TDC53 :
The 53rd Annual Type Directors Club Exhibition Call for Entries
Download the TDC53 Call for Entries
TDC53 Call Guidelines, Rules, and Forms (130KB PDF)
TDC53 Call Forms Only 36KB PDF
Chairman’s Statement
We all know that type directors and designers react to the ubiquitous Call For Entries in one of two ways. Either they groan with apprehension, or they grin with anticipation. Either way, it’s a prelude to their transformation into the Raiders of the Lost Archives and that maddening search through the flat files for those elusive proofs. Be you groaner or grinner, I urge you to persevere, uncover and send us your gems, because it’s not just ‘that time of year again’.
This year, the Type Directors Club turns 60. Someone, somewhere, will bake us a nice cake, for sure, but what the TDC wants more than anything is the icing: your best work. We’re celebrating six decades of recognising and praising typographic excellence at a time when elevating the standard of such communication has never been more important.
At the risk of adding one acronym too many to this page, the age of TMI (Too Much Information) makes our craft increasingly valuable—and vital.
That’s one thing the TDC53 panel of judges can agree on. They’re an impressive bunch who hail from all over the globe, boasting vastly different design disciplines. Accordingly, their perspectives may differ but what they do share is an intense passion for typography and design. But only the really good stuff.
The question is: have you got any? There are more incentives to enter than mere peer recognition. All accepted work is not only published in our annual, Typography 29, but also travels the world as part of our exhibition.
After that, it’s advisable to clear your schedule. Get Call Waiting, since the phone’ll be ringing off the hook. Expect unprompted salary increases, clients weeping openly as they grovel for your services, seething envy from your contemporaries, gorgeous strangers propositioning you in public, sudden gifts of vintage cars, property in the Seychelles, that sort of thing.
Well, at the very least you can jack up the day rate or take a sabbatical, write a book, live with the wolves, whatever.
But the point is: show yourself. Send us your work. Be bold (sorry!), be confident, be proud of what you do. This year, as you can see, we’ve made it even E-Zier to enter the annual TDC competition. (Actually Number Seventeen have made it even E-Zier to enter.)
On behalf of the judges, I look forward to seeing what you’re made of, and I thank you for supporting the Club.
Best of luck!
Graham Clifford
Chairman, TDC53
TDC53 Jury
- MARIAN BANTJES
- British Columbia, Canada
- LEN CHEESEMAN
- New Zealand
- DEANNE CHEUK
- Tokion Magazine, New York
- BRUCE LICHER
- Independent Project Records and Press, Arizona
- PAUL SAHRE
- The Office of Paul Sahre, New York
- JOHN POBOJEWSKI
- Thirst, Illinois
- GRAHAM WOOD
- JWT, New York
- GRAHAM CLIFFORD Chair, TDC53
About the TDC Competitions
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 fifty-third open Call for Entries in its international competition which recognizes excellence in the use of typography, calligraphy, handlettering and other letterforms. All entries will be judged by a panel of distinguished designers in January 2007. Winning works will be exhibited in six traveling shows and published in Typography 28, the hardbound, all-color competition annual designed by Andy Kner. The annual is published by Collins Design, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, and sold worldwide.
Eligibility
Entries must have been produced or published during 2006. Submissions can be by anyone associated with the entry. Work designed for the TDC or by the Chairman and judges is ineligible.
Entry Formats
Original items only are eligible for entry, with the exception of items detailed below.
No identification of designer/submitter (e.g. business cards) may be attached to front or back of print entries, other than official Entry Forms.
Slides/transparencies are unacceptable in any area or category.
Photographs If the actual piece is unavailable/ unmanageable (e.g. signage, displays, POP, large packaging, billboards) photographic prints 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm) are acceptable. Photographs with more than one item are series entries.
Mounting of entries Entries in the Corporate ID category must be mounted on black illustration board (not Foamcore), not to exceed 14 x 22 inches (36 x 56 cm). Items may overlap. The maximum of six selected, representative items for series pertains to the number of mounted items, not boards. Mounting in all other categories is optional. The maximum size of boards pertains to all areas and categories.
Experimental / unpublished work is ineligible in all areas and categories, except for Student Work.
Types of Entries
Single entry
One item only.
Members US$30 :: Non-members US$40
Series / campaign entry
Two, but not more than six, typographically and conceptually related pieces in one category for the same event, product or subject matter, such as posters, ads, booklets, television commercials, packaging, etc. If more than six items are submitted, the Show Committee will select six representative pieces for judging. Unrelated items, e.g., different books by the same publisher or different productions by the same theater, must be submitted as single entries.
Members US$60 :: Non-members US $75
Entry Areas / Categories
Entries may be submitted in three areas: Print, Electronic and Student Work. Series must not be mixes of Print and Electronic Media. Print entries and printed Student Work must not be in electronic form. Indicate area and category number on Entry Form.
PRINT Area / Category
Proofs, photostats, computer prints, slides or transparencies are unacceptable (see General Entry Rules), except where noted. Entries like signage, displays, exhibits, etc. need not have been produced by printing and can be submitted as photographic prints. Print categories are for identification purposes only. Judging will not be by separate categories. Therefore, do not submit the same item(s) in several categories or both as singles and series. Duplication will be eliminated by the Show Committee.
- Advertisements Ads and advertising inserts
- Annual Reports and other financial reports
- Books
- Book Jackets / Covers
- Brochures and direct mail
- Calendars
- Catalogs
- Corporate identity Always a series entry. Must be mounted (please see mounting instructions). Not to exceed six selected, representative items, e.g., logos/trademarks, stationery, envelopes, folders, identity manuals, photographs of signage, but not posters or packaging.
