Type Directors Club

{{Short description|Organization for better typography}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Type Directors Club

|abbreviation = TDC

|image = Type Directors Club logo.jpg

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| type =Professional association

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| founded_date = {{start date|1946}}

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| location =Headquarters in New York City

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| key_people =Executive Director: Carol Wahler, Program Manager: Griffin McCabe{{cite news|url=https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-daily-heller-tdc-in-orbit-again/|title= TDC is Back in Orbit Again|last=Heller|first=Steve|date=2022-02-02}}

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The Type Directors Club (TDC) is an international organization devoted to typography and type design, founded in 1946 in New York City. TDC believes that type drives culture, and that culture drives type—and is dedicated to cataloging, showcasing, and exhibiting typography worldwide.

Founding member Milton Zudek described the club's goals at their first exhibit opening in 1947: {{block quote|We simply want to make more and more advertising people aware of the importance of the agency typographer. We want them to realize that the selection of type for an advertisement demands a sixth sense that goes beyond the basic knowledge of typefaces—that it demands, in effect, the same kind of artistic sense that people have learned to associate with Art Directors, but are still learning to associate with Type Directors.” Speaking that same night, Paul Lang, a member of the Art Directors Club remarked, “When I began, artists were called layout men, renderers or finishers. When we insisted upon being called art directors, the advertising execs would say, ‘Call yourselves anything you like, but give us what we want.’ By the same token, if type directors keep calling themselves just that, they will, in time, be recognized for what they actually do contribute.”{{cite web |title=Communication Arts- Type Directors Club Turns 65 |url=http://www.commarts.com/columns/type-directors-club |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205649/http://www.commarts.com/columns/type-directors-club |archive-date=2015-09-23}}}}

Timeline

{{unsourced section|date=November 2022}}

1943: The club was started as an unofficial gathering in 1943. Founding member Milton Zudeck described the club’s goals: “We simply want to make more and more advertising people aware of the important of the agency typographer. We want them to realize that the selection of type for an advertisement demands a sixth sense that goes beyond the basic knowledge of typefaces.”{{cite web|first=Angelynn |last=Grant |title=Type Directors Club Turns 65 |url=https://www.commarts.com/columns/type-directors-club-turns-65 |website=Communication Arts |access-date=14 November 2022 |language=en-us |date=2 February 2012}}

1946: The Type Directors Club organization was formed by several leading NY art directors, including Aaron Burns, Louis Dorfsman and Milton Zudeck.{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

1960: The TDC was composed of men for many years until 1960 when they recruited its first woman member, designer Beatrice Warde. Today, the Beatrice Warde Scholarship stands to commemorate Beatrice Warde and all her contributions to the field of typography and to the TDC.{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

1967: The TDC medal is the organization's most prestigious award dedicated to the artful craft of type and typography. As of 2022 there have been 34 medalists. in 1967 the first TDC medal was awarded to Hermann Zapf.{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

1987: The TDC’s first international conference Type 1987 was held in Manhattan, giving participants the opportunity to gather with “stars” from outside the US like Adrian Frutiger and Neville Brody.{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

2018: As part of a rebranding led by Debbie Millman, the TDC adopted the Type Drives Culture conference slogan. The same year, the club held the first Ascenders competition, aimed to promote the hottest designers under 35; and created a BIPOC scholarship, which was later renamed the Ade Hogue Scholarship.{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

2022: The TDC merged with The One Club{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

2022: Upon the TDC’s reopening, Ksenya Samarskaya was appointed as TDC Managing Director with a mission to make it more open, diverse, and culturally engaging. TDC hosted Ezhishin, the first conference about Native North American typography.{{Cite web |last=Greenberg |first=Ilana |date=2022-06-20 |title=TDC Sets First Confab On Native North American Typography |url=https://gdusa.com/news/tdc-presents-first-ever-conference-on-native-north-american-typography |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=Graphic Design USA |language=en-US}}{{cite web |title=TDC in facts, dates and figures |url=https://readymag.com/readymag/the-faces-behind-typefaces/intro/ |website=The Faces Behind Typefaces |publisher=Readymag |access-date=2 December 2022}}

