Here is my attempt to put the concept to words:
I'm thinking a rectangular label that can be easily printed and cut. I'm tentatively thinking of a background with an older-looking peasant harvest scene (a bad example is here:
http://www.art-kingdom.com/upload/35515.jpg) with the "logo" and text splitting it down the middle - or super-imposed on it, perhaps....
Imaging:
What I would like is to have these three images:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Kf5Se_3A1OekNmekp6R0M1b1U/view?usp=sharing
Killing a little time
I left the whole top for beer and style
I figured the bottom right for abv and quantity.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Kf5Se_3A1ObThPbkRfdFdZSzg/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Kf5Se_3A1OT1AzRXBXT3lCTlk/view?usp=sharing
To somehow be integrated with this image:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Kf5Se_3A1OejVZb2w3ellKY1k/view?usp=sharing
In a way that is similar to yet not as primitive as this:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Kf5Se_3A1OWmtiOU91WnUwZ1U/view?usp=sharing
With the images sooth transparent and compatible in size etc....
I know that the background colour of the main image is atrocious, so I'm definitely open to ideas on improvements.
Bordering the image, I'm thinking vines of hops and sheaves of grain.
It would be nice if red, gold and black were used somehow to tie everything together to show the German roots/heritage.
The direct links to the original images are here:
Fischer guild Coat of Arms:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...en-Fischer.svg
Obersteinbach Coat of Arms:
http://images.vector-images.com/137/..._city_fr67.gif
Ukraine Coat of Arms:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...of_UNR.svg.png
North Dakota Coat of Arms:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Dakota.svg.png
Text:
What I would like is "Fischer Brewing Company" above the image and "A Tradition of Family Brewing from the Banks of the Rhine and Beresan Rivers to the High Plains of North America" below the image. My instinct is that "Schwarzmeerdeutsche" (Black Sea Germans) would be more descriptive than "Fischer Brewing Company," but am not sure which would be "better." The font would be some sort of Bold, easy-to-read Germanic type. I would need an open space somewhere (perhaps below "Fischer/Schwarzmeerdeutsche") as a place to put the style of beer (eg: Chocolate Maple Porter).
Backstory: Part of my family (Fischer) emigrated from Obersteinbach in Alsace (black/gold cross, bird)) to settle and farm on the banks of the Beresan River in Ukraine in the early 1800s (trident). Around the turn of the 20th century, they emigrated from Ukraine settle in Dunn County in North Dakota (arrowhead). Throughout these moves, they held tight to their German heritage and the tradition of farming and brewing - even growing their own hops. In fact, the Fischers who stayed behind in Alsace went on to found a rather successful Brewery.
Anyway, the mess above is my attempt to pay homage to that heritage. I feel pretty lame asking for so much help, but as you can see, I don't do too well on my own. If anyone can clean it up and make it look halfway presentable, I'd be most appreciative.
If anyone reading this has a flash of inspiration that improves on my ideas above, please feel free to offer suggestions. This kind of thing is not my forte, as you can see.
Thank you -
Ron