TDC70: Submit your finest work and join the world’s best creatives

The Type Directors Club (TDC) - international institution dedicated to all things typography - has been receiving submissions for its prestigious TDC70 competition for more than a month now. As from last year, the TDC competition is no longer divided into different disciplines. Instead the three major categories - Communication Design, Lettering, and Type Design - are now integrated into one wider category, inviting more and more people to participate.

“TDC’s annual competition strives to always remain relevant to the greater typographic community in all regions and cultures, and we’re excited to accept and celebrate entries in more disciplines and styles than ever before,” said Carol Wahler, executive director, Type Directors Club.  

One of the most important aspects of TDC70 is of course its global character and global reach. TDC offers regional discounts to make the competition accessible for more and more people on a global scale. Also, TDC aims to ensure that a wide spectrum of different cultural heritage and design traditions are fairly recognized by appointing a rich panel of judges specializing in writing systems from various regions and cultures.

In fact, the Type Directors Club just announced this year’s Global Jury. Let’s take a look.

Communications Design

Maria Asare-Boadi, art director, Meta, New York

Andy Chen, partner, Isometric Studio, New York

Mark De Winne, creative director, Relay Room/Multitudes, Singapore

Manija Emran, cofounder, creative director, Me & the Bootmaker, Los Angeles

Emily Oberman,  partner, Pentagram, New York

Tala Safie, graphics and multimedia editor, The New York Times, New York

Yoshihisa Shirai (白井敬尚), graphic designer, Shirai Design Studio; professor. Musashino Art University, Tokyo

Type Design

Nada Abdallah, assistant professor, College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah, Sharjah

Elí Castellanos, font developer, CocijoType, Queretaro

Jo De Baerdemaeker, typeface designer, font developer, scholar, studio type, Antwerp

Cyrus Highsmith, creative director, Occupant Fonts, Providence

Caroline Laudon, MFA graphic designer, type designer, type director, Laudon Design AB, Gothenburg

Sammy Or, type director, VMType, Hong Kong

Isao Suzuki (鈴木功), director, type director, Type Project Inc., Tokyo

Lettering

Alanna Flowers, lettering artist, designer, AGF Design Studio, New York

Ricardo González Contreras, artist, designer, IT’S A LIVING, New York

Ilana Griffo and Katie Johnson, co-owners, Goodtype, New York/Austin

Ben Johnston, artist, designer, Toronto

Ken-Tsai Lee, associate professor, ken-tsai lee design Lab/Taiwan TECH, Taipei

Lygia Pires, lettering artist, illustrator, graphic designer, Lygia Pires Studio, São Paulo 

Arley Torsone, letterer, designerer, illustrator, Ladyfingers Letterpress, Colorado Springs

As for the winners, apart from significant recognition they receive a Certificate of Typographic Excellence and a digital seal certifying their work is among the world’s best of the year.  Winning work will also be featured in the highly respected TDC Annual, The World’s Best Typography®, and showcased in eight exhibitions that travel to museums, schools and design organizations around the world. TDC70 winners are also part of The One Club’s prestigious Global Creative Rankings, earning points alongside winners in The One Show and ADC Annual Awards to chart the world’s leading independent creatives, ad agencies, production companies, and brands. 

Early bird deadline for entry is November 3, 2023, with entry fees increasing for the regular deadline of January 19, 2024, and final deadline on February 2, 2024. Don’t sleep on it, enter the competition here!