Sister Mary Redesigns Genesee Beer for Modern Era

Sister Mary, a New York-based design studio, has redesigned the packaging for Genesee, a nearly 150-year-old beer brand from Rochester, NY. Led by founder and executive creative director Leigh Chandler, the project aimed to modernize the brand while preserving its heritage. The studio preserved key visual equities—the Red Eye oval, bold condensed typography, and the G Stalk—and introduced a unified portfolio system with layered storytelling elements like handwritten brewer's notes, Rochester's area code, and illustrations of the brewery. The creative concept, "Behind the Seen," celebrates the hard work and local pride behind the beer. Research involved studying the brand's visual history and immersing in Rochester culture to understand local attachment. The redesign balances bold simplicity at shelf with crafted details up close, avoiding a conventional premium look to maintain the brand's honesty and working-class roots.