Type Director Club Opens Call For 2023 Global Ascenders Competition: deadline Wed, March 15

The Type Directors Club, the world’s leading typography organization, today opened the call for entries for its global Ascenders competition, celebrating international typographers, letterers, and type designers age 35 and under.

Ascenders is a fast-growing portfolio-based competition dedicated to type in all its versatile forms, and the inspiring up and coming designers — individuals or duos — who are elevating the medium.  Entrants submit six projects – typography, use of type, design, lettering, etc. – with short descriptions, a statement of their role in the project’s creation, and a list of individual credits where applicable.  

Entries are now being accepted, with entry fees increasing after the regular deadline of March 15, 2023.  The extended deadline is April 15, 2023, and winners will be announced in June.

This year’s entries will be judged by a diverse jury of global leaders in the field, including some past Ascenders winners.  The 2023 Ascenders jury is as follows:

• Frank Adebiaye, type and document designer, Forthcome, Paris
• David Barnett, co-owner, Noble Signs, Brooklyn
• Alia Bright, self-employed artist and designer, Portland
• Chris Campe, designer, writer, All Things Letters, Hamburg
• Marina Chaccur, designer, The Hague
• Vincent Chan, director, type designer, Matter of Sorts, Naarm/Melbourne
• Cyla Costa, lettering artist, Cyla Costa Studio, Curitiba (Brazil)
• Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dunbar/DEPT, Rotterdam
• Golnar Kat Rahmani, founder, art director, Studio Katrahmani, Berlin
• Kenneth Kuh, visual designer, San Jose (California)
• Susana Machicao, brand consultant, Visual Communications and Design, Machicao Design, La Paz
• Masashi Murakami, graphic designer, art director, emuni, Tokyo
• Kiel Mutschelknaus, designer, educator, Baltimore/Washington DC
• Shivani Parasnis, senior designer, Spotify, Baltimore
• Claudia Rubín, senior designer, The New York Times Magazine New York
• Tré Seals, founder, Vocal Type, Washington DC
• Matthew Tapia, lettering and graphic artist, Honolulu
• Li Zhiqian, cofounder, type director, 3type (三言), Shanghai

In order to make Ascenders affordable around the globe, TDC offers a four-tier price structure with significant discounts – up to 66% – based on the country where the entrant is located.  TDC members also qualify for discounts. 

Last year’s Ascenders winners, selected from the highest number of entrants in the competition’s history, included 25 talented young creatives from 13 countries and regions.  Prominent past Ascenders winners include Au Chon Hin (Macao, 2022), Kevin Cantrell (Mantua, USA, 2018), Roxane Gataud (Brussels, 2022), Gemma O’Brien (Sydney, 2022), Juan Carlos Pagan (New York, 2018), Tré Seals (Maryland, 2018), and others. 

Says Fer Cozzi, graphic designer and type designer based in Buenos Aires who was an Ascenders winner in 2019 and judge last year: “Ascenders is the space to confront yourself and overcome the biggest obstacle: the limited perception that we have of ourselves when we are starting out.

“This competition isn’t about having the perfect portfolio, but more about looking toward the future. Ascenders entries should contain conviction, not just show off technical skill.  I can’t wait to see what this year’s winners will show, since it will certainly reveal where the discipline is headed.”

This year’s Ascenders branding and award are designed by Anıl Aykan, graphic designer at Barnbrook Design in London and member of the TDC Advisory Board.  The design depicts the “ascending” creatives by embracing the idea of growth and invasion, with the journey demonstrated by visual metaphors of steps toward further growth and expansion.

For more information and to enter, please visit the Ascenders website.