Inspired by the Peaks, Driven by Culture
Barbara’s Bier Haus brings the spirit of the Alps to the UK high street – capturing the energy and atmosphere you’d find in an après-ski and bringing it to life, without the snow. We wanted Barbara’s to be a place where every visit delivers the ‘peak’ moment of the night.
To bring this vibe, we built Barbara’s around four core values: Bavarian Basecamp, Party People, (Un)Seriously Good Fun, and Elevated Experiences. These values are the very core of Barbara’s, influencing everything the brand does – from the lively atmosphere to how they
connect with their guests - including their comms. This is party at its peak.
The name “Barbara” itself was part inspired by the viral tongue-twister “Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar,” a TikTok sensation that captured millions of imaginations. We wouldn’t launch in time to ride the wave of the trend itself, but we knew this zeitgeist moment would stick in the minds of our audience, embedding a nugget of nostalgia ready for mining – creating an in-venue musical moment that guests won’t soon forget.
BRINGING BARBARA TO LIFE
Handcrafted, with Cheeky Pin-up Charm
From the beginning the team at Neos knew they wanted a mascot to represent the brand, a face to put to the name that everyone could get behind – but you can’t just slap on any old stock image and call it a day. The final look needed to be clean, simple and modern but still fun, friendly and familiar.
So we drew Barbara by hand! Referencing the fun, cheeky nature of classic Gil Elvgren pin-up posters from the 40s alongside the simple line-work of early “clip book” illustrations from the 50s. From there, a striking pose combined with an oversized stein gave us a winning brand mascot that would be recognisable across all touch points.
Crafting the wordmark
We approached the wordmark with the same hand-crafted approach as Barbara herself, creating a unique identity with angles and slopes that mimic the mountains themselves. Of course, this wasn’t just a
logo, but Barbara’s signature - so it needed that little extra flair, not to feel handwritten but to give you the impression it might have been based on her signature.
Combining all design aspects
With a brand as vibrant as Barbara’s, we knew the design needed to stand out. The Visual identity had to be easy to replicate, allowing Neos’ in-house team to roll out Barbara’s signature look and feel consistently across multiple locations and formats.
To ensure seamless execution, we developed robust brand guidelines, and a comms toolkit designed with scalability in mind, giving Neos’ team everything they needed to create their own comms comfortably and effectively - from social media graphics to in-bar promotions, keeping Barbara’s personality alive, and everywhere!