DAS BBQ Poster. Set A series of bold BBQ posters featuring block typography, orange accents, and illustrated meat cuts.

DAS BBQ

Barbecue for everybody.

"So much of our work is about dreams. This one you could smell and taste."

Stephen Franklin was a childhood friend and a Son&Sons team member. He was a brand strategy guy ready for a smokier future and had a family of Georgia pitmasters behind him. We got to build a brand for a friend, with a founder, around a product that's delicious.

Truth

Walk into most barbecue joints and you'll notice who's there — and who isn't. What was missing were women, kids, families, anyone who felt they might not belong. So: what if we made a barbecue joint where everyone felt welcome?

And Georgia had no defined barbecue style. That wasn't a problem — it was white space.

"What if we made a BBQ joint where everyone felt welcome?"

DAS BBQ T-Shirt. A black tee printed with the DAS BBQ butcher-style cow diagram.
Black Illustration Spread. A DAS BBQ illustration mixing tacos, flames, and hand-drawn rock-and-roll motifs.
DAS BBQ Matchbox. A matchbox wrapped in DAS BBQ branding with bold typography and yellow graphic accents.
Butcher Cut Cow on Orange. A DAS BBQ cow diagram printed in black over a solid orange background.
DAS BBQ Business Cards. Business cards featuring the DAS BBQ wordmark, lightning graphic, and simple cream-and-black palette.

Beauty

The name did the work. DAS honors the German and Czech settlers who brought smoked meats to central Texas — a story that earns a Georgia joint the right to Texas brisket. A name that needs explaining usually fails. This one got journalists explaining it for free.

We built a brand holding both halves of Stephen's vision: rural Georgia know-how, Austin inspiration. Uncompromising about craft, welcoming about everything else — anchored by an absolute operating rule.

“Turn for the Wurst” Billboard A large billboard featuring a hand-drawn sausage illustration and playful “Turn for the Wurst” headline.
DAS Erzerker Lager Can. A black-and-yellow craft beer can featuring a bold skull illustration and DAS BBQ branding.

Impact

DAS opened in 2016 in a converted Pizza Hut. By 2018 it took Atlanta Magazine's readers' barbecue bracket with nearly 20,000 votes. Then a second flagship in Grant Park with a purpose-built smokehouse and pitmaster classes.

And the original insight is still running the place, in Stephen's own words: his dream of making Georgia "the most inclusive, creative barbecue experience in the country."

DAS BBQ Sauce Labels. A set of BBQ sauce labels for red, vinegar, and white sauces, each with bold DAS BBQ branding and usage notes.

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