TDC²2008 : Full Text

TDC²2008 Call for Entries

About the TDC²2008 Competition

The Type Directors Club is an international organization founded in 1946 whose members include design professionals, typographic designers, and typophiles.

This year will be TDC's eleventh open Call for Entries for Type Design. All entries will be judged by a panel of distinguished designers in January 2008. Winning works will be exhibited in six traveling shows and published in Typography 29, the hardbound, all-color competition annual designed by Philippe Apeloig. The annual is published by CollinsDesign, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, and sold worldwide.

Entry Call and Forms

Please use only the Forms available in the PDF of the official Call.
A link to the PDF is provided from each Call page on this Web site.
:: TDC²2008 Call :: 160KB PDF

Deadline :: Friday 14 December 2008

TDC²2008 : Jury

Lance Hidy

Larry Oppenberg

Sara Soskolne

Gerard Unger

Matthew Carter, Chair

TDC²2008 : Eligible Entries

Any new typeface designs produced or published between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007 are eligible. Typeface designs may be submitted by anyone involved in their design, production, or marketing. Typefaces created for the TDC, by or for the chair, jurors of the competition, or current members of the Board are not eligible for entering.

TDC²2008 : Ineligible Entries

Extended or revised versions of older, previously published type designs are not eligible. This includes upgraded typefaces with newly expanded glyph sets (e.g., with added Latin glyph subsets, design variants, small capitals, ligatures, swashes, alternates, numerical styles, expert, localized and historical forms, stylistic sets, ornaments).

However, designs that have authorized additions of scripts other than the original (e.g., from Latin to Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Armenian, Thai, Han/Kanji, etc.) are eligible.

Designs published before January 1, 2007 are not eligible.

Entries are to be submitted as 11x17" or 17" x 11" (US Tabloid) or A3 (297x420 mm) unmounted (600 dpi laser minimum) paper proofs. Please submit each individual or constituent font-showing as a separate sheet. Each proof should show the typeface in whatever way the entrant deems appropriate. Proofs may include, but are not limited to, headlines, short or long passages of text, sample pages or double-page spreads of book or magazine make-up, or multi-column text. The requirements for proofs are:

Non-identification

To ensure anonymous and fair judgement of entries, the names of the typeface, designer, client, manufacturer or distributor must not appear anywhere on the front or on the back of the proof.

Character showings

Proofs should show a complete character set. In the case of complex extended multi-script character sets, insure that the showing is comprehensive enough to allow the jury to judge the design appropriately.

Complex system showings

Submissions of text and display Type Super-families, including digital fonts produced in Multiple Master or OpenType formats, should follow the above guidelines, but may feature more than one font or style in each showing.

Marking of Entries

Entries must be clearly marked, in the front, upper left-hand corner, with the appropriate Family, Competition, Script, and Design categorizations as detailed in the Categories section of this document.

Marking examples:

• Single, Display, Latin, Original
• Type Family, Text, Latin, Original
• Type Superfamily, Type System, Custom system for a major news corporation
• Single, Display, Armenian, Authorized extention of a Latin design

PDF Uploads — New for 2008!

Entries submitted by PDF upload must be pre-formatted as 11" x 17" or 17" x 11" (US Tabloid) for printing by the TDC. A3 format documents will clip or scale inappropriately when printed to US Tabloid. Either vertical or horizontal formats are permitted. Color laser printing will not be available. Layouts should not rely on color, but may use grayscale to differentiate important aspects of the design.

To ensure proper printing by the TDC, please observe the following rules:

• Format the originating document to 11" x 17" or 17" x 11" US Tabloid. Allow for a one-quarter inch margin for printer compatibility. Output PDF must be 11" x 17" or 17" x 11".
• Each entry must be in a separate PDF.
• Each entry PDF with more than one page must be a single multiplepage PDF.
• Security settings must be set to allow full resolution printing without passwords. However, security settings may be set to prevent operations other than printing.
• PDF entries must use embedded subsetted settings for fonts, to ensure that outlines, not bitmaps, are printed.
• Non-embeddable fonts must not be converted to outlines; please generate embeddable versions for this competition PDF.
• PDF file names will be altered to match the automatic control number generated by the TDC upload facility. This will ensure anonymity when TDC deals with your design file. For uploading procedures, see the Deadline and Shipping section of this document.

TDC²2008 : Entry Categories

There are five categories for entries.

