Art & Design | Ben's Best

The overall design for B3 was created by a team led by Eddie Opara, Partner at Pentagram Design. The visual language of the Ben’s Best identity is driven by expressive typography, rooted in historical context and accompanied by an array of contemporary colors.

Brand wordmark design

Brand mark design

Brand visual language

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Brand wordmark design

Brand mark design

Brand visual language

The visual language of the Ben’s Best packaging is driven by expressive typography – all crafted within the safety requirements surrounding the product.

The products are adorned in a medley of the words of black leaders, the work of contemporary black artists and typographers, and calls to action to decarcerate and deschedule cannabis.

Sleeve designs

5 pack tin design

Tube designs

Single tin design

Jar design

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Sleeve designs

5 pack tin design

Tube designs

Single tin design

Jar design

The typefaces B3 uses were created by Vocal Type and Darden Studio.

Vocal Type Foundry (founded by Tré Seals) works to “diversify design through the root of all (good) works of graphic design—typography.” Each typeface highlights a piece of history from a specific underrepresented race, ethnicity, or gender—from the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America. BBB makes use of Bayard, Martin and Eva from VTF for our display typefaces on our packages and website.

The selection of typefaces, by Vocal Type Foundry, that we use on our packaging and website.

Bayard – inspired by signs from the 1963 March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom.

Eva – inspired by banners carried during a1957 women’s demonstration in Buenos Aires in front of the National Congress By Law For Universal Suffrage.

Martin – inspired by remnants of the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968.

The selection of typefaces, by Vocal Type Foundry, that we use on our packaging and website.

Bayard – inspired by signs from the 1963 March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom.

Eva – inspired by banners carried during a1957 women’s demonstration in Buenos Aires in front of the National Congress By Law For Universal Suffrage.

Martin – inspired by remnants of the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968.

Darden Studio (founded by Joshua Darden) publishes work “that we want to experience in the hands of others and to use ourselves. Good typography withstands the whims of fashion. It is aware of its time and place but functioning far into the future.” BBB uses Halyard Display on our packages and website (it’s the text you’re reading now.)

The weights of Halyard, by Darden Studio, that we use on our packaging and website.

Halyard by Darden Studio.

The weights of Halyard, by Darden Studio, that we use on our packaging and website.

Halyard by Darden Studio.

B3 imagery features the work of Black and activist artists. As part of the brand design process two pieces of artwork were commissioned to be featured on the packaging and website. They are the first of many more to come.

Dana Robinson

Dana Robinson is a Brooklyn based multimedia artist who works predominantly with fibers and paint. Her practice “explores antiquity beyond the simplicity of novelty”.

The piece commissioned for BBB follows the process of Robinson’s Ebony Reprinted series where advertisements and imagery from Ebony magazine are translated into paint, which is smeared, pressed, and textured to make monoprints. As part of the commission the design team selected a page from Ebony magazine depicting an ice cream parlor (a small nod to Ben’s background). Dana’s beautiful resulting print piece can be seen on our tin designs and throughout our website.

During the 1950s and 60’s the only place Black people could see ads with people who looked like them was in the pages of Ebony magazine.

This is the page from the issue of Ebony magazine that Dana used for the B3 artwork.

Here’s the original monoprint that Dana then created.

A section of the monoprint was selected and enlarged and wrapped around the tins.

Then we added text …

… resulting in the final tin design!

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During the 1950s and 60’s the only place Black people could see ads with people who looked like them was in the pages of Ebony magazine.

This is the page from the issue of Ebony magazine that Dana used for the B3 artwork.

Here’s the original monoprint that Dana then created.

A section of the monoprint was selected and enlarged and wrapped around the tins.

Then we added text …

… resulting in the final tin design!

Eddie Opara

Eddie Opara is a multi-faceted designer whose work encompasses strategy, design and technology. His projects have included the design of brand identity, publications, packaging, environments, exhibitions, interactive installations, websites, user interfaces and software, with many of his projects ranging across multiple media.

Opara’s artwork depicts a side profile of a Black man in an orange incarceration jumpsuit constructed of a collage of flowers.

The artwork blends shapes of solid color with other collaged elements. This orange color depicts the prison outfit.

The figures’ hair is made of a collage of many purple hyacinths – a flower traditionally symbolizing sorrow.

The figures skin and face is made up of a medley of other flowers – roses, strelitzia and daffodils – symbolizing truth, freedom and forgiveness.

The final tin design combines this imagery with text and graphics.

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Opara’s artwork depicts a side profile of a Black man in an orange incarceration jumpsuit constructed of a collage of flowers.

The artwork blends shapes of solid color with other collaged elements. This orange color depicts the prison outfit.

The figures’ hair is made of a collage of many purple hyacinths – a flower traditionally symbolizing sorrow.

The figures skin and face is made up of a medley of other flowers – roses, strelitzia and daffodils – symbolizing truth, freedom and forgiveness.

The final tin design combines this imagery with text and graphics.