University of Que Product Labels

When a champion BBQ master reaches out to you to redesign their line of sauces and rubs, you absolutely risk it for the brisket.

University of Que, owned and operated by two Ph. D. rockstars who work at a local university, has a product we believe in and love. We were honored when they reached out to get a refresh of their labels. 

Knowing our clients personally is important to us, and after building a relationship with Kevin and Tammy over the years, we had an idea of their brand before meeting with them for the consultation.

Scope and Objectives

University of Que was expanding into greater markets, including regional wholesale and their online store. With this in mind, they wanted to revamp their designs to indicate they were on to bigger and better things.

The initial goal was to create a label that would stand out from competitors, appeal to the audience, and have features that could be replicated across products for brand consistency and messaging.

Implementation

We researched the market, including University of Que’s likes and competitors. Most featured black or white labels with a subtle dab of color to differentiate between flavors.

What we didn’t see were seasoning mixes made for the largest shopping audience: women, and the influence of their children.

With an emphasis on representing Tammy and Kevin – and their son – we aimed to create a label that would catch the attention of kids who would tug at their parents’ shirts to try the sauces and seasonings.

We hand-drew custom illustrations that tied together school icons – underscoring their “Take Your Taste Buds to School” tagline – and animal doodles representing the best ways to use the sauces and rubs.

Providing two options, the client chose between:

• Option A: A solid background with a pattern of icons. The icons could be swapped for the relevant product application (i.e., beef and chicken; chicken and fish; etc.). The typography was a callback to old school college athletics lettering.

Option A label Sample

Pattern close-up.

• Option B: Designed to look like a sheet of notebook paper, the animal doodles were pulled from Option A to better emphasize their application. The typography tied together the rugged styles of barbecuing with the old-school fonts of textbooks.

Conclusion

University of Que ultimately went with Option B, and since then, we’ve had the opportunity to easily update their lines of sauces and rubs and add new labels at a low cost.

By creating a standard process without a lot of changes, we provided a solution for our client that was affordable, unique, and fun.

And, if we’re being completely honest, we couldn’t pick a more delicious project to work on! Check out University of Que here.