Ashley Lewis is in the business of branding businesses. So when it came to naming her own company, she knew Dog Beach Design said it all. “It identifies me with Ocean Beach and places me as part of the community,” Lewis said. “I don’t know why people don’t use the name more.” Appropriately, Lewis’ colorful and iconic illustrations market Ocean Beach with resort, family-friendly images. She created the logo and street signs for the 2011 and 2012 Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off, the cover of the OB Business Directory and the logo commemorating this year’s celebration of Ocean Beach’s 125th anniversary. When she opened Dog Beach Design three years ago, the first thing Lewis did was join Ocean Beach MainStreet Association (OBMA), the management organization for the OB Business Improvement District and the Newport Avenue Landscape Maintenance District. Denny Knox, OBMA executive director, remembers Lewis getting immediately involved by volunteering for the OBMA marketing committee. “Once we saw her design capability, we knew she could capture the essence of Ocean Beach,” Knox said. For this year’s Ocean Beach Chili Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off, set for Saturday, June 23, Lewis created a multi-generational image of a family of surfers. “You really find out what’s going on through OBMA,” Lewis said. “They are truly invested in helping businesses succeed and making Ocean Beach a great destination.” A native of Utah, Lewis was an editorial cartoonist at the University of Utah while she majored in chemical engineering. She served in the Navy as a nuclear engineer aboard the USS Jarrett and USS Nimitz before settling in Ocean Beach. Through the certificate program at UC San Diego she reconnected with her passion for art and discovered her talent for design. The program gave her the tools she needed to make a career change to graphic design. Going from engineer to designer may seem unlikely, but for Lewis it is really the perfect blend of technical and artistic that every graphic designer needs to be successful. “My Navy background gave me the skills to work with commitment to deadlines,” said the 31-year-old entrepreneur. Dog Beach Design provides graphic and web design, logo design, branding and small business marketing collateral. Clients include OBMA, the Coronado Tourism Improvement District, Coronado Chamber of Commerce, Voice of San Diego and agencies like (W)right On Communications. Lewis, who lives in Ocean Beach with her husband, Scott, their 18-month-old son, Xavier, and mixed-breed dog Cali, says the 92107 ZIP code is a “perfect fit” for family and business. “It’s a great place to raise kids,” she said. “There’s a little downtown with fun things to do, a cute main street and homes on the hill.” And on any given day she can get a dose of what she calls “pure happiness” — that tail-wagging, ball-chasing, wave-splashing stretch of beach that is a brand of its own. For more information on Dog Beach Design, visit www.dogbeachdesign.com. For more information on OBMA and the 125th anniversary of Ocean Beach, visit www.oceanbeachsandiego.com.