Southern Smoke Foundation

Started by chef Chris Shepherd in 2015, SSF is a nonprofit organization that serves as a safety net for food and beverage workers in crisis.

As part of the In Kindness program at Principle—a once-a-year pro bono brand project for a Texas-based nonprofit—we created an integrated identity and signage system for their foundation and annual fundraising festival.
Designed while on staff at Principle.
Contributions
‍Foundation Identity
Festival Identity & Signage
Partners
Ivan Mesaroš
A series of posters with custom typography and illustration that were designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
The logos designed for Southern Smoke Foundation and Festival.
A subtle shift in alignment and layout signals a change between the foundation and festival identities.
A close-up detail of the typography used in the Southern Smoke Foundation logotypes.
Text on a solid background that says "For many, fire and sharp objects aren't just hazards. They're tools of the trade."
An image of a flame curling up from the edges of a cooking pan next to a paragraph of SSF brand language.
Business cards and letterhead designed for Southern Smoke Foundation.
A slide designed for a Southern Smoke Foundation presentation deck.A series of exterior a-frame signs designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
Custom illustrations designed for SSF, including a hand holding an umbrella, a stack of bills, and a pair of overlapping hands.
Custom illustration of a diverse group of food and beverage workers.
A suite of illustrations were created to to represent the diverse population of food and beverage workers while maintaining the anonymity that is easily lost when using real life photographs.
A poster designed for Southern Smoke Foundation that advocates for mental health services for food and beverage workers.
SSF’s previous identity system lacked in clarity—both in tone and application. This became most apparent when studying brand artifacts and the difference in tonality between the foundation and festival—the former needing to be more serious in tone given the context of crisis and applicant anonymity.

To set the right foundation (pun intended) for SSF moving forward, we created a flexible identity system that can toggle between the friendly calm of the foundation and the fiery soul of its festival—a three-day, star-studded lineup of chefs, music, food, drink, and frivolity.
A custom countdown timer designed to promote ticket sales for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
Text on a solid background that says "WELCOME TO SSF22".
A custom SSF22 monogram built from the festival’s primary typeface, Druk (designed by Commercial Type).
Custom numerals designed for the Southern Smoke Festival brand.
A full set of custom numerals, allowing SSF to create yearly festival lockups for the years to come (e.g. '23, '24, etc.)
Custom illustration of a live band on a stage.
A series of social graphics highlighting the states and chefs that appeared at Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
Typography designed for Southern Smoke Festival.
Custom stickers and a pint glass designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
Custom icons designed for Southern Smoke Foundation and Festival, including directional arrows and manicules
Custom arrows and iconography were designed and leveraged across print, digital, and environmental applications.
A series of exterior a-frame signs designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
A black-and-white image of chefs cooking at Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
Custom Tyvek wristbands designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
A black-and-white image of the SSF 2022 stage.
A series of lanyard badges designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
A black-and-white image of Bun B performing on the SSF 2022 stage.
The front and back sides of a custom yellow tote designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
A loaf of bread peeking out of a custom yellow tote designed for Southern Smoke Festival 2022.
A black-and-white image of the SSF team holding a check for $1.6 million—the cumulative donations from Southern Smoke Foundation 2022.
A custom illustration of the iconic "Thank You" take-out bag.
Launched in 2022, our work for Southern Smoke Festival (and Foundation) has helped raise $3.42 million dollars for food and beverage workers in crisis.
© 2015–2025, Drake Preston.
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