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Good Printed Things

The South Carolina BBQ Project

The South Carolina BBQ Project

Author Nathan Spainhour / Illustrator Nathan Spainhour

$29.00 USD
$29.00 USD
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Part history, part design study, and part love letter to the state’s most treasured foodway, The South Carolina BBQ Project explores the culture of barbecue in the Palmetto state. Through hand-painted signs, roadside architecture, styrofoam plates, and everyday ephemera, Spainhour reveals how design shapes our sense of authenticity, memory, and tradition. This book blends storytelling, visual research, and cultural history to offer a fresh perspective on one of the South’s most iconic foodways.
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Book Details

Full Description

Barbecue is more than food. It’s culture, memory, and identity. This book explores the visual language of South Carolina barbecue culture, from hand-painted signs to roadside shacks, revealing how design shapes our sense of authenticity and tradition. Blending history, storytelling, and design, The South Carolina Barbecue Project offers a fresh look at one of the South’s most iconic foodways.

Product Specifications

ISBN: 9798992199352

Genre: Food & cooking, Design, and Travel

Size: 5.5 in x 8 in

Project Partners

Author: Nathan Spainhour
Artist: Nathan Spainhour
Metropolitan Arts Council

Meet the Author

Nathan Spainhour is a designer, artist, and lifelong enthusiast of visual culture. He is the founder of Spainhour Creative Work, a studio focused on brand and creative strategy, and the author of The South Carolina BBQ Project: Signs, Symbols and Stories from the Pit. Originally developed as his MFA thesis in Graphic Design, the book explores a little bit of South Carolina’s barbecue history and how its traditions are communicated through hand-painted signs, styrofoam plates, roadside architecture, and the food itself. What started as an academic project turned into a deeper fascination – and a genuine love – for the culture of barbecue along the way.

Nathan has led creative work for national brands, taught graphic design as a full-time college professor, and continues to explore the intersection of design, storytelling, and place. He’s a big fan of architecture, maps, and analog design practices like screenprinting.

He lives in South Carolina with his wife, Jess, and two very persuasive small dogs.