This is the new branded identiy for the Huntsville Barbecue Company. The idea behind this Raster image is of a minimalist design, since the old logo is confusing and tawdry. Since Huntsville specializes in Texas barbecue, the overall message of the design is to promote Texas barbecue in Utah. You will notice that the state outlines of Utah and Texas are layered over each other. In my original brainstorming session, I discovered that Utah and Texas share a similar rectangle at the top of their state boundaries. I thought it would be a great idea to overlap that distinct shape, thus showing a connection as a combined conveyance. 

The color combination for the states are custom. These states share a similar topography of desert, and I wanted to embrace that desert feel by choosing colors that emphasized the shared landscape. For Utah, I chose a yellow hue that reminds me of the desert sun, sand, and sagebrush. Texas has an orange hue that provokes thoughts of the sunset, desert rocks, and Texas wild flowers. Even though the colors are custom, they complement each other’s shared geographical similarities.

The border is intentional, displaying a kind of weathered look. I thought the rough look also helped to accentuate the idea of barbecue. Since Texas barbecue is associated with the “Old West,” the black border would help create that Western feel. Comparably, the font I choose is a sans serif called, Showguide. The font is also under the Western category, producing the Western impression. I also chose this font because it is readable, as compared to other Western fonts. The font color is black, just like the border, to underscore the overall theme. When I think of black, I think of wood ash, burnt ends, and a sense of rustic identity. 

The colors of the logo are compatible with a white or black background, depending on the needs of the layout. Obviously, if the logo required a black background, the font color could be changed to white.The name of the company is grouped closely to the bottom of the image. This was intentional to show a proximity between the two elements without creating too much white space between them. 

This is the front of the business card. It is designed with a simple theme. The logo is centered in the middle, with the title of the company just underneath. The font is a sans serif called, Showguide. The card could be black or white. Either way, the colors of the logo, hues of yellow and orange are used as a contrast to standout. The minimalist design helps create a nice proximity with the borders of the card, without creating any trapped white space.  

This is the back of the business card. In words, the card introduces the message of the restaurant, "Bringing Texas Barbecue to Utah."  The basic information is listed underneath: Name, address, phone, and website. Since Huntsville is an award winning restaurant, this was a good place to post that fact, "Best in State" - Six years straight. To the right, you will find the QR Code that also gives you the basic information of the restaurant. The minimalist design aids with the proximity of the elements. 

The text is aligned and grouped to the left of the QR Code and is centered. This is the first time that I introduce a serif font, which is called Bodoni. I feel that the Bodoni font adds emphasis to the theme and shows a connectivity with the sans serif font, Showguide. The color of the text is black, which works with the white space to make it stand out. The black also aligns with the Western theme. 

The is the design for the envelope. You will find the logo placed in the top, left corner. I chose to leave the name of the restaurant in its original place, under the logo. For this reason I did not rewrite the name above the return address. The return address is aligned with the logo and uses the Bodoni font, a repeating element. The stamp is placed in the top right corner, and the sending address is centered. The simple layout leaves plenty of room for the postal code on the bottom, right corner. The proximity of each element is appealing. 

This layout is a clean layout for the letterhead. In the top right corner, you will find the logo of the restaurant in its original form. The return address is located in the top right corner, and written in the serif font, Bodoni. The logo and Bodoni fonts are repeating elements, as are the colors, black, yellow, and orange. The logo, fonts, and minimalist designs are consistent elements throughout these designs. 

This layout is the letterhead with text. You will find that it is the same layout as the plain letterhead. It continues with the idea of simplicity. The company logo is placed in the top, left corner and the return address is in the top, right corner. I like the idea of not changing the logo as a repeating element. The simple design of Utah layered on top of Texas is a recognizable, branded identity. . 

This is a color advertisement for the Huntsville Barbecue Company. The advertisement is a BOGO deal for a Meat Platter from December 5-10. You will find that the layout has a natural flow from top to bottom. The hierarchy of the logo is the BOGO deal, then the Texas flag, then the logo, and finally the basic information. This is not a constructed chaos layout. It is simple and the meant to be easy to read and follow. 

The black background is a repeating color of the restaurant. Black reminds me of wood ash, burnt ends, and that rustic feel. The black background acts as a contrast, helping the elements to pop-out. The message of the Texas flag and the logo is intended to show that Texas barbecue can be found in Utah. Going with that theme, the blatant word, TEXAS, is underneath the flag. The background of the flag has slats of wood to add to the Western, rustic feel of Texas barbecue. 

I used my serif and sans serif fonts, Bodoni and Showguide. The colors for the fonts are red, white, and blue to match the colors of the flag. I thought of using the colors from the logo, but felt that the red, white, and blue, were more subtle colors for this specific advertisement. 

The elements are aligned in the center of the layout. I liked that the elements and fonts are large and easy to read. This layout uses the Rule of Thirds, where the important elements are aligned with the crosshairs. Even though the name of the logo is has a different layout on this advertisement, I choose to keep the name close to the logo as it is in the original layout. 

This is a black and white advertisement and is a contrasting piece for the Huntsville Barbecue Company. This is not a constructed chaos design, but intended to be simple. The image for the background is a black and white image of swirling smoke. Texas barbecue is cooked through smoking, and I thought that smoke would remind people of that concept. Even though there is a lot of white space in the layout, that space has the background of the smoke, eliminating an empty feel.

I placed the black and white icon near the top right corner. I wanted the logo to be placed in the Fibonacci Sequence as to be most pleasing to the eye. The hierarchy for this design is the BOGO, the logo, and the basic information. The logo retains the white background, acting as a contrast, to standout and not get lost in the smoke background. 

The advertisement is for a BOGO deal for a Meat Platter. As a repeating element, I used the serif and sans serif fonts of Showguide and Bodoni throughout the layout. The color of the font is white,adding with the theme of the advertisement, black and white. The proximity of the elements are evenly spaced between the text and the logo. The minimalist design helps create the natural flow of the layout. Grouping also aids in this area by providing the basic and necessary information.  

This image is for the Facebook Header. The image is simple - a plate of potato fries and a rack of ribs. Again, the message of the Huntsville Barbecue Company is bringing Texas barbecue to Utah. Anyone that is a lover of delicious, smoked, Texas barbecue will instantly begin salivating at the sight of these tempting ribs. The ribs are the main focus of the hierarchy. The potatoes are secondary. Since the profile picture will cover some of the potatoes, this is not a concern for the layout. Additionally, any words or tabs that might cover the ribs are not a concern either, since the image is so large. 

This is the image for the Facebook profile picture.As you can see, this is the branded identity for the company. The use of the logo has been a consistent idea throughout the course of these layouts. I thought about eliminating the name of the restaurant and just having the combined conveyance of the logo, but I personally like the name with the logo. Its as if the name is part of the shape. Either way, the profile picture would look just fine as a repeating feature. 

This is the image for the Twitter Profile picture. I cannot say enough about this branded identity. The hand drawn image, the colors, the font, the minimalist design. It is unique and certainly recognizable, which is why is works so well as a repeating element. The sans serif font, Showguide is such a readable font, and mixes well within the flow and grouping of the logo.