Fancy Barbecue?

We began work with Lamberts Downtown Barbecue in 2005, putting together their venture capital package. From there in 2006 we produced a thorough and broad set of design concepts leading towards the final brand. Of note, the challenge was to define the upscale—but ‘Austin’—flavor and tone of Lou Lambert and Larry McGuire’s vision for barbecue. Fancy Barbecue. What does it mean to be ‘Austin’ in a brand package? How does one process the entirety of a city’s diverse cultural experience into a logo and brand? Our argument was that the brand must be honest, direct, unpretentious, slightly self-aware, a little ‘off’ and anything but corporate.

We avoided all possible cliches from the barbecue world, and chose to focus on the Spanish and French history of Texas and the slightly bistro air Lamberts wanted to create. Then we pulled as far back as possible, adding supplemental meat cut diagrams, supporting text, and a strict black and red on crisp white identity system and menu set.

The restaurant experience is supplemented by wayfinding graphics and window treatments upstairs and down, including mock brand pulled from archival sources in the 1890’s that were actually on the building. Matchboxes, beer pulls, hot sauce bottle labels, t-shirts, bumper stickers, brunch posters followed.