The Book + Paper Center’s 2012 Typography Symposium was the perfect way to bring students and design professionals back together after the close of Columbia’s spring semester. The presentations were varied, and demonstrated how active and connected the Chicago art and design community is to current movements in the field, as well as to each other.

Attendees were first treated to a slide presentation curated by Jackson Cavanaugh showing some of the most interesting current Chicago design work being done today. Following that overview of local talent, Book and Paper MFA student Kate Morgan presented an interesting and timely talk on her recent trip to the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, in historic Two Rivers, WI. Morgan was part of a group of volunteers who signed up to travel to Hamilton in a time of great need—that of helping the staff to clean up the historic museum and facility after it experienced a devastating flood last winter.

The next presenter was Anne Moertel, a designer at Healthy Schools Campaign, an independent not-for-profit organization that advocates for healthier school environments. She gave a brief talk about the intersection of design and activism, which she engages with through her work for various national organizations such as the Children’s Oncology Group, CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer.

Nick Adam, Jackson Cavanaugh, and Isaac Tobin rounded out the symposium session with a presentation on historical influences on their current design work in a panel discussion moderated by Book and Paper Professor Clifton Meador.