Conferences

In 1955 the first TDC competition was held to recognize outstanding work in the profession. The TDC’s first international conference, Type 1987 was held in Manhattan, giving participants the opportunity to gather with “stars” from outside the US like Adrian Frutiger and Neville Brody. in 2018, as part of a rebranding led by Debbie Millman, the TDC adopted the “Type Drives Culture” conference slogan which remains at the heart of the TDCs annual conference.{{Cite web|url=https://campaignbrief.co.nz/2022/01/19/type-directors-club-announces-type-drives-culture-2022-virtual-conference-march-4-5/|title=Type Directors Club announces 'Type Drives Culture 2022' virtual conference March 4-5|date=January 19, 2022}}

The most recent Type Drives Culture 22 conference held various sessions with the overarching theme “Type: The Next 75 Years”.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizcommunity.com/InBrief/196/736/16033.html|title=Type Directors Club announces 'Type Drives Culture 2022' virtual conference|website=Bizcommunity}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.adobomagazine.com/global-news/events-type-directors-club-announces-type-drives-culture-2022-virtual-conference/|title=Events: Type Directors Club announces "Type Drives Culture 2022" virtual conference|first=adobo|last=magazine|date=January 24, 2022}}

TDC Medal

The TDC Medal is awarded for significant contributions to typography.

class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Recipients{{cite web |title=TDC Medal Recipients |url=http://www.tdc.org/awards/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903155249/http://tdc.org/awards/ |archivedate=2012-09-03}}

1967

|Hermann Zapf

1968

|R. Hunter Middleton

1971

|Frank Powers

1972

|Robert Leslie

1975

|Edward Rondthaler

1979

|Arnold Bank

1982

|Georg Trump

1983

|Paul Standard

1984

|Paul Rand, Herb Lubalin (posthumously)

1985

|Aaron Burns

1986

|Bradbury Thompson

1987

|Adrian Frutiger

1989

|Ed Benguiat

1991

|Gene Federico

1995

|Lou Dorfsman

1997

|Rolling Stone magazine, Matthew Carter

1998

|Freeman Craw

2000

|Günther Gerhard Lange, Colin Brignall

2003

|Martin Solomon

2006

|Paula Scher

2011

|Mike Parker, Erik Spiekermann

2013

|Gerrit Noordzij

2014

|David Berlow

2015

|Louise Fili

2016

|Zuzana Licko and Rudy VanderLans of Emigre

2017

|Gerard Unger

2018

|Fiona Ross

2019

|Wim Crouwel

2020

|Rubén Fontana

2022

|Akira Kobayashi (typographer){{Cite web|url=https://gdusa.com/news/people/akira-kobayashi-to-receive-tdc-medal|title=Akira Kobayashi To Receive TDC Medal|first=Ilana|last=Greenberg|date=September 14, 2022}}

Competitions

Since the 1950s the TDC has been holding yearly type competitions: one for the use of type and the letterform in design and the other, typeface design. The winners are reproduced in the Typography Annual, as well as displayed in seven exhibits that travel worldwide. In addition to celebrating outstanding achievements, the typography competitions and resulting annuals serve as important historical records of typographic trends, and are an invaluable resource for both designers and scholars.[3]

=Typography=

Previously known as Communication Design, the Typography competition is the extension of the original competition started in the 1950s.

=Type Design=

The Type Directors Club Type Design Awards are given annually for excellence in typeface design. The award is generally viewed as being the most prestigious in the field.

==Type Design Winners by Year==

class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Winner{{cite web |title=TDC Type Design Winners |url=http://www.tdc.org/awards/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903155249/http://tdc.org/awards/ |archivedate=2012-09-03}}

2000

|Arcana Manuscript, Biblon, Blue Island, Cholla Slab, FF Clifford, Costa, Erica Sans, Homemade, Bitstream Kis Cyrillic, Klin, Mexica, Mirra, Diwan Mishafi, Myriad Pro Greek, Nani, Profile, Silentium Pro, Linotype Syntax{{cite web |title=TDC Winners 2000 |url=http://tdc.org/news/tdc2000.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728064508/http://tdc.org/news/tdc2000.html |archive-date=2012-07-28 |access-date=2022-12-02 |url-status=bot: unknown }}