• Family Three options
• Competition Four options
• Script Two options
• Format As needed
• Design Three options

Please select one option from each category and mark entries accordingly.

Family Category (For Fees)

The Family categorization is to be used for the purpose of determining entry fees, in US$. Typefaces may be entered as Single Typefaces or as parts of larger, related bodies of work.

Single Typeface : Individual typefaces designed to stand alone, with no stylistic variants.

Type Family : Typefaces designed and entered for competition with stylistic variants such as roman, italic, and bold, or small capitals. Up to and including eight variants are allowed.

Type Superfamily : Typeface designs that comprise more than eight closely-related variants are considered Type Superfamilies; Superfamilies also include Pi and Dingbat fonts that are stylistically related to the main alphabetic or ideographic typeface designs.

Competition

This category refers to the intended function of the submitted design and will determine the typeface's area of competition.

Text: Single Typefaces and Type Families, featuring full character sets, intended for use in the composition of text for continuous reading.

Display: Typefaces and Type Families featuring, full or reduced character sets, intended for use in larger sizes rather than body text.

Type System: Extensive groups of related typefaces featuring separate designs for text and display composition, or groups of related typefaces featuring designs belonging to different style categories, such as serif and sans-serif, serif and slab serif, and serif and semi-serif. Digital fonts in Multiple Master or in OpenType format often fall within this subcategory.

Pi or Ornament: Typefaces featuring special character sets for mathematical, phonetic, and other specialized applications, as well as ding-bats, icons, symbols, and other pictorial items in a font format. Ornament and border designs are also included in this subcategory.

Script

Latin: Typefaces intended for use in Latin-based orthographies have historically made up the majority of submissions. For scripts with Latin-based orthographies that use significant additions and modifications to accommodate the script system, see the Extensions subcategory of the Design category.

Non-Latin: Typefaces created for alphabets or writing systems other than Latin (Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, etc.) are eli-gible, and should be entered in the appropriate Family, Competition, and Design categories. As necessary, experts in the relevant non-Latin scripts maybe invited by the jury for consultation.

This designation also includes Pi typefaces, such as those created for use in the fields of music, mathematics, linguistics, logic, and other areas that require specialized character sets. Please indicate, in the front entry markings (see Marking of Entries), the field for which the typeface was designed.

Font Format

Indicate whether the typeface is PostScript Type 1, TrueType, Multiple Master, or OpenType. If the format is not one of these four, please specify the alternate format.

Design

Original: Typeface designs that are original and not derived from pre-existing designs or from existing typeface font software. In a case where the submitted design is derived from pre-existing material, the typeface would fall into the Revivals and Extensions subcategory, and must adhere to that category's requirements.

Custom: Custom or proprietary typefaces that are designed for private use instead of resale. Custom designs may include typefaces produced for use by a specific designer or a design firm, as well as those for corporate or other non-design clients. If the type design is based on an existing typeface, please identify the design source. Please specify the intended use without identifying the client (for example, "a text typeface created for a financial newspaper").

Revival: Typeface design revivals that are based on, and closely follow, the designs of pre-existing typefaces must be accompanied by assurances that the revival is authorized and approved by the originator of the design, or by the current holder of the rights to the typeface designs.

No Student Design Category

There is no separate category for student type designs. They should be entered in one of the design subcategories.

No Extension Design Category

Designs (added styles, added non-Latin scripts, added ornaments, etc.) that are substantially based on existing designs that are themselves not eligible for entry (e.g., older than January 2007) are no longer considered eligible for judging in TDC². Only new designs are acceptable.

TDC²2008 : Entry Forms

Entry and Payment forms are required in addition to the Marking of Entries. If additional forms are needed, please make same-size photocopies. Do not enlarge or reduce the form, and do not design your own entry form.

A PDF will be available on the TDC website. The information listed in the form is required at the time of submission. Please fill it out completely and accurately. Attach an entry form to the back of each entry, taped only at the top of the form. Please do not use glue.

One entry form is sufficient for a Type Family or Superfamily, and should be attached to the main item. The form will be removed prior to judging.

Entries must not be submitted with business cards or other identification of the designer or submitter on either the front or back.

Please select one subcategory from each of the categories on the following Categories page. The jury and chairman of the TDC²2008 type design competition reserve the right to adjust the categorization of entries as they see fit and necessary.

