Common Space
Common Space is a New York–Honolulu design studio founded by Jon Santos that builds visual identities, websites, and long-term archive platforms for artists, art fairs, museums, and cultural institutions. It operates a founder-led project model with a proprietary Infinite Archive framework and a $500 Strategy Session entry point.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Common Space does
Common Space is a privately held, founder-led design studio founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York with a secondary presence in Honolulu. The studio is operated by Jon Santos, who leads every project directly and collaborates with a network of programmers, designers, and technical specialists as needed. Common Space serves mid-career and established artists, artist studios, art fairs, research institutes, museums, and cultural organizations — clients whose work spans complex narratives across exhibitions, publications, and digital platforms. Its core service lines are Visual Identity Design, Websites and Digital Platforms, Design Strategy, and Exhibition/Print Services, with a distinct proprietary framework called "Infinite Archive" that structures long-term, evolving archives for creative practices by combining relational CMS architecture, search-first interfaces, timeline navigation, and AI-assisted content workflows.
The studio's revenue model is project-based professional services: engagements range from several weeks for identity systems to several months for websites or archive platforms, billed on a one-time/per-project basis. A standardized $500 Strategy Session (75-minute working session, Zoom or in person) serves as a low-friction entry point for new client relationships and a funnel into larger engagements. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, relying on founder-led relationship management, an editorial publication called "Dispatch," organic social presence (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook), and Jon Santos's international teaching and lecturing engagements at institutions including Pratt Institute, CCA, SAIC, and Saint-Lukas Academy Brussels. Notable clients include Frieze Americas, the Whitney Biennial (via Werner Herzog), Stanford University's Institute for Diversity in Arts, Arrival Art Fair, Metaspore, Xapiri Ground, and Artemis Inc.
Operationally, Common Space is a small studio (1–10 employees) with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors. Beyond client services, the studio runs "Polymorphic Practice," a program of cohorts and public gatherings for artists and cultural practitioners organized by Jon Santos since 2024, and publishes "Dispatch," an editorial series on cultural systems and platform building. The combination of bespoke design services, a productized archive framework, and community-building programs suggests a deliberate strategy to extend the studio's surface area beyond transactional project work, though the business remains fundamentally founder-dependent and relationship-driven.
Common Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Common Space
- Legal name
- Common Space
- Website
- https://commonspacestudio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Common Space is a New York–Honolulu design studio founded by Jon Santos that builds visual identities, websites, and long-term archive platforms for artists, art fairs, museums, and cultural institutions. It operates a founder-led project model with a proprietary Infinite Archive framework and a $500 Strategy Session entry point.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Common Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Common Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Design Services: Project-based design and development services including visual identity systems, websites, exhibition design, publications, and digital platforms. Projects range from several weeks for identity systems to several months for websites or archive platforms.
- Strategy Sessions: 75-minute focused working sessions offered at $500, held on Zoom or in person. These serve as entry points for new client relationships and provide clarity on direction, next steps, and project scoping.
- Special Projects / Consulting: Advising on direction, structure, and next steps for artists, studios, and cultural organizations, as well as long-term digital archive development.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Strategy Session - A focused 75-minute working session with Jon Santos |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Common Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Common Space is a New York-based design studio that creates visual identities, websites, and digital frameworks for artists, curators, and cultural institutions. The studio combines conceptual design strategy with technical execution across identity systems, archive-driven digital platforms, exhibition design, and editorial publishing. Its proprietary Infinite Archive framework structures long-term creative archives through relational CMS, database architecture, and AI-assisted content workflows.
Product overview
Common Space is a New York–Honolulu based design studio offering a unified service portfolio centered on cultural systems design. The studio's core offerings include Visual Identity Design, Websites & Digital Platforms, Design Strategy, and Exhibition & Print Services, all built around their specialized Infinite Archive framework for creative practices. Supplementary offerings include Strategy Sessions (a paid consultation service), Polymorphic Practice (cohort-based educational gatherings), and Dispatch (editorial content). The studio operates on a flexible model where Jon Santos leads every project directly while collaborating with a network of programmers, designers, and technical specialists.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Infinite Archive: A structured, searchable archive system designed for creative practices. It combines identity systems, database architecture, AI-assisted content workflows, and editorial publishing into platforms for artists' evolving archives.
- Polymorphic Practice
Quantifiable outcome
- Developed visual identity and communications for one of the world's most influential contemporary art fairs (Frieze Americas/Los Angeles)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Common Space
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Common Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature1 record
Common Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Common Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sagmeister Inc. Sagmeister Inc. is a high-profile cultural design studio producing identity, exhibition, and experiential work for art and cultural clients — comparable in founder-led creative practice and cultural-sector focus.
- Foreign Policy: Foreign Policy is a Singapore- and New York-based branding studio known for cultural, civic, and institutional identity work — directly comparable in delivering visual identity and communication systems for museums and cultural platforms.
- Civilization: Civilization is a design firm working at the intersection of brand, editorial, and social/cultural practice — directly comparable in cultural-sector branding and identity systems.
- Pentagram: Pentagram is a large, partner-led design firm producing visual identity, digital, and editorial work for major cultural and institutional clients — directly comparable in offering and clientele, though at much greater scale than Common Space.
- 2x4: 2x4 is a design consultancy focused on branding, exhibitions, and digital platforms for cultural institutions, museums, and luxury brands — a closely aligned peer in cultural-systems design and narrative-driven identity work.
- Linked by Air: Linked by Air is a digital design studio building identity-driven websites and platforms for cultural and institutional clients — closely comparable in the integration of brand design and bespoke digital platform development.
Broad incumbents
- IDEO: IDEO is a large design and innovation consultancy that occasionally engages with cultural and civic clients. While not specialized in arts/culture like Common Space, it operates broadly in design strategy and digital experience.
Emerging players
- Object & Animal: Object & Animal is an independent design studio producing brand systems, websites, and digital experiences with a cultural and editorial sensibility — partial overlap with Common Space's cultural-design positioning.
- Studio Brasch: Studio Brasch is an emerging New York design studio producing visual identity and digital work for art and cultural clients — overlaps Common Space's niche at a similar boutique scale.
- Manual Lima: Manuel Lima is a designer, author, and educator focused on visual complexity, networks, and cultural communication — thematically adjacent in working with cultural and educational audiences through design and writing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Common Space social profiles
Digital presenceCommon Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Common Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Common Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Common Space M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Common Space
What does Common Space do?
Common Space is a New York-based design studio that creates visual identities, websites, and digital frameworks for artists, curators, and cultural institutions. The studio combines conceptual design strategy with technical execution across identity systems, archive-driven digital platforms, exhibition design, and editorial publishing. Its proprietary Infinite Archive framework structures long-term creative archives through relational CMS, database architecture, and AI-assisted content workflows.
Is Common Space a public or private company?
Common Space is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Common Space founded?
Common Space was founded in 2006. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Common Space based?
Common Space is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Common Space make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Design Services are the primary driver. The others are strategy Sessions and special Projects / Consulting.
Who are Common Space's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sagmeister Inc., Foreign Policy, Civilization, Pentagram, 2x4 and Linked by Air. IDEO is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Object & Animal, Studio Brasch and Manual Lima.
Does Common Space have an API?
No public API is recorded for Common Space.