Type Director Club Opens Call for 2023 Global Ascenders Competition

The Type Directors Club, the world’s leading typography organisation, 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 15th, 2023. The extended deadline is April 15th, 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 (), 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. 

“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,” said Fer Cozzi, graphic designer and type designer based in Buenos Aires who was an Ascenders winner in 2019 and judge last year.  

“This competition isn’t about having the perfect portfolio, but more about looking toward the future,” she added. “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.

The One Club for Creativity, producer of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, Type Directors Club competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, and more, is the world’s foremost non-profit organisation whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organisation’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.