually charge between $25 to $49 per hour, but these rates can differ by location and specialization.
Average Project Costs:
- The vast majority of design projects are under $10,000.
- The average cost for a design agency project is approximately $56,303, with a typical timeline of 11 months and an average monthly cost of $5,102
Pricing by Design Service:
- Product Design: $10,000–$49,999 per project
- UX/UI Design: $10,000–$49,999 per project
- Graphic Design: Less than $10,000 per project
- Web Design: Less than $10,000 per project
- Print Design: Less than $10,000 per project
- Logo Design: Less than $10,000 per project
Factors Influencing Costs:
- Scope of Work: It is only natural that larger projects that require several deliverables will cost more.
- Agency Expertise: Agencies that have a particular expertise or an experienced portfolio may bill at higher rates.
- Geographic Location: The price will vary a lot between London and Leeds, generally, companies in bigger cities charge higher fees.
Knowing what these factors are can enable companies to make smart decisions when picking a design agency that fits their budget and project requirements.
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Conclusion
Partnering with the right design agency in San Francisco can give your brand a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced market. The city is a hub for innovative, design-forward firms that understand both aesthetics and strategy. In fact, studies show that design-led companies outperformed the S&P 500 by 219%, highlighting just how powerful great design can be.
To further amplify your marketing efforts, consider integrating tools like Saufter, an AI-powered email marketing platform that transforms design-driven content into measurable engagement and growth. With the perfect blend of design expertise and smart automation, you’ll be well-equipped to stand out in 2025 and beyond.
