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Smarrikåka

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2006
344
1
0
44
Stockholm, Sweden
www.mjodhamnen.se
This might sound a bit critical, but in my opinion the Got Mead banner, could use a fresh look. I imagine it's stuck with the site from the very start. and I wouldn't suggest a radical change. Just some fine-tuning.

The things that bother me about it are: 1. The tankard. It's way too huge, and inappropiate to be a mead drinking vessel. 2. The way Wassail is displayed in the background. The word wassail is cool to have thrown in there, but sideways in the background like that just seems odd.
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
7,874
8
0
34
The OC
Thanks for the suggestions folks.

This is at the absolute bottom of the priority list. We have a metric-F-load of other things that we've been backlogged with, and they will be getting done first.

Sorry to be blunt, but honestly it's the truth.

Cheers,

Oskaar
 

Darter

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 19, 2009
38
0
0
Dover, Delaware
That tankard looks to be about 2 litres, which is common at Oktober fest activities. And the cartoon wench is appropriately endowed to deliver 4 of said tankards to our table! Ah, Munich! Those were the days! Heheheh.
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
Thanks for the input, guys. The Gotmead Wench is the brand image I established back when I started this site, and it has wide recognition in the mead industry, both to home and commercial meadmakers.

A very dear friend created the artwork for me, and it is trademarked as the site and company logo. The wench and her mug are loosely based on me, as a tribute from the same very dear friend.

I'm sorry you don't care for it, but it is the site logo, and at this point I have no plans to change the logo of Gotmead.com.
 

Smarrikåka

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2006
344
1
0
44
Stockholm, Sweden
www.mjodhamnen.se
Thanks for the input, guys. The Gotmead Wench is the brand image I established back when I started this site, and it has wide recognition in the mead industry, both to home and commercial meadmakers.

A very dear friend created the artwork for me, and it is trademarked as the site and company logo. The wench and her mug are loosely based on me, as a tribute from the same very dear friend.

I'm sorry you don't care for it, but it is the site logo, and at this point I have no plans to change the logo of Gotmead.com.


I figured this was the case. And I think you should definitely keep The Gotmead Wench intact. She's a charm. My concern with the size of the tankard is, that because it's, like you said, quite widely recognised and available it may serve to give a few uninitiated people the wrong idea about mead. That is the first thing they see when they come to this site, after all. I think that it would be quite possible to make a new similar image (or even many more) with the same wench in different kinds of situations, holding different kinds of drinking vessels. That way you can kind of "smooth-change" the image. But you may want to hold off any kind of change until you're low on stock for the current Got Mead gear.

It might seem trivial, but I think it can be a pretty significant thing.
 

afdoty

NewBee
Staff member
Registered Member
Feb 19, 2009
636
0
0
Monroe, CT
I figured this was the case. And I think you should definitely keep The Gotmead Wench intact. She's a charm. My concern with the size of the tankard is, that because it's, like you said, quite widely recognised and available it may serve to give a few uninitiated people the wrong idea about mead. That is the first thing they see when they come to this site, after all. I think that it would be quite possible to make a new similar image (or even many more) with the same wench in different kinds of situations, holding different kinds of drinking vessels. That way you can kind of "smooth-change" the image. But you may want to hold off any kind of change until you're low on stock for the current Got Mead gear.

It might seem trivial, but I think it can be a pretty significant thing.

As for me, I like it just the way it is.......the tankard is just the size it should be...;)
 

Angelic Alchemist

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 14, 2009
650
1
0
Houston, TX
www.Angelic-Alchemy.com
I figured this was the case. And I think you should definitely keep The Gotmead Wench intact. She's a charm. My concern with the size of the tankard is, that because it's, like you said, quite widely recognised and available it may serve to give a few uninitiated people the wrong idea about mead. That is the first thing they see when they come to this site, after all. I think that it would be quite possible to make a new similar image (or even many more) with the same wench in different kinds of situations, holding different kinds of drinking vessels. That way you can kind of "smooth-change" the image. But you may want to hold off any kind of change until you're low on stock for the current Got Mead gear.

It might seem trivial, but I think it can be a pretty significant thing.

I guess my concern about the wench is that it does not speak to our more (dare I say it) politically correct times. I know everyone likes being served alcohol by a sexy girl in a low-cut dress, but objectification of women and encouraging an unrealistic ideal body type is taboo these days. It's somewhat of a turnoff to one major audience that mead and mead making has the potential to reach: empowered women. Granted, I'm speaking from self here. I only lurked and didn't speak up on this site for nearly a year because I assumed it was a good ol' boys club on first impression -- a lot of which came from the logo. Now that I know the background, I understand the significance. Sooo...we choose our battles, and it is what it is.
 

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
I dunno, I always thought the logo had a hefty dose of tongue-in-cheek (playing off people's perceptions of mead, etc). I agree that we don't want to go around alienating anybody, but I would hope it would take more than a (pretty tame) drawing to drive folks away. Mead is fun, we are fun (I hope), and I'd hate to change the logo into something completely sterile for the sake of PC-ness.

I do like the idea of making wine glasses, Belgian-style goblets, and other drinking vessels more prominent in the graphics. I'd try to stay away from too much stemware (don't want to look too haute couture) but having images of folks drinking mead in more typical day-to-day glassware might give people a better idea of what mead is all about.
 

Angelic Alchemist

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 14, 2009
650
1
0
Houston, TX
www.Angelic-Alchemy.com
I dunno, I always thought the logo had a hefty dose of tongue-in-cheek (playing off people's perceptions of mead, etc). I agree that we don't want to go around alienating anybody, but I would hope it would take more than a (pretty tame) drawing to drive folks away. Mead is fun, we are fun (I hope), and I'd hate to change the logo into something completely sterile for the sake of PC-ness.

