BE Team

Mariano Desmarás, Founder and Creative Director

An experienced branded environment and museum exhibit designer, with over 20 years of experience as senior designer at Ralph Appelbaum Associates in New York, C&G Partners and the Rockwell Group. Mariano designed branded environments for companies such as American Express, MasterCard Worldwide, McKinsey & Company and the New York Stock Exchange. Mariano was part of the team that designed some of the nation’s most critically acclaimed museums and cultural facilities, such as the Walt Disney Family Foundation Museum in San Fransico, New York’s Museum of American Finance, The Smithsonian Institution and Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, for which he received awards from the American Institute of Graphic Design, Graphis Magazine, Type Directors Club and the Society of Environmental Graphic Design. Prior to becoming an architect, Mariano worked as a graphic designer in the fields of advertising and editorial publishing in culturally diverse assignments in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Paris, France and New York City, where he lives with his wife, young daughter and two dogs. Mariano earned a master’s in Architecture from Columbia University, and a BFA in graphic design and BA in English from the University of Michigan.

Steff Geissbühler, Branding Director

A leading designer of corporate and institutional identities, graphics systems and print programs, with over 30 years of experience. As partner and principal at Chermayeff & Geismar, and subsequently a founder of C&G Partners, Steff created identities for companies such as Time Warner, NBC, Barneys New York, Crane Paper, NPR, Telemundo, MercyCorps, Merck and Radio Free Europe. Other major commissions include graphics for the Smithsonian Institution’s Bicentennial exhibition; a traveling exhibit marking the American Chemical Society’s centennial year; a new identity and centennial graphics for the New York Public Library; a new identity, marketing, promotional graphics and sign systems for the New Victory Theater in New York; and a series of posters promoting New York City’s cultural institutions for the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Steff is a former board member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, serving as president of the New York Chapter, a member of the International Executive Committee and U.S. president of the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale. Steff is the recipient of the prestigious AIGA Medal for lifetime achievements and contributions to the field of design and visual communication. Steff has four talented sons and lives in New York with his wife.