Packaging Design, Art Direction & Collaboration
Tatsu-Ya × Austin Beerworks
DEKOTORA: Japanese Black Rice Lager
Dekotora was a special collaboration between Tatsu-Ya and Austin Beerworks, developed with the beverage team as a limited-release Japanese black rice lager. The project brought together both teams to create a product and experience that lived across the brewery and restaurant spaces.
The identity draws from dekotora—highly customized Japanese trucks known for their layered lighting, chrome surfaces, and maximalist graphics. The goal was to translate that visual energy into a system that felt bold and expressive, while still holding together across packaging and merchandise.
The palette leans into neon and high-contrast tones, balanced by simplified shapes inspired by highway signage—bridging the visual language of Japan and Texas. The result is a controlled chaos: something loud and kinetic, but still structured enough to read clearly in motion and on shelf.
