Front Burner Society asked Harrison to develop a brand identity system for their new Tex-Mex barbecue concept, Dry Rub. This project began initially by us getting to know Front Burner’s idea behind the new concept. What kind of BBQ joint did they want Dry Rub to look like? Where does the spirit behind the brand fall on a spectrum of different personality traits? Is it more Texan or more Tex-Mex? Once these, and many other questions, were answered we began laying the groundwork for the guiding posts for all the work to come. We explored Dry Rub’s brand values, DNA, tone of voice style and subsequently developed a set of key “brand pillars”. For Dry Rub, these pillars are Outlaw, Urban Refined, Approachable Edge, and Unconventional, and everything we designed had to fit into one of these four pillars.
The identity we developed portrayed raw Texas grit inspired by tattoo illustration styles – the brand identity itself is a half skull, half flower bouquet that embodies the fusion of Tex-Mex and Texas BBQ. The logo tells a story of the origins of Dry Rub by including the state flower of Texas, the Bluebonnet, and the national flower of Mexico, the Dahlia, paired with an assertive and confident logotype. Harrison then developed a suite of icons and illustrations that can be used on merchandise, uniforms, packaging, and the menu, among other things, and we also designed a menu layout as well as packaging for Dry Rub’s bottled sauces.
