The annual gala Common Bond serves as the signature fundraising event for the Center for Architecture and its partner organization, AIA (American Institute of Architects) New York. The event brings together hundreds of people from New York’s architecture and design community to celebrate honored guests and to raise crucial funds for the Center for Architecture’s exhibitions, education programs, and scholarship fund.

Studio Loutsis developed the visual identity for Common Bond 2022, including print materials, web presence across social and marketing, and environmental graphics at the event. We built the identity on the concept of the quintessential ring as a symbol of enduring commitment, which dovetailed with the organizations’ pursuit of a “more just and equitable future”—in 2020, CFA solicited community input on the renaming of the former “Heritage Ball.”

We positioned the abstract ring formed by the letters COMMON BOND to symbolize the centrality of CFA and AIA New York to the design community in the city. Pantone Silver Metallic set against a black ground served as a nod to the metal associated with a ring. Studio Loutsis developed a system  for exploring “ring” both as a noun and as a verb—the latter represented by actual movement in digital assets, and by 3D rendering in print materials. The printed invitation serves as an example of Studio Loutsis’s core value of artistry: we designed it to be unfolded three times to become a beautiful keepsake poster that could be hung in recipients’ offices, thereby extending the reach of the event beyond a single evening.

Common Bond took place at Chelsea Pier in New York on October 27, 2022, and raised more than $1.1m for CFA’s programs.