TDC²2008 : Competition Fees

Single Entries (one typeface)

$30 TDC members ($35 electronic PDF)
$35 Non-members ($40 electronic PDF)

Type Families (3 to 8 type styles)

$60 TDC members ($65 electronic PDF)
$70 Non-members ($75 electronic PDF)

Superfamilies (9 or more type styles)

$120 TDC members ($125 electronic PDF)
$140 Non-members ($145 electronic PDF)

Electronic PDF Entries

Online Registration & PDF Uploads

Register your entries and send fees online

For just $5 more for each entry, TDC will print your electronic PDF competition entry for the competition.

PDFs must be submitted through the TDC Web site entry forms.

Family Entry Category Notes

For purposes of determining entry and hanging fees, individual dingbat, symbol, and pi or ornament fonts are treated as equivalent to Single Entries.

Hanging and Publication Fees

Winners of TDC²2008 will be charged hanging fees of US$80 for Single Entries, US$100 for each Type Family, and US$130 for each Superfamily included in the TDC book and exhibition. Hanging fees are reduced for TDC members.

Forms of Payment

Payment must be submitted with entries. It may be in cash, check, money order, traveler's check, or charged to American Express, Visa, or MasterCard. If payment is made by check, money order, or traveler's check it must be in U.S. dollars and drawn on a U.S. bank.

TDC Membership (Recommended)

Members receive:

• Discounted entry and hanging fees
• The TDC Typography annual
• A Subscription to the TDC newsletter, Letterspace
• Special discounts at TDC events

Membership Categories:

• Regular/New York area (within 60 miles): $125
• Regular/beyond New York area (in USA): $100
• Regular/outside USA: $110
• Student: $40
• Sustaining Corporation (includes three persons): $300

TDC²2008 : Deadline

Deadlines :

All entries with entry forms attached, fees, and one payment form per participant, must be delivered by Extended Deadline :: Friday 11 January 2008, to:

TDC²2008 / Type Directors Club
127 West 25th Street  8th Floor
New York, NY  10001
USA

Shipping

If more than one package is shipped, it must be indicated on each package ("1 of 2"). Packages must be delivered prepaid. Non-U.S. entrants should mark packages "Material for contest entry. No commercial value." No provision will be made by TDC for U.S. Customs or airport pickup. Customs fees, if incurred, will be charged back to the entrant. Entries cannot be returned.

PDF Uploads

Save on postal fees and complicated international customs forms! Use the Web-based TDC payment and entry form at http://www.tdcsecure.org/competition/. Fill out the entry form, including payment information by credit card, and use the Browse... link to select your PDF design file for upload to TDC²2008. Easy! Please send only one version of the file; ensure that your document is correct and complete before sending it to TDC²2008. Replacement documents may be charged a $10 management fee.

TDC²2008 : Judging

Jurors are encouraged to discuss the entries during the selection process. Winning entries must receive at least three votes. If the jury is tied, the chairman will act as tie-breaker.

Reference materials may be used in considering Revivals and Extension typeface designs.

Judging will take place in January 2008.

TDC²2008 : Awards & Exhibitions

TDC²2008 winners will be notified the week of January 21, 2008. Each entry selected by the jury will receive a Certificate of Excellence in Type Design. Winning entries will be exhibited with the winning entries of the TDC54 competition and will be published in Typography 29 , the annual of the Type Directors Club.

Exhibitions

The opening of TDC54 and TDC²2008 will be held in New York City. Both exhibits will be on display during the summer of 2008. Winners will be asked to supply five extra copies of their entries for use in parallel traveling exhibitions outside New York. These shows travel throughout North and South America, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and East Asia. Individuals and firms that have contributed to the entries will be credited in the exhibitions and in Typography 29.

TDC²2008 : Contact

About TDC

The Type Directors Club is an international organization for all people who are devoted to excellence in typography, in print and on screen. Founded in 1946, today's TDC is involved in all contemporary areas of typography and design, and welcomes graphic designers, art directors, editors, multimedia professionals, students, entrepreneurs, and all who have an interest in type in advertising, communications, education, marketing, and publishing. TDC sponsors a variety of lectures and conferences, and two prestigious annual competitions in order to reward excellence in the creation and use of typefaces, calligraphy, hand lettering, and other letterforms. Winning entries are published in the TDC Typography annual, which is distributed worldwide.

Contact Information

For further information, please contact the TDC offices:

TDC :: Type Directors Club
127 West 25th Street  8th Floor
New York, NY  10001

T: 1-212-633-8943
F: 1-212-633-8944

E: director@tdc.org
W: http://www.tdc.org/