About the opportunity
What this programme is offering
TDC 73rd Annual Competition 2027: Global Typography Awards for Designers and Creative Professionals
Application Deadline: 5 March 2027
Expected Results Announcement: May 2027
Entry Fees: Starting from US$35
Eligible Participants: Designers, studios, type foundries, letterers, educators and creative professionals worldwide
Competition Disciplines: Communication Design, Lettering and Type Design
Theme: Be Bold, Be Seen (All Characters Welcome)
About the TDC 73rd Annual Competition
The Type Directors Club (TDC) has opened its global call for entries for the 73rd Annual Competition (TDC73), an international awards programme celebrating excellence in typography, lettering and type design.
The competition welcomes creative professionals from around the world to submit work that demonstrates the power of written language in visual communication. With a history spanning more than seven decades, TDC recognises typography as an evolving art shaped by culture, technology and creative expression.
The 2027 competition features the theme “Be Bold, Be Seen (All Characters Welcome)”, highlighting the diversity of writing systems and the importance of representing different scripts in contemporary design.
Competition Categories
TDC73 has three main disciplines, with clarified categories intended to help applicants identify where their work fits.
1. Communication Design
This category covers projects that use typography, lettering or written language as part of visual communication. Eligible work may include print and digital design, immersive experiences, film titles and social media campaigns.
2. Lettering
This discipline focuses on creating or modifying letterforms. Examples include calligraphy, wordmarks and custom logotypes.
3. Type Design
This category recognises the creation of functional font software, including individual typefaces, type families, emoji fonts and symbol fonts.
Important for students: Students should enter through the Young Ones – TDC competition rather than the main TDC73 competition.
Benefits of Participating
Successful entrants can receive international recognition for their typography and design work.
TDC Type-High Awards: Outstanding projects may receive Gold, Silver or Bronze awards.
Certificates of Merit: Additional recognition is available for work meeting the competition's standards.
Digital award seal: Winners receive a digital seal identifying their work as among the year's leading typography projects.
International exhibitions: Winning work is showcased through eight exhibitions travelling to museums, schools and design organisations worldwide.
Professional visibility: Recognition can help designers and studios showcase their expertise to the international creative community.
Global creative rankings: Winning work earns points in The One Club for Creativity's Global Creative Rankings.
Judging and International Representation
The competition attracts entries from more than 60 countries and features a wide range of writing systems.
TDC73 has updated its categories and allows entrants to specify the writing systems used in their projects. This helps the organisers assign jurors with relevant script expertise.
The planned jury representation includes specialists in Arabic, Cyrillic, Indic, Chinese-Japanese-Korean (CJK), Thai and African scripts.
Jury presidents are expected to be announced in November 2026, followed by the full jury announcement in January 2027. Best of Discipline, Type-High and Merit winners are expected to be announced in May 2027.
Entry Fees
Entry fees start at US$35, with the final amount depending on the submission period and entry type.
Early-bird submissions benefit from lower fees.
Fees vary according to the relevant entry category and submission deadline.
Regional discounts are available to help make participation more accessible to designers worldwide.
Applicants should check the official competition website for the current fee schedule, regional discount eligibility and any additional entry requirements before submitting.
How to Apply
Interested designers and creative professionals should:
Visit the official Type Directors Club competition website.
Review the entry guidelines and select the appropriate discipline.
Prepare project materials according to the submission requirements.
Confirm the applicable entry fee and any regional discount.
Submit the entry online before the deadline.
Application Deadline
The deadline for the TDC 73rd Annual Competition is 5 March 2027. Winners are expected to be announced in May 2027.
Official website:
Review the official rules carefully before entering, particularly if you are submitting work through a student competition or seeking a regional entry-fee discount.
How to apply