2001

|ITC Aspera, Basilica, Linotype Conrad, Eplica, Hierarchy, Litteratra, Manuscript, Maya, Preissig, Really, Terminator, Warnock Pro, Zentra

2002

|Text: Dreamer DD, Pradell, Whitman; Display: Alphatier, Azuza, Dearest, Globetrotter, ITC Jeepers, Keester, Media Core 3, Woodley Park;

Type System: Brioso Pro, Federal, Rialto, Siemens

2003

|Text: Arabic Typesetting, Carlin Script, Gentium, Laurentian; Display: Falafil, ITC Keefbats, Sakkal Seta Pro; Type System: Fontana ND, FF Strada, FTF Morgan, Full Moon Suite, Press Family, Suite, Sauna, ITC Tactile

2004

|Text: Ardbeg, Argot, Maiola, Nyala, MS Uighur; Display: Brunn, Buttress, Sava Pro; Type System: Amira, Amplitude, FF Angkoon, Expo Sans, Farnham, Houston, Noam, FF Unit, Zocalo

2005

|Text: Fabiol, Minuscule; Display: Bello, Bublik, Bunker, Dolce, Ed Gothic, Ed Script, Elementis, Pirouette, DB SantiPap, Scheck, Shipflat, Shoutenkaku / Shoutenmaru; Type System: FF Absara, Auto, Calibri, Rumba; Ornament: Super-Veloz

2006

|Text: Aniene, Adobe Arabic, Calouste, Quixote; Display: Darka, Hogariet, Rayuela Chocolate 2.0, P22 Sweepy; Type System: Frutiger Next Greek, Garamond Premier Pro, Piclig, Relato Sans, Vista Sans; Ornament: FF Headz

2007

|Text: Corundum Text, Greta Text, Untitled, EMT Lorena, Midan, Olga, Tisa; Type System: Arno Pro, Beorcana, Fakir, Nassim, Palatino Sans and Palatino Sans Informal, Quiosco, Xtra Sans; Display: Flexion, Manicotti, Peanut, Subtil; Ornament: Gregoria

2008

|Text: Al Rajhi, Fondo, Marat, OTS Ethiopic, Palatino Arabic, Vodafone Hindi, Tiina; Type System: Anselm, Gloriola Standard and Display, National, Presidencia; Display: Blaktur, Burgues Script, Fresco Arabic, Logo Jr Black, Mommie, Sable, Slant, Swing, Ventura; Ornament: Restraint

2009

|Text: Adios Script, Montague Script, Alda, Copte Scripte; Display: Klimax Bold, Nebulon, Optica Normal, Orbe

2010

|Ingeborg, Deliscript, Kazuraki, Urbana Lnd, Joos, Espinosa Nova, Lavigne Display, ITC Legacy Square Serif Pro, Retiro, Narziss, Rieven, Fugu, Ysobel, Rum Black, Aisha, DecoType Nastaliq

2011

|Brandon Grotesque, Eames Century Modern, Aero, Palatino Sans Arabic, Tundra, Amalta, Thuraya Regular, Shift, Supria Sans, FF Suhmo, News, Daisy, Matrona, Tabati, Nori, Eventide, Enzian, Elegy, Poem, Eames Poster Numerals

2012

|Hipster Script, Chiavari, Balkan, La República, DecoType Ruq‘ah, Sutturah, Mr. Porter, Rekja, Greta Arabic, Harriet, Smidgen, Vibro, FF Mister K Informal

2013

|Athena Ruby, JAF Bernini Sans, Karol, The Brill Family, Tegaki, Blanco, Vinter, Days and Nights, FF Chartwell, Baldufa, Iskra, Erotica, Agmena™, Jocham

2014

|Sori, Metro Nova, Odesta, Azer, Pizza Press, Columbia Titling, Amplify, Chimera, Mislab, Duplicate Ionic, FF Quixo, Argentina, Ogg, Lalola, DecoType Nastaleeq Press, Venecia, Medusa, Flirt Script, MZhiHei Ultra Bold, Cloud Mountain Type, FREE, Bungee, Marcel Script, Chapitre Regular

