Bess
Bess
From idea to launch
Founder Christy Mack built Bess with East Bay graphic designer Helen Alba and storyteller Joe Smith, who calls Oakland + Alabama home.
Christy filled the studio identity with personal meaning. She began by naming the studio after her great aunt Bess, a unifier, caretaker + maker.
For the Bess story and visuals, Christy, Helen and Joe chose an eclectic mix of the modern + the forgotten. They selected mid-century fonts, nostalgic colors and shapes and creatively embodied originality, warmth, inclusion, and hope in Bess’s expression and tone.
Christy launched Bess in 2021 and continues to collaborate with non-profits, civic groups and artists/cultural workers to shape change.
Get the full backstory on the Bess design and how all the special details from fonts to colors came to be here.