- Editorial (magazine, newspaper, newsletter) : An entire publication or an article covering several pages is considered a single entry. Spreads or entire articles submitted as single entries must be removed from the publication.
- Exhibits / Displays / Point-of-Purchase / Signage / Architectural and Dimensional Design Signage systems, exhibition booths, etc. are always series entries.
- Logos / Trademarks / Symbols Include firm or institution name and, if necessary, a one-sentence description on the front bottom of the entry (not on the Entry Form). Maximum size: 11 x 17 inches (28 x 43 cm). Photostats, computer prints or printed versions are acceptable.
- Miscellaneous including announcements, invitations, cards, menus, etc. Invitations may include response card and envelope. Additional pieces constitute a series entry.
- Mixed series A printed series entry (no mix with electronic items) of two but not more than six typographically and conceptually related items pertaining to different print categories.
- Packaging
- Posters including large announcements and calls for entries.
- T-Shirts / Apparel
Typeface Design is not part of TDC53 and is a separate competition which is judged by a different jury but has the same deadline. For more information and a Call for Entries call the TDC office (1-212-633-8943) or see the TDC2 2007 web pages.
ELECTRONIC MEDIA Area / Category
This includes TV commercials, music videos, video and film titles/graphics, video presentations, multimedia, internet graphics and interactive computer graphics. Entries must be submitted as 1/2 inch ntsc/vhs (not pal or secam) videotapes, cd-rom, computer discs runnable on a Mac (not PC) operating system, or as computer prints. Winners will be asked to submit individual frames or screens as photographic or computer prints for the exhibitions and the annual book. Each entry is to be submitted on a separate cassette or disc, except for series entries. Not acceptable in this category are internet addresses (there will be no internet access during judging).
STUDENT WORK Area / Category
Unpublished work produced by students in design classes may be submitted in proof form, e.g., computer prints, photostats, etc., but not slides or transparencies. Student work is acceptable as single or series entries (maximum of six items).
A one-sentence description of the assignment and the name of the school and the instructor must be included on the front bottom of the entry, not the entry form. Any mounted work must not exceed 14 x 22 inches (36 x 56 cm).
Out of the winning student entries, three will be selected for monetary awards. Their student designers will receive monetary awards in the amounts of $500, $300 and $200 respectively. Their work will be noted in the Annual as prize winners.
Entry Forms
Each Entry Form must indicate:
- Print, Electronic Media, Student Work
- Single or Series entry (indicate number of items, not boards, for series entries)
- Category number (for PRINT only)
- Title or identification of entry
- Complete information about the submitter
(to be repeated on the Payment Form)
Official TDC53 Call Entry and Payment Forms (36KB PDF) and the TDC53 Call Poster and Guidlines (130KB PDF) on this Web site. If additional forms are needed, please make same-size copies. Do not enlarge or reduce the form, and do not design your own entry form. Only information on the form is required at the time of submission.
An entry form must be attached to the back of each entry, taped lightly only at the top of the form. Do not use gumming devices or double-faced tape. Cut out Entry Forms (or copies thereof) along the dotted boxes.
Entry Fees
Single entry
Members US$30 :: Non-members US$40
Series entry
Members US$60 :: Non-members US $75
A completely filled out Payment Form must be sent with each submission of entries (and not attached to each entry).
Payment made payable to TDC53/Type Directors Club must be submitted with entries in cash, check, US dollar travelers checks, or charged to American Express, Visa or MasterCard. Checks or money orders from all countries outside the U.S. must be drawn on a U.S. bank, payable in U.S. dollars. Payment in foreign currency, check, Eurocheck, or postal money order—even if drawn in U.S. dollars—on banks outside of the U.S.A. is unacceptable.
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): $150
- Regular/beyond New York area (in USA): $125
- Regular/outside USA: $140
- Student: $50
- Sustaining Corporation (includes three persons): $400
- Associate Members (non-professionals, but with an interest in typography) : $125
Publication & Hanging Fees
Winners only will be charged a US$80 ($50 for TDC members) hanging fee for each single entry and US$130 ($100 for TDC members) for each series entry in order to be included in the annual book and exhibitions. Publication & hanging fees are reduced for TDC members. Hanging fees help defray publication and exhibition expenses for this organization, and contribute to the TDC Scholarship Fund.
Awards
Winners only will be notified the week of January 29, 2007. Entries selected by the jury will receive Certificates of Typographic Excellence. They will be exhibited in the 52nd TDC Exhibition, and appear in Typography 28 The opening of TDC53 will be held in New York City, and will be on display during the summer of 2007. Winners will be asked to supply transparencies (4 x 5 in. or 10 x 12 cm) or slides of the winning entries for use in Typography 28.
Winners will also be asked to supply five additional copies of winning entries for use in exhibitions outside New York. These shows travel throughout North America, Europe and Eastern Asia. Credits of individuals and firms that have contributed to each entry will be included in the exhibitions and in Typography 28.
Deadline
All entries, together with fees, and one Payment Form, must be delivered to TDC by:
Extended Deadline :: Friday 19 January 2007
to:
TDC53
Type Directors Club
127 West 25th Street, 8th floor
New York, NY 10001
USA
Shipping
If more than one package is shipped, this must be indicated on the outside of each package, e.g., "1 of 2." Packages must be delivered prepaid. Non-U.S. contestants should mark each package "Printed matter for contest entry. No commercial value." No provision will be made by TDC for U.S. Customs or airport pickup. Any customs fees will be charged back to the entrant. No Entries Will Be Returned!
Contact
For further information, please contact the TDC offices:
T : 1-212-633-8943
F : 1-212-633-8944
E : director@tdc.org
W : http://www.tdc.org