united by the shared belief that type 
drives culture 
and culture drives type Established in 1946, the TDC today curates a calendar of typographic intrigues designed to:
—build a community 
through public events and platforms
—support the growth 
of students and early career professionals
—recognize excellence in type design 
across the world.
In connection with our landmark yearly competitions, we produce and publish a Typography Annual and coordinate eight traveling exhibits of award-winning work. We host and sponsor numerous events—conferences, courses, workshops, exhibitions, and frequent Type Salons—both in our New York City home and at supportive institutions near and far.
Graphic designers, art directors, editors, media makers, students, and entrepreneurs, anyone who loves typography, letterforms, and the written word… join us.
Founded as the Type Directors Club, the TDC’s earliest membership included such luminaries and leaders as Aaron Burns, Freeman Craw, and Louis Dorfsman.
Our inaugural lecture series, titled Ten Talks on Type, featured Milton Zudeck, O. Alfred Dickman, and Hal Zamboni. It quickly became an annual event.
In 1953, we established the annual competition to recognize outstanding work in the profession, opening it up to non-members in 1956.
In 1958, the TDC hosted a day-long seminar at the Silvermine Artists Guild in New Canaan, Connecticut, drawing 500 attendees from around the world.
1959 marked our first conference at Manhattan’s Biltmore Hotel; the line-up included Saul Bass, Gene Federico, and Paul Rand.
In 1960, Beatrice Warde, namesake of one of our student scholarships, broke boundaries as our first female member.
In 1967, Herman Zapf received the first ever TDC medal for outstanding contributions to the field of typography.
With traditional Type Director roles declining, the TDC evolved to re-define and broaden our community.
In 1980, we published the first print annual and, in 1996, created a separate competition for typeface design.
In 2004, we published Typography 25 in honor of the first TDC annual.
2010 introduced the first postgraduate certificate in typeface design, through a collaboration with Cooper Union.
The TDC celebrated 70 years in 2017, and hosted the Type Over Time conference.
In 2018, we launched the Type Drives Culture conference and Typegeist.
