A ‘disappearing’ identity for the Architectural League of New York’s themed gala evening.
Challenge
Every year, the Architectural League of New York hosts the Beaux Arts Ball, a themed evening gala in midtown Manhattan that brings together the city’s architecture and design community. Each year, the event is artfully planned around a developing or principal topic in the industry. Wit, art, and fashion rule the night. For this year, the chosen theme was the omnipresent “Less is More.” Since there are no established visual standards for the events, developing the annual event identity poses a new challenge.
Solution
Created at Pentagram on Michael Bierut’s team, the event identity does just what the theme says—it literally disappears. From a distance, the posters and invites appear completely blank, but up close, the event details emerge, and thus, less becomes more. To create the concept, a custom dot-based typeface was developed and applied to the event posters, tickets, collateral, and interior graphics.
Client The Architectural League of New York
Program Experience
Services Event Identity Print Illustration Type Design
Industry Arts & Culture Architecture Civic
Agency Pentagram
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