BearKaat Brewery Brand Image input needed!

[SirJoshuaIV]

I would like to start by thanking everyone in advance for their input. Currently, we are in the works of creating a brand image and label for our new and upcoming brewery. We are really trying to go for an older style look that is enticing to both male and female audiances with out 'over the top' sex appeal.

Here is what we have so far. This posts purpose is primarily to determine if our image looks better with or with out color, but all other input will be extremely useful. So, which one looks better, color or no color?

 

[Barnesie]

I'll start with a dumb question, what's a Bearkaat? You've got this semi-suggestive feminine image of a woman on a barrel and I'm wondering what that is supposed to be telling me, but I have no idea if a Bearkaat is a place or a thing or just a name of something I don't know about.

 

[SirJoshuaIV]

I'll start with a dumb question, what's a Bearkaat? You've got this semi-suggestive feminine image of a woman on a barrel and I'm wondering what that is supposed to be telling me, but I have no idea if a Bearkaat is a place or a thing or just a name of something I don't know about.

Bearcat was a term used for a "hot firey lady" during prohibition. This is not entirely what we are trying to convey with the image however. What we are trying to convey is simply this: beer, simplicity, and a historic feel. As far as why we chose a female, again the reason is simple, sex appeal. However, in our case we do not want 'over the top' sex appeal, as our location is going to be a family oriented and needs to cater toward woman and families. We wanted a subtle sex appeal that is appealing to men, and classy enough for woman to appreciate.

Our spelling of BearKaat has local ties behind it. Our brewery is to be located in the Catskill mountains of New York and the old dutch spelling of Catskills was Kaatskills. Many of the locals still spell it this way, and the majority of the people in the area will understand this. We wanted to have a local feel to our brewery, as we are going to be small and fully intend to cater toward a local clientel meeting their needs.

 

[Barnesie]

Ok, guess I asked a good question since you had a very detailed response. Please take this with a grain of salt since I'm offering an unqualified opinion.

This makes a lot more sense when you explain it, but I think maybe if you refined it a bit more the imagery could convey more meaning to the brand. What if the female figure isn't sitting on a barrel but is standing in front of the Catskill mountains? I'm not really familiar with them, but maybe they could be rendered in a way that is identifiable - thus tying the play-on-words name with the location (for those less initiated).

I also think your female figure is perhaps out of period? She's wearing a simple dress but a modern heal shoe. I would assume this is live-traced from a photograph and the barrel added afterwards since the positioning isn't really realistic for her leg to rest on a curved surface.

Since the Bearcat is a 30's era term, maybe you should place the female in that period as well? I think you could do something like a traditional flapper standing in front of the Catskills and get something evocative without being sexual.

Of course if you're already sold on this and you just want to know if I prefer the colored or white background...I don't think one is better then the other.

 

[Darrynm]

I think you definitely need some colour. The banner and the lady get a bit lost in the background without it.