Associations

As well as participating in activities and programs held by AIGA, the College Art Association of America, and the University & College Designers Association, Sharon and Guy have been committed to fulfilling key roles within the Society of Typographic Aficionados (SoTA), the Chicago Design Archive (CDA), the Diversify by Design coalition (DxD), and the Society of Typographic Arts (STA).

Society of Typographic Aficionados
Appointed January 2022, Sharon serves as Vice Chair of SoTA, an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, study, and support of type, its history and development, and its use in the world of print and digital imagery.

SoTA operates for the affordable education of its members and participants; to further the development of type and typographic information; and to appreciate on multiple levels the attributes of type, typography, design, the book arts, and calligraphy. Furthermore, SoTA is committed to sponsoring relevant topics in pursuit of these goals through TypeCon, an annual conference held in the summer, in a different host city each year. Sharon also serves as Chair of the TypeCon Education Forum, a special day of programming for design educators. The next conference will take place this summer in Portland, Oregon, July 24–27.

Chicago Design Archive
Since 2018, Sharon has been serving as a Director on the Executive Board of the Chicago Design Archive, the premiere and permanent online record featuring Chicago-related experiential, graphic, and product design created from the 1860s to the present. The CDA is a singular organization involved in the documentation and presentation of Chicago design work—locating, procuring, organizing, and showcasing design in the form of images as well as articles, essays, interviews, and videos. This includes works from the pre-digital era, with the population of works beginning in the 1920s. This is well over 100 years of Chicago design work gathered up and organized in one place. As a CDA Director, Sharon leads or participates in various activities, including CDA programming/special projects and marketing, and as a reviewer for work submitted to the Archive.

Diversify by Design
Appointed in 2022, Sharon serves as an Advisor on the council of Diversify by Design, a coalition formed to catalyze racial equity and justice in the design profession. With a central purpose of breaking down the racial inequities throughout the industry, DxD is focusing on five critical, interconnected aspects of the design ecosystem: exposure, education, experience, employment, and empowerment. The work of the DxD Advisory Council members is to research, seek out, and listen to Black and Brown designers in order to support meaningful transformation of the ecosystem to address racial inequities.

STA Design Inspiration Weekend
Since 2013, Guy has been serving as Chair, and Sharon as Co-chair, of the STA Design Inspiration Weekend, a mini conference once held annually and now periodically in the greater Chicago area by The Society of Typographic Arts.

STA is Chicago’s oldest professional design organization, promoting high standards and focusing on the art and craft of typography, design, and visual communication. As a vital hub for the Chicago design community, STA sponsors lectures and conferences, develops publications, and promotes leading edge professional design. The STA Design Inspiration Weekend is one example in which STA brings the design community together by inviting and encouraging all creative professionals and students to get involved, be heard and help build an organization with unique social, educational, and networking opportunities.