Right, sterile would not match the energy of this motley little crew at all. I'm just sayin', Barbie's breast reduction was a good move in the eyes of the general public: it was good for the company and good for young people with impressionable minds. There's no shame in following suit if it's for the right reasons. Just keep it in mind -- food for thought.
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
(Note: This is said in all seriousness and not in anger, since I realize that y'all mean well with your suggestions.)

It actually *is* a pretty significant thing to change it, since a trademark costs $400 and must be purchased for *each* logo or variation thereof you wish to trademark, and for *each* venue (i.e. one trademark for the site, one for shirts, one for hats, one for bags, one for signs, one for calendars, etc. - all at $400 each). I've already got many more thousands of dollars and countless hours of unpaid work into the site, artwork, trademarks, software, research, writing, volunteering as a speaker, etc. than I can possibly afford. The funding (my pocket) won't support it, even if I were so inclined. The GotMead gear stock is the *least* of the costs involved.

Were you offering to pay the fairly large sum of money it would take to hire the artist to do the variations, pay for extra trademarks to protect them (because until I trademarked them, I spent a lot of time going after thieves who used the logo without permission), do the marketing both online and offline to re-establish the brand, etc.? If so, email me privately, and we'll talk. I'll not promise anything, but if you're willing to fund the work, I'll listen. Mind, we're talking minimum $2,000-$3,000 just for trademarks and artwork.

The original artwork that my friend did to create the Meadwench is just that, artwork, done with pen and ink and paint, not on a computer. He gave her to me as a gift, despite the fact that he could easily have gotten a great deal of money for the time, effort and creativity he gave. I would not presume to ask him to make me several other different Meadwenches, each of which would take hours and hours of his valuable time. Not unless he was getting paid his normal rates for such work.

If a person 'gets the wrong idea' just because of the size of the mug, or the cleavage (and I honestly don't get the cleavage thing, given what they show on TV during prime time 24/7. Besides, her bosoms aren't even visible, her hand is in front of them), then I have to wonder exactly what they're here for, to make mead, or what? And, what sort of 'wrong idea' do you mean, exactly? That mead comes sometimes in a mug? That mugs come in different sizes (I've seen all sizes in my wandering on historical and archeological references)? That mead was drunk in past times? I'm confused there....

I also have to wonder if said person has depth perception, as that larger mug is meant to suggest a 3-dimensional aspect to the drawing. The mug is coming out of the drawing, being offered up and therefore closer in space than is the wench holding it. It is slightly exaggerated to make that point.

I have much less time than I'd like to have to spend expanding and improving this site between my 4 jobs. So having a long-running discussion on, or spending considerable time on changing or not changing my logo (which isn't going to change in the foreseeable future in any case unless someone else would like to foot the bill) seems to me to be an inefficient use of of the limited time I have available to manage this site......I think you'll agree that my time would be better spent improving the usability and available information on Gotmead.

Everything I do on this site costs me either time, money or both. I prefer not to spend my personal cash and limited (unpaid) time on things that will not directly increase the collected knowledge of mead, or make it easier to locate, (the main goals of Gotmead), and I also would rather not to waste money already spent by ditching 15 years of branding efforts to make Gotmead as easily found and recognized as it is.

Let's go back to learning the finer points of meadmaking, folks......isn't that why you came here originally?
 

wildaho

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
May 22, 2007
858
1
0
McCall, ID
wildaho.blogspot.com
Well said Vicky!

Let's make more mead and quit bitching. If the logo is that offensive, well, there are other more politically correct forums out there (but they don't have the wealth of knowledge that is found here).

Lighten up people!

And Storm: I prefer stemware too.
 

Angelic Alchemist

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 14, 2009
650
1
0
Houston, TX
www.Angelic-Alchemy.com
Again, understood. Thank you for clarifying. I personally think women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes, though I’m not keen on the stuff on TV either -- which is why I don't really watch TV (other than the food network and discovery channels, and I mute the advertisements because I find them annoying and sophomoric). If I had the ability to put my money where my mouth is, I certainly would. However, I don't, so I shall fold my hand since I do seem to be outvoted regardless. I just felt compelled to have a voice since the subject was brought up, and I wanted to make my own clarity of purpose as understood as possible when it was questioned. I don't see what I'm doing as "bitching" at all.

I think we all love this forum and want to see it continue to succeed. Clearly, Vicky, you have not received the amount of praise you deserve for your work here on this site. If I had a giant tankard with me, I'd raise it, but I don't, so I'll use my coffee cup instead. Ironically, it's one of the pink reusable ones where proceeds go to fighting breast cancer. :D Here’s to you, webmistress!
 

Smarrikåka

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2006
344
1
0
44
Stockholm, Sweden
www.mjodhamnen.se
I didn't realise that everything had to be trademarked separately, so the costs are quite a bit higher than what I would have expected. I could definitely throw in a little bit, but I wouldn't want to cover all the costs involved.

>If a person 'gets the wrong idea' just because of the size of the mug, or the cleavage >then I have to wonder exactly what they're here for, to make mead, or what? And, what >sort of 'wrong idea' do you mean, exactly?

I'm thinking of people who are completely new to mead and have no idea at all about it. They may not even know why they are here. Obviously you don't have to cater to such people if you don't want to. But when they see that mug they will not think of a traditional mead.

But I will drop the issue. I underestimated the costs involved.
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
If people have no idea about mead, and may not even know why they're here, there is no wrong idea for them to get, because they either don't know what they're looking at, or will look at the articles, not make an assumption because of the logo....

And I was not looking for money to change the logo, I was illustrating the effort involved. I don't want to change it, even if someone did want to pay for it.
 
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