2015

|GT Sectra, Woodkit, Brando, Domaine Sans, Valter, Inei Mincho, Love Script, M Gentle Bold (正纖蘭體), Signo, A23D, Bustan Bold, Lale, Mohtaraf, Gibbs, Input, Proto Grotesk, Haltrix, Hollie Script Pro, Minotaur, Big Moore, GE Inspira Sans and Serif, M Ellan Light (幼雅蘭體)

2016

|BC Mikser, Mornic, Tremolo, Bressay, Acanto Regia, Infini, Froben Antiqua, Zico, Bustani, Greta Arabic, The Spirit of Cursive Script, Greta Sans Hebrew, Bixa

2017

|Salvaje, Lingering Fonts, Nordvest, Qandu, Bely, Sharp Grotesk, Qingyu Lishu, PILOT, Graebenbach, Lalezar, Laica, Rando, Renault Carname, Stratos, Eva

2018

|Mirza, Lamon, IBM Plex, Source Han Serif, Noort, Origen, Teddy, Palago, Harrison Serif Pro, Read Greek Condensed, Koning, Vazeh, Ray, Artigo Display, Guyot, Oi!, Kinetic, Greta Text Hebrew

2019

|Crochet, Rizado Script, New York Serif UI by Apple, Glinko Modern, Jali, Orientation, Ribaasu, Adobe Telugu, Minerale, No Molestar!, Sandwich, Sig, Pyk, Chek Lap sans, Faune, FR kraken slab, Heldane, Hope Sans, Pilat, Gustella, Punta Display, Le murmure.

2020

|

2021

|Arabic Protest, Baryton, Coca-Cola Care, Garaje, Grab Community, Hebrew/Latin Extended, Hong Kong Beiwei Zansyu, Huai, Le Rosart, LiebeHeide Color, Lyon Arabic, Rail Alphabet 2, Retail, SF Symbols 2, Signifier, Super Condensed Devanagari, Vasakronan Serif, Vazeh Classic Quranic

2022

|Amaala Arabic, ANEK Indic, Charisma, Englisch, FZ GuoMeiJinDao, FZ QianLongXingShu, Goldich, Greta Armenian, Hanyi yihexianjing, Jinhua Mincho, Klaket, Kristal, Lava Syllabics, Margit, Mithaq, Norbert, November Tamil, Oceanic, Platia, Qing Mocai Lishu, Resonay, RVS Basic, SF Arabic, SF Symbols 3, Shinbakusai Reisho, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, The Epicene Collection, The Mānuka Collection, Uwabami, YouTube Sans Arabic

=Lettering=

Started in 2022.

=Ascenders=

In 2018, the TDC inaugurated Ascenders, a competition to recognize the achievements of designers 35 years of age and younger. In its inaugural year, TDC honored nineteen Ascenders from around the world.

TDC Annual — World’s Best Typography

TDC produces a design annual that features award-winning typography. The 2017 publication, The World's Best Type and Typography, was designed by Leftloft of Milan.{{Cite web |title=Typography 38 – The World's Best Type and Typography |url=https://www.slanted.de/product/typography-38-the-worlds-best-type-and-typography/ |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=slanted |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027143247/https://www.slanted.de/product/typography-38-the-worlds-best-type-and-typography/ |url-status=dead }}

class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Book Number

! scope="col" | Designer and Studio{{cite web |title=TDC Annual Designer |url=https://archive.tdc.org/annuals/}}

1980

| Typography 1

|Jack G. Tauss

1981

| Typography 2

|Jack G. Tauss

1982

| Typography 3

|Joe Carnase

1983

| Typography 4

|Richard Moore

1984

| Typography 5

|Jonson Pedersen, Hinrichs and Shakery Inc.

