The Type Directors Club, the world’s leading typography organization, has launched the global call for entries for its prestigious TDC73 competition.
The competition invites designers, studios, type foundries, letterers, educators, and other creative professionals from around the world to participate. Entries are sought across three disciplines — Communication Design, Lettering, and Type Design — under the theme “Be Bold, Be Seen (All Characters Welcome)“.
Winners receive TDC Type-High Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards or Certificates of Merit, along with a digital seal certifying their work is among the world’s best typography of the year. Winning work is also showcased in eight exhibitions that travel to museums, schools, and design organizations around the world, and earns points in The One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings.
For more than seven decades, the TDC Competition has celebrated the vitality of typography as a living conversation between form, function, and the cultural moment. The competition regularly receives entries from more than 60 countries and a wide range of writing systems.
This year, the club has overhauled and clarified the categories within the three disciplines, with simpler category names and examples of the kinds of work that fit each one. Entrants can now also specify the writing systems used in their projects, allowing the organization to assign jurors with expert knowledge of the relevant scripts.
- Communication Design — any creation that uses type, lettering, or written language, be it print design, digital design, immersive experiences, film titles, or social media campaigns.
- Lettering — work where the letters are modified or created, including calligraphy, wordmarks, and custom logotypes.
- Type Design — the design of workable font software, from single typefaces and type families to emoji and symbol fonts.
Students wishing to compete submit their work through the Young Ones – TDC competition rather than TDC73.
Jury Presidents will be announced in November, with the full jury unveiled in January 2027. Across the three juries, the competition will include native experts for writing systems spanning Arabic, Cyrillic, Indic, CJK, Thai, and African scripts. Best of Discipline, Type-High, and Merit winners will be announced in May 2027.
Please check the official website for further information.
The TDC 73rd Annual Competition – Entry Fees
Entry fees start from $35 vary depending on the submission deadline and entry type, with lower rates during the early-bird period.
To make the competition as accessible as possible on a global level, the organization offers significant regional discounts on entry fees.