1985

| Typography 6

|Olau Leu

1986

| Typography 7

|Arthur Boden

1987

| Typography 8

|David Brier

1988

| Typography 9

|Alan Peckolick

1989

| Typography 10

|Onofrio Paccione

1990

| Typography 11

|Larry Yang

1991

| Typography 12

|Jessica Weber

1992

| Typography 13

|Daniel Pelavin

1993

| Typography 14

|Mark van Bronkhorst

1994

| Typography 15

|Reverb, Los Angeles & Rick Vermeulen

1995

| Typography 16

|Drenttel Doyle Partners

1996

| Typography 17

|Michael Vanderbyl, Vanderbyl Design

1997

| Typography 18

|Bernhardt Fudyma Design Group

1998

| Typography 19

|L. Richard Poulin, Amy Kwon, Poulin + Morris

1999

| Typography 20

| Adam Greiss, Carin Goldberg

2000

| Typography 21

|The ATTIK

2001

| Typography 22

|Gail Anderson (graphic designer)

2002

| Typography 23

|Allison Williams

2003

| Typography 24

|Alexander Isley

2004

| Typography 25

|Diego Vainesman

2005

| Typography 26

|Urshula Barbour, Paul Carlos, Pure + Applied

2006

| Typography 27

|Andy Kner

2007

| Typography 28

|Number Seventeen (design)

2008

| Typography 29

|Philippe Apeloig

2009

| Typography 30

|Werner Design Werks

2010

| Typography 31

|Paul Sahre

2011

| Typography 32

|Matteo Bologna, Mucca Design

2012

| Typography 33

|Paula Scher, Pentagram (design firm)

2013

| Typography 34

|Chip Kidd

2014

| Typography 35

|Brian Collins (designer)

2015

| Typography 36

|J. Abbott Miller, Pentagram (design firm)

2016

| Typography 37

|Bobby C. Martin Jr., OCD

2017

| Typography 38

|Leftloft, Milan

2018

| Typography 39

|Triboro

2019

| Typography 40

|Hugh Miller, Bond Creative

2020

| Typography 41

|Anagrama

2021

| Typography 42

|Juan Carols Pagan, Sunday Afternoon

2022

| Typography 43

|Tereza Bettinardi

Scholarships

Beatrice Warde Scholarship

Winners receive a $5,000 USD award as well as a free one-year student membership to the TDC, offering discounts and other opportunities for conferences and events.

Previous winners of the award include Doah Kwon (2022) Ximena Amaya (2021), Tatiana Lopez (2020), Blossom Liu (2019), Anna Skoczeń (2018), Tasnima Tanzim (2017), Ania Wieluńska (2016), and Rebecca Bartola (2015).{{Cite web|url=https://www.printmag.com/design-news/type-tuesday-tdc-announces-scholarship-call-for-female-identifying-and-bipoc-students/|title=Type Tuesday: TDC Announces Scholarship Call for Female-Identifying and BIPOC Students|first=PRINT|last=Magazine|date=December 15, 2020|website=PRINT Magazine}}

Ade Hogue Scholarship

Formerly known as the Superscript scholarship.

Previous winners of the award include Ana Robles (2022) and Sakinah Bell (2021)

Ezhishin Scholarship

Started in 2023, the annual $5,000 scholarship, funded by Google, is for Native American and First Nation individuals in the US and Canada, respectively, who exemplify a creative practice that explores typography, type design, or relevant linguistic work. Winners receive a $5,000 USD award as well as a free one-year student membership to the TDC, offering discounts and other opportunities for conferences and events.

{{cite web |title=TDC and Google Announce Ezhishin Scholarship For Native North American Students of Typography |url=https://www.tdc.org/news/tdc-and-google-announce-ezhishin-scholarship-for-native-north-american-students-of-typography/ |website=TDC |date=21 November 2022 |access-date=1 December 2022}}

Sponsors

The TDC is sponsored by A to A Studio Solutions, Adobe Typeset, Typeset Design Matters, Designer Journals, Facebook Analog Research Laboratory, Firebelly, Google, Glyphs, Monotype, Morisawa, Pandora, School of Visual Arts, SVA Masters in Banding, Type Network which help to support the following initiatives:

  • TDC Typography Annual
  • Student scholarships
  • Salons in NYC and other US cities
  • Educational workshops
  • TDC Book Night
  • TDC Competition Judges Night
  • New York exhibitions at TDC
  • International exhibitions of competition winners
  • Special events

References

{